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Alexis Vasquez-Morgan
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
November 9, 2016

Poverty and Materialism in America: A Potentially Racial Connection?

Reading the title of this may strike the nerves of all those tired of hearing the histrionics
of black people who claim that American society is out to get them, but a simple read of even a
sanitized-for-school history book shows that
America has been out to get them for the length of
its history and beyond. However, I do not plan to throw those who are considered Caucasian
under the bus within this essay, I only ask that the same realization I had is made upon
completion of this piece. My own development of this topic came after reading one of my
supporting sources.
Upon first thought, it does not seem as though materialism has much to do with those in
poverty, unless they have spent their fortunes away or gambled it down the drain. Most people
think of those with the most money as the most materialistic, and that notion is not incorrect. In
fact, the desire for monetary gain and financial growth has led developers to plan and build hot
new stores, boutiques, and cafes within poorer communities as a way to bring in money. This is
observable in big cities all over the country, with notable cases within our own communities
around Charlotte, including historically black neighborhoods like Cherry and Enderly Park. But
developers never seem to be planning and building for these existing residents, who may be
bought out or forced to leave due to rising house prices. According to Gwendolyn Gwenn in

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Block by Block, homes in Cherry are selling upwards of $600,000. Velvity Cherry, a current
home-owning resident of the neighborhood, told Gwenn how devastating it was to witness the
rental in which she grew up get demolished in order to build houses that dwarf the existing
historical homes. This is an issue when other neighborhoods are simultaneously undergoing
similar changes, leaving the displaced to squeeze into the only neighborhoods they can afford. It
is likely that most developers do not actively consider the results of their developmental actions
on residents well-being, comfort, or happiness. The goal is to bring in whoever can afford to
live in the newly-renovated homes or brand-spanking-new apartment and condominium
complexes, whether or not they are existing residents. After being displaced, a sense of
community once fostered in a neighborhood is lost. As documented in Su Friedrichs Gut
Renovation, old residents may struggle to find a new place to live, and if offered affordable
housing in new developments, they may be treated like second class citizens, unable to use the
amenities, or even the front entrance. This entire process is an issue known as gentrification, and
it stems directly from the American ideal that newer and bigger is better, and those who cannot
afford it shall be tossed aside.
In fact, Americans are constantly stereotyped as being incredibly materialistic and
shallow, and it stems from the portrayal of fame and wealth on every screen across the nation.
With American children receiving their first cell phones at around age six (Fox 13), and
television viewing at levels upwards of 5 hours on average (StatisticBrain.com), children
especially are more exposed to this mass media than ever before. Social media applications and
television programs--even those as innocuous as Disney shows--flaunt celebrities and familiar
faces wearing nice clothes and jewelry, driving expensive cars, living in large, well-decorated

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houses, and playing with the newest devices and game systems, while also being depicted as
well-liked characters in television and movies. Commercials display the newest phones, which
fly out of factories every year like clockwork. (Therein lies an issue of planned obsolescence, but
that is for another discussion.) Children, and even adults, are influenced to have the newest,
nicest, cleanest things in order to seem more desirable and influential to the outside world.
Having stuff has always been a determiner of status, but American lifestyle takes it to a level
that has permeated our entire lives. Our infatuation with the material has created issues within
our society. Gambling, marrying for wealth, bullying, and feelings of inadequacy or emptiness
are all connected to our need for greed.
While it can be simple to say, Im not like that, the truth is that we are easily influenced
by the media and our human desire to be liked. Because of their inexperience and naivety,
children and teenagers are the two age groups most significantly swayed toward an overzealous
regard for brand names and the elitism associated with many popular companies like The North
Face and Apple. Problems with media advertising to children worsen when socioeconomic status
and race factor in. Studies by Chaplin, Hill, and John show that children and adolescents within
lower-income families tend to exhibit more detrimental effects of materialism than their
wealthier counterparts, including self-esteem issues and mental illness. Decreases in self-esteem
are compounded when the child is black or has darker skin. When viewing a webpage of Top
Sexiest Models of 2016 from Models.com, any person is able to recognize the sheer lack of
black or darker-skinned models. Even those who are not European or white-American have
Eurocentric features, light skin, and straight hair. Unconsciously, little black girls are taught that
they are not the ideal standard. (My own personal experience with hair care products featuring

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straight-haired models supports this.) The severity of these effects of self-esteem depends on
household income and home life, which add stress to the already demanding period of youthhood
self-growth. In fact, studies reported in Chaplin, Hill, and Johns Poverty and Materialism say
that adolescents between ages 12 and 13 have the highest levels of materialism compared to
16-18 year olds and those younger. This, according to MedicineNet.com, falls within the age
period for both male and female puberty, a time that has brought any tween to wishing they
could have the master key to fame and success. When television and applications like Instagram
throw images of idols wearing name-brand sneakers and using sleek phones, it only makes sense
that a child dealing with embarrassing biological changes would be attracted to the idea of
instant popularity via material gain. Further problems develop when every middle-schooler
becomes attached to the acquisition of stuff, and those who cannot afford the display stand out
and become targets for bullying or ostracization. This is one of the many reasons children in
low-income families are affected by materialism in America.
Continuing, these children will latch onto the idea that new stuff is better, and unless
taught the value of hard work and self-growth through skill-learning and education, will carry
those ideals into later adolescence and eventually adult life. This becomes a problem when it
helps to perpetuate societys ideas of homelessness being associated with worthlessness, past the
sense of simple monetary wealth. We look upon those who have less--or nothing at all--as if they
are beneath those who have been dealt the hand for success. Further issues surface when racist
themes such as the ghetto hood-rat are connected specifically to black people who live below
the poverty line, or very near it. With black people making up 25.8% of the impoverished
population (U.S. Census Bureau), these notions of the uneducated black person spread to become

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stereotypical. Children who belong to families that display stereotypical traits, by no decision of
their own, are treated as lesser. So far, four different yet connected factors could be affecting any
given individual in this situation: socioeconomic standing, materialism, displacement, and
stereotypical judgement. This occurs as a result of the teachings of society as a whole that
material wealth determine status and significance, with a sprinkling of historically-solidified
racist ideas.
Doubling back onto the subject of education, it is important to address the lack of quality
instruction within the inner city, observably one of the most poverty-stricken areas of any region.
Continuing the theme that those with less are considered less, inner-city schools receive
significantly smaller amounts of money than wealthier suburb schools, with six states leading the
way with the largest funding gaps, according to a HuffingtonPost article entitled, Public School
Funding Unequal: State and Local School Finance Systems Perpetuate Per-Student Spending
Disparities. This article and another written by Gillian B. White for The Atlantic mention the
tendency for schools with higher populations of non-white students to receive less funding based
on race alone. Data scientist David Mosenkis, as reported by White, says, At any given poverty
level, districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding
than districts that have more minority students. Initially, the discrepancy between funding for
mostly-white and mostly-non-white schools fit the observable nature of inner city schools to
have higher black and Latino populations, but these studies are showing, at least in states like
Pennsylvania, that there may be underlying racial motives.
This connects back to issues of materialism, and the necessity for education to combat the
naivety of young people and their tendency to be more materialistic than adults with life

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experience. Briefly mentioned within the article, Three Important Questions to Ask Your
Teenager, is that youth have lost the ability to recognize their own hard work toward extremely
exhausting goals as valuable in of itself. This is the same for children and adolescents who
regard their worth only by what can be measured in things. Education and a personal connection
to intellectual growth, whether it be in school subjects or hobbies, are essential to protecting
children from the effects of materialism all around, including the confusion of displacement, a
loss of self-esteem, or a basic deficiency of needs (depending on poverty level). When mediated,
children who once suffered from these trials will likely find fulfillment. This is a great reason to
increase funding to schools.
Multiple factors affect those who live near or below the poverty line, and they all connect
to form an experience unparalleled in middle- or upper-class families and lifestyles. It is a
vicious cycle for those who are considered black, especially, with issues ranging from media
under-representation, underfunded schools, and stereotypes egging on hardships already faced by
those in poverty. It is hard to set one plan in motion to fix these issues, but one major step is
acknowledging the problem and combatting the underlying racially-charged mindsets that trap
American society. Change has proven its presence in our countrys history, and all that matters
now is continuing awareness for the better.

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Works Cited
Boyd, Robert. "At What Age Does the Average American Get a Cellphone? Study Shows Its
Younger than Many Might Think." Fox13now.com. N.p., 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 09 Nov.
2016.
Bureau, U.s. Census. Poverty Rates for Selected Detailed Race and Hispanic Groups by State
and Place: 20072011 (2013): 1-2. Feb. 2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
By Victoria Summer 2016 (Victoria's Secret). MODELS.com's Top Sexiest Models. N.p., n.d.
Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
Conrad Stppler, Melissa, MD. "Puberty: Stages & Signs for Boys & Girls." MedicineNet. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
Glenn, Gwendolyn. "Block By Block: Gentrification Of Cherry Leaves Longtime Residents
Worried About Neighborhood." WFAE. N.p., 28 May 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
Gut Renovation. Dir. Su Friedrich. 2012. 2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
Harden, Seth. "Television Watching Statistics." Statistic Brain. N.p., 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 09
Nov. 2016.
Kuczynski-Brown, Alex. "Public School Funding Unequal: State and Local School Finance
Systems Perpetuate Per-Student Spending Disparities." The Huffington Post. N.p., 20 Sept.
2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
Mulligan, Michael. "The Three Most Important Questions You Can Ask Your Teenager." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

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Nguyen Chaplin, Lan, Ronald Paul Hill, and Deborah Roedder John. "Poverty and Materialism:
A Look at Impoverished Versus Affluent Children."ResearchGate. Journal of Public
Policy & Marketing, Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
White, Gillian B. "The Data Are Damning: How Race Influences School Funding." The Atlantic.
Atlantic Media Company, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.