Deadly Symbiosis

What I found most intriguing in Wacquant’s article on Deadly Symbiosis was Wacquant’s idea that the ghetto and the prison are closely related.  Each one fuels the others’ growth.  He states that “the ghetto is a manner of ethnoracial prison in that it encloses a stigmatized population which evolves within it its distinctive organizations and cultures, while the prison functions as a judicial ghetto relegating individuals disgraced by criminal conviction.”   Further in the article he discusses the role the ghetto played over time in cultivating negative stereotypes for blacks over time.  Currently, life in the ghetto essentially creates an environment that makes it difficult for blacks to escape or rise out of without a criminal record.  In my own opinion, I think the government needs to pass policies which will help to improve conditions in African-American communities and thus reduce criminal activity and poverty.  Furthermore, the government also needs to play a more active role in helping African-Americans reintegrate themselves into functional society once they are released from prison.  This piece found here: http://www.nabsw.org/mserver/WelfareReform.aspx provides an interesting perspective on Black welfare and helped me to further understand African-Americans struggle with poverty.  Although it doesn't directly tie in with the idea of ghettos and prison found in the Wacquant reading, I still think it is a worthwhile read.