No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City

by Katherine S. Newman

"Powerful and poignant.... Newman's message is clear and timely." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

In No Shame in My Game , Harvard anthropologist Katherine Newman gives voice to a population for whom work, family, and self-esteem are top priorities despite all the factors that make earning a living next to impossible--minimum wage, lack of child care and health care, and a desperate shortage of even low-paying jobs. By intimately following the lives of nearly 300 inner-city workers and job seekers for two yearsin Harlem, Newman explores a side of poverty often ignored by media and politicians--the working poor.

The working poor find dignity in earning a paycheck and shunning the welfare system, arguing that even low-paying jobs give order to their lives. No Shame in My Game gives voice to a misrepresented segment of today's society, and is sure to spark dialogue over the issues surrounding poverty, working and welfare.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Poverty, Economics, Anthropology, Urban Studies, Class

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Katherine Newman is Professor of Sociology and James Knapp Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. Author of several books on middle class economic instability, urban poverty, and the sociology of inequality, she previously taught at the University of California (Berkeley), Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seem to have a habit of choosing public policy books because I am interested in the personal stories of individuals affected by the socioeconomic problems at hand, but then find myself tuning out when the author gets into the nitty-gritty of the actual policy issues. Maybe for leisure reading I should stick to fiction for awhile...

Anyway, the book is great, and I wish it was updated for the 21st century, as it is based on research from the mid to late 90s when the U.S. economy was growing and the labor market was tight (pause for sigh of nostalgia for the Clinton years). But even then, the fast food chain known under the pseudonym "Burger Barn" was turning away the vast majority of its applicants in Harlem. The author and her research team followed a large number of Burger Barn employees and rejected applicants over several years, studying how their lives functioned (or not) economically and socially.

Two things stuck with me from the book. First, I was remiss in not really understanding how impossible it is to make it financially on the minimum wage. At the time, it was around $4.25 an hour, and almost everyone who works at Burger Barn makes the minimum wage. Even the shift managers were only making $5. At today's rate of $7.25, a minimum wage worker is bringing home less than $300 a week, assuming zero taxes. The authors note that many of these workers in cities are not high schoolers earning spending money but adults supporting extended families and parents (and most of them have a high school education). I'm trying to fathom how a single parent in NYC could expect to sustain her/himself on $300 a week (in today's dollars).

The second point is related. Despite the fact that the odds are severely stacked against them, most of the Burger Barn workers the team interviewed subscribe to the conservative principle of achieving the American dream of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. They might be making $5 an hour with no benefits for five years, living in substandard housing, lacking affordable or safe childcare, but they are ambitious, seeking further education or planning to, dedicated to working even when (pre-reform) welfare would have provided them with more income, and optimistic that they will make it up to management or find another higher-skilled job that will allow them out of poverty and into the middle class. To me, this seemed laudable: How many of us would find the same inner strength if we were in their position? But it also seemed a bit depressing and unrealistic, especially given how much the economic and political picture has changed in the past 15 years. When our Congressional leaders favor low taxes for millionaires and perceive expanded access to health care as a violation of freedom, I lack the Burger Barn employees' optimism for their own prospects.

[PB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for an anthropology class. I really did like this book because the author does her best to breakdown stereotypes of the poor, particularly the poor people of color. However, in her zeal to portray them as "just like anyone else" but hit with hard times, particularly hard times reinforced by racist, capitalistic institutions, she creates this vacuum of personas where she is only essentially providing information about the most "stellar" of community members. We essentially ONLY have stories who are in some way dedicated to their education, or are only working on honest, lawful jobs. I wish she had expanded on the themes of the book a little more to show that those who fall into crime also are essentially trying to provide for themselves and their families, and fall into crime because they have been failed by the sister.

The book is set in the 90s, so though it deals with a lot of public policy that has stayed the same, the economy since then has tanked. An update on this book will be a welcoming refresher.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very long book. I only got about halfway through. I was really hoping for some more personal stories like in Matthew Desmond’s “Evicted” but it was just a lot of information.

[Nate Trauntvein · Rating 4 out of 5]

K.S. Newman, a sociologist at Princeton University, wrote No Shame in My Game (1999), an ethnography portraying the paradigm of the working poor in inner city New York (specifically Harlem). Newman communicated years of research (in-depth interviews, onsite observation, and participant observation) in a very logical, easy to understand manner. This information was organized thematically into chapters (i.e. Getting a Job in the Inner City, Family Values etc…) with several participants being followed throughout the book.
No Shame in My Game was written to fill a gap that exists in the literature on inner city poverty. Many social scientists have focused their research on the unemployed, welfare reliant populations in the inner cities across the United States. Newman draws attention to the people who are working (often full-time) jobs that do not pay enough to pay rent and other bills, let alone provide healthcare, childcare, or retirement benefits. This book completely dispels the myth that people who live in poverty are lazy and “if they would just get a job they could live the American dream.”
To address this topic, Newman focused on the low wage earners at a fast food chain (pseudonym “Burger Barn”) in Harlem. Not surprisingly, much of the book focuses on young people (ages 14 to 23) not deviating from the typical low wage earners at a “Burger Barn” establishment.
In my opinion, No Shame in My Game makes a solid case for social reform for the working poor. In many cases, it is easier for the working poor not to work at all and simply live on welfare. Those working at the “Burger Barns” or countless other low wage jobs are not oblivious to their situation. Many of the interviewees in the Newman’s book acknowledge the fact that they could be living on welfare. However, they choose not to because they see inherent benefits in working for a living and not relying on government assistance. Even as a middle class, white, suburbanite, I was able to truly understand the people Newman interviewed through her constant references and analogies to middle class workers.
One character I could relate to was Jamal, a 22 year-old man who was married and had a child. While he was able and willing to work at any job, he was not able to get full time employment. He still worked all the hours that his boss would give him. At age 22, I was recently married and looking for a job. Even though I had no children, it was nerve racking being out of work for a month and eventually I was hired a telemarketer (a job I hated and appreciated greatly). Unlike Jamal, however, I had the luxury of having family who would have gladly helped me. He had no where to turn, no family, no friends, no mentors, or other social support. It would have been easy for Jamal to give up and do what all of his friends were doing (collecting welfare, leave his wife, or deal drugs), but he worked at “Burger Barn” and struggled to make ends meat. This book is an excellent example of public scholarship. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in educating themselves about the struggles of the working poor.
Though I loved this book, there were several items that should have been addressed in more detail, including: more elaboration on the impacts of teen pregnancy and childcare; better explanations of welfare regulations; and a stronger focus on the constraints of continuing education through or past high school.
The above considerations for further clarification in no way suggest that I would alter the current content of this book. Newman did a wonderful job communicating the plight of the working poor to the general public. Again, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the struggles of the working poor.

[Kressel Housman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fast food industry meets Columbia University in this absorbing sociological study of the working poor. The author followed the daily lives of a number of “Burger Barn” employees, and you can’t help but respect these people. They work at low-paying, disrespected “McJobs” even though other paths, like welfare and crime, might actually pay more, at least in the short run. But for those who can stick it out, rude customers and all, a job at “Burger Barn” can lead to promotion into store management, and from there, community college and upward mobility. Many of the owners of the franchises, at least in Harlem, worked themselves up in precisely this way, and see themselves as community activists as much as entrepreneurs. Of course, not everyone has a success story. Flipping burgers can be a great first step for a teenager, but it’s a tragedy when a fully grown adult gets stuck there. And many do.

Written in the 1990’s in the midst of Clinton’s welfare reform, the author makes many policy recommendations. Simply requiring welfare recipients to work does not in and of itself help. For one thing, most of the women receiving welfare were the child care providers for the working poor, so sending them out to work sent many others among the working poor back home. And that is just one of the many vicious cycles the book points out.

I imagine this book would be more popular with Democrats than Republicans, but really, I think its point is something more universal and human, something beyond politics. Poor people’s values aren’t that different than those of the middle class. They value an honest day’s work and they recognize that education is the key to upward mobility. Arguably, they value them even more than the average middle class person, for whom these things are a given. And there are things that can be done to help people raise themselves out of poverty. Some of the programs she cited at the end, most of which are locally-based, really seem worth replicating. So I recommend this book to everybody. I have yet to figure out what I personally can do to improve the situation, but the book has certainly made me want to try.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was probably a good book to read in 1999, when it was first published. I found it so out of date that it was actually hard to read and could not complete it. I think an updated version would be much better.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Newman's No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City is one of those books I've been meaning to read for quite some time. I first encountered excerpts from it about a year ago, while taking a class on Family Policy that focused heavily on urban poverty, but we didn't read the whole book for class, so it found its way to my personal reading list. A year later, I actually picked it up from the library and started reading it.

It's quite good. Newman is an anthropologist at Columbia, and she and her team of graduate students spent the better part of two years talking to hundreds of employees, managers, owners, and job seekers at several fast food restaurants (pseudonymed "Burger Barns" in the book) in Harlem. Newman's goal was to bring the perspective of the working poor into the poverty debate, which at the time of her research and writing (the second half of the 1990s), was heavily centered on welfare reform. She and her students work hard in the service of that goal, logging hundreds of hours of interviews and even, in some cases, taking jobs at "Burger Barn" themselves in order to get a better view of the culture and the employees.

Along the way, in a combination of anecdotes from her interviews and evidence from academic and popular sources, Newman dispels several myths--that anyone can get a job in the fast food industry, that only teenagers who aren't trying to fully support themselves (much less anyone else) work for minimum wage, that people who work full-time year-round make enough to support themselves, and that an education is a magic panacea for all employment ills. Newman painstakingly chronicles the hurdles her subjects must overcome in order to even get a job at Burger Barn, much less move beyond minimum wage, and points out key differences between the unlucky job seekers she interviewed and those who were actually employed. She also makes a strong argument about the moral conservativism of many of Harlem's poor residents, and how strongly work is equated with dignity, just as it is--or is supposed to be--in America's middle class.

For anyone who is interested in poverty studies, this book isn't to be missed. Though the slice of American poverty Newman chooses to focus on is quite specific, narrowed down to just a few blocks in Harlem, many of the arguments she makes can be broadened to include all of the working poor in this country. Where they can't, if you feel you need more perspectives, I'd highly recommend David K. Shipler's The Working Poor: Invisible in America (Knopf, 2004), which takes a broader look at many of the same questions Newman addresses.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know nothing of urban poverty except that it doesn't look appealing while driving past at 65 miles per hour on the interstate, or it looks dangerous in movies - then this book and When Work Disappears by William Julius Wilson are the two books you should pick up.

Through years of interviews and following entry level workers at "Burger Barns" around the boroughs of New York, plus hands on experience working those jobs, the author and her assistants have put together an even-handed, if a bit pie in the sky, account of how the urban poor actually live (and work).

Those anecdotes of people not wanting to work, living off welfare, milking the state- well, yes, they are true, sometimes. But so too are the people who wake at 5 am, take 2 buses to school, leave school to go to work, then head home for an hour of homework and five hours of sleep. The former get the attention in the mainstream media and politics - it is easy to demonize that type. The author gives the attention to the latter.

The book is a bit pie in the sky - it does not hold most of these people responsible for their poor choices. Yes, having children as a teen is a choice. One can abstain from sex, use birth control, practice oral - all those things that most of us did to avoid children in high school (by choice or not). I feel that she should hold some of her examples to account for their behavior and the results it brings, but can forgive the optimism.

In all, this book presents an unseen picture of the struggles and tribulations these people go through working unforgiving, unrespected jobs, in an attempt to better themselves. I certainly have a different idea of the working poor as a result.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just happened to see this at the library and so I picked it up.

The first problem with this book, is that it was written 20 year ago. Minimum wage was 4.00, Clinton's welfare reform had just started, and there was no universal health care.

It is just a problem is sociology reports that once they are 5 years old, they world around has changed enough that it isn't on point any more.

Good things with the book - It improved my opinion of the "burger flippers." Granted, this book was written purely from and inner city Harlem perspective. But it did show that usually the young people employed at "Burger Barn" as they called all fast food restaurants, were working towards finishing school, and they knew that education was important to get them out of the rut.

It also showed that some of the hardest issues with working poor is dealing with the extras. Children, spouses, divorces, single parenthood, extended family issues, not having an extended family support system.

I was glad that I read the book, but also Very glad when it was over. There was a lot of repetitiveness and MANY personal stories. Which is good, but it allowed me to disengage myself from the text.

As for what we can do for the working poor the author had several ideas: wage subsidies and tax breaks for hiring 'hard to hire' groups like paroled criminals. 2nd- moving people to the jobs, which isn't that credible. 3rd - revitalize unions, 4- create better child care and health care

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was informative in regard to statistics on the working poor and the realities that many of these individuals face. I was particularly interested in the discussion of stigma in regard to fast-food jobs and the chapter on family values, though there were a number of other topics explored.

One of the advantages of the book was the use of individual stories to help illustrate her claims. I was hooked by the tales of real people (names changed to protect identity) and their lives, woven in nicely with the facts and opinions the author aimed to present.

On the other hand, I felt that a lot of her claims needed to be taken with a grain of salt. Her sample was arguably not representative of the working poor as a whole, being that it focused only on fast-food employees in Harlem. Additionally, some of her claims were hard to substantiate based on the methods she presented. I would also be inclined to agree with critics in that her portrayal of the working poor seemed rather romanticized, perhaps for the sake of keeping an audience.

Overall, I would not discount the book as it clearly represents one view of the working poor, and it certainly captured my attention as I was able to get through it all in a day. I don't necessarily believe, however, that this is the only perspective one should take when looking at the working poor.

[Joshua Hedlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a detailed look into the lives of the urban working poor. Armed both with comprehensive data and numerous anecdotes, Katherine Newman dispels many myths and stereotypes about those who strongly desire to follow the American work ethic but don't have the knowledge or connections to move up from where they are. The book focuses on fast-food workers in Harlem, examining in detail their ambitions, skills, work ethic, and challenges. It repeatedly drove home its core point that despite low pay, stressful working conditions, rude customers, and the pressures of school and children that all make a fast-food job barely more attractive than welfare, the deep desire to earn a living is so prevalent among the poor that local restaurants are continually flooded with applications, and many of the few who make it press on despite little chance of advancement. At the same time, the book is nuanced and well-rounded in its treatment of the variety of attitudes, viewpoints, and experiences among poor workers, their employers, and their friends and families. It is hardly the end of the debate for how to improve the lot of America's urban poor (the solutions offered are generally unconvincing), but for anyone who has ever expressed an opinion on that plight without really knowing anyone living it, this book is a great place to start.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine S. Newman, Ford Foundation Professor
of Urban Studies at Harvard, focuses much of
her research on America's urban poor. In No
Shame in My Game, Newman describes the results
of her two year research project in Harlem,
a project in which Newman and others studied
the lives of many of Harlem's working poor.
Many findings were surprising and contrary to
popular depictions of the poor. Most poor
people, Newman found, want to work and
spend numerous hours in fruitless searches
for work. The book uses exerpts from subjects'
own diaries and details the day-to-day lives
of the subjects to create a powerful story
of the working poor in America. Recommended.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people talk about welfare and the poor, but few really understand the nature of poverty in America. Most people in poverty work, part time or full time, in the regulated economy or under the table, for cash or for in-kind services, many work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. What does it take to keep your head above water in Harlem (where the study was conducted), how possible is it that you can pull yourself up by the proverbial boot straps and escape the clutches of minimum wage? What opportunities are available to those willing to work up the ranks? Who make up the ranks of the working poor?
This book is an illuminating study on the working poor, work opportunities in urban areas, and what the U.S. can do to help those who are working full time but barely surviving, whose lives can be derailed with disturbing ease. Highly recommended to anyone interested in general social issues, family well-being, education, or youth social work.

[Tori]

2004-I was actually assigned to read this book for my Introduction to Sociology class. While I might not have picked it up on my own, I found that it wasn't that bad. Newman tells us stories of the working poor in Harlem, many who work at the local ""Burger Barn"". Their struggles do really grip you and give you a different picture of these people. While a couple of chapters were a little bogged down in numbers, and Newman assumes her readers are familiar with some aspects of welfare and such, overall, the book was an interesting look into how people try to ""make it"", that is easily accessible to most.

[Chan-joo Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that brings the reader into the lives of the working poor in the ghettos. The author and her assistants spent several years tracking the lives of the working poor in Harlem. She shows us the family connections that help the working poor find childcare and support in times of need, and shows the challenges they face in trying to find a good job. Let's just say it's one thing to hear sweeping generalizations, and quite another to see a guy in the year 2000 getting up each morning at 5 a.m. for a long commute to a 5-hour shift earning $4.25 an hour. The book goes deeply into policy considerations as well. Great read.

[BM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by an anthropologist this work provides insight into the lives of the working poor, particularly inner city individuals who work in the fast food industry. 12+ years after welfare reform we are keeping tabs on the number of jobs created. Yet the conversation also needs to address the kinds of jobs--do they have benefits? can working families afford childcare with the wages? is there opportunity to grow and advance? These are important considerations because work without real opportunity does not alleviate the cycle of poverty.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my Homelessness & Poverty in America class, it's technical book but shows why welfare reform is not such an easy fix as kicking people off assistance. It's a very complex subject. Life happens to everyone no matter how hard you plan but what happens when there's no plan in place? How do you recover after you child has been taken from you and you're jumping through all the hoops to get her back?

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Shame in My Game documents the working poor of inner cities. Newman does an excellent job capturing more than statistics with extensive and long-term case studies. Newman falters somewhat in the final chapter before the epilogue when she documents several of the programs attempting to address the problems of the working poor. Newman's greatest strength is her compassion and insight for the complicated lives of the working poor.

[Karah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on my initiative. Judging from the cover, I thought it would be more recent. Still, this glance into the economics of inner-city NYC during the Clinton administration proved fascinating for me. I was a little girl during that time and I recall it as prosperous. Quite sobering now that I know scores of people were suffering mightily. It disappointed me that the author lost touch with Jamal.


It would be glorious if this book received an update.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

depressing book, but a good introduction to the problems facing the working poor as they attempt to move up the career ladder (definitely covers many of the same issues we see with the frontline healthcare workforce today, though newman's book focuses more on minimum wage workers in the fast food industry).

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is less academic in approach than most since it is full of case studies which are much easier to read than pure theory. It was still a hard read that took longer than it probably should have, but I am glad of the perspective that it gave me.

[Ryan Ohlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents an incredibly well-written and well-researched view of the working poor living in the inner city. This book uses personal stories to show the broader structural and institutionalized problems the working poor face every day. I highly recommend this book.

[Elizabeth7218 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book for one of my classes and I have to say it was an excellent book. The thing that really stuck with me after I read this book was how the women had to put up with some screwed up relationships because they couldn't afford housing on their own. It was really eye opening.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative report on the working poor in Harlem and their struggles to make a living on or below the poverty level without taking advantage of the welfare system. It followed over 300 potential workers, giving family backgrounds and ethnic histories, into the job market.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

So goddamn long and the same points are repeated multiple times. It was interesting enough but it could have been half as long. It is, as expected, incredibly dated due to the nature of the book but the princples should hold rather steady.

[Todd Gade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sociological study of Harlem, NY fast food workers. Interesting book but I found it difficult to complete. It is redundant in some places and could have been more interesting if the book spent more time discussing daily struggles of the study participants.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book's argument is interesting, but it's too much of a case study to be enjoyable.

[Amee · Rating 3 out of 5]

don't miss this book. it's a study on how inner city jobs and income are a cyclical process. real stories.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just started...but you know how much will I love reading what an UMC white woman has to say about poor black people in cities!

[Bela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could only read 1/2. Was kinda dry and too academic.