Abstract

On the Edge: A History of Poor Black Children and Their American Dreams (Book)

This article comments on the book "On the Edge: A History of Poor Black Children and Their American Dreams," by Carl Husemoller Nightingale. This book by Nightingale focuses on black-on- black violence, urban culture and future of inner-cities with specific reference to the black youth in Philadelphia. Nightingale challenges the new common wisdom that inner-city communities have become isolated from "mainstream" culture and thus have adopted values and beliefs completely foreign to most "Americans." The combination of racism, poverty and consumerism has created feelings of humiliation, pain and frustration in inner-city black youths, particularly in males, who then turn to violence and aggressive behavior to compensate emotionally.