The Urban Underclass: Challenging THe Myths ABout America's Urban Poor

Part I of Essay
Paul Peterson and Christopher Jencks, co editors of "The Urban Underclass," and William Julius Wilson, a contributor to the book, will conduct a public symposium from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the Brookings auditorium. Discussants will include James Johnson of UCLA ....

Part II of Essay
.... rolls, and legions of high school dropouts consigned forever to joblessness. Yet none of these perceptions is true, according to a new Brookings book, The Urban Underclass. Edited by Christopher Jencks of Northwestern University and Paul E. Peterson of Harvard, this set of essays attempts to separate the truth about poverty, social dislocation and changes in American family life from the myths that have become part of contemporary folklore. According to a number of indicators the underclass is shrinking, writes Peterson in his introductory ....