ABSTRACT

This classic text addresses one of the most important issues in modern social theory and policy: 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.

part One|153 pages

The Hallway Hangers and the Brothers as Teenagers

chapter 3|26 pages

Teenagers in Clarendon Heights

The Hallway Hangers and the Brothers

chapter 4|11 pages

The Influence of the Family

chapter 5|22 pages

The World of Work

Aspirations of the Hangers and Brothers

chapter 6|29 pages

School

Preparing for the Competition

chapter 7|24 pages

Leveled Aspirations

Social Reproduction Takes Its Toll

chapter 8|17 pages

Reproduction Theory Reconsidered

part Two|117 pages

Eight Years Later Low Income, Low Outcome

chapter 9|41 pages

The Hallway Hangers

Dealing in Despair

chapter 10|43 pages

The Brothers

Dreams Deferred

chapter 11|31 pages

Conclusion

Outclassed and Outcast(e)

part Three|191 pages

Ain't No Makin' It? The Men at Midlife

chapter 12|73 pages

The Hallway Hangers

Weeble, Wobble, but We Don't Fall Down

chapter 13|57 pages

The Brothers

Finally Finding a Foothold

chapter 14|57 pages

Reproduction, Redemption, and Respect