Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood

by Jay MacLeod

 This classic text addresses one of the most important issues in modern social theory and how social inequality is reproduced from one generation to the next. With the original 1987 publication of Ain’t No Makin’ It Jay MacLeod brought us to the Clarendon Heights housing project where we met the “Brothers” and the “Hallway Hangers.” Their story of poverty, race, and defeatism moved readers and challenged ethnic stereotypes. MacLeod’s return eight years later, and the resulting 1995 revision, revealed little improvement in the lives of these men as they struggled in the labor market and crime-ridden underground economy.   The third edition of this classic ethnography of social reproduction brings the story of inequality and social mobility into today’s dialogue. Now fully updated with thirteen new interviews from the original Hallway Hangers and Brothers, as well as new theoretical analysis and comparison to the original conclusions, Ain’t No Makin’ It remains an admired and invaluable text.   Contents   Part The Hallway Hangers and the Brothers as Teenagers
1. Social Immobility in the Land of Opportunity
2. Social Reproduction in Theoretical Perspective
3. Teenagers in Clarendon The Hallway Hangers and the Brothers
4. The Influence of the Family
5. The World of Aspirations of the Hangers and Brothers
6. Preparing for the Competition
7. Leveled Social Reproduction Takes Its Toll
8. Reproduction Theory Reconsidered Part Eight Years Low Income, Low Outcome
9. The Hallway Dealing in Despair
10. The Dreams Deferred
11. Outclassed and Outcast(e) Part Ain’t No Makin’ It?
12. The Hallway Fighting for a Foothold at Forty
13. The Barely Making It
14. Making Sense of the Stories, by Katherine McClelland and David Karen

Genres: Nonfiction, Read For School

552 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2008

About the author

A Rhodes scholar, Jay MacLeod holds degrees in social studies and theology. He and his wife, Sally Asher, spent four years in Mississippi, where their work with local teenagers led to the publication of Minds Stayed On Freedom: The Civil Rights Struggle In The Rural South, An Oral History.

MacLeod is now an Anglican priest in Chesterfield, a declining mining and market town in Asher's native England. Combining Christian ministry with community work, MacLeod still plays streetball, or tries to. His working-class parish is one of the most ethnically diverse square miles in Britain, and MacLeod works closely with members of the local mosques to engage disaffected teenagers and to foster friendships across the lines of race and religion.

Reviews

[Kevin McAvoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrative of youth beginning in a housing project and their lives updated over about 25 years.
Chapter 2 almost made me stop reading. Far too much theory and philosophy for a typical "from the hood" reader.
If the book is re-issued seriously drop chapter 2.
The Brothers and The Hallway Hangers.
I was cheering for the Brothers, they seemed like the smarter group.
Listened to the audiobook from Audible.com
Very good job with the narration and different characters.
I understand this book is part of the high school curriculum in the very neighborhood where the study occurred, that's good.

[Ainslie-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very insightful ethnographical study that keys us into how race + social status + belief in the American Dream can help or hinder your success.

Very good book. Read it for a college course and was pleasantly surprised.

[rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

simultaneously disheartening and enlightening—but bordieu comes up a lot so i’m happy