ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we turn to the question of inequality and how it is understood, framed, and discussed (or not) within activist settings. The fieldwork for this book took place at a time when the national economic recession was impacting the lives of nearly all Americans. The working class saw wages cut and positions downsized or eliminated, and the middle class, after dwindling in numbers for decades, was suddenly and harshly squeezed by the real estate collapse and financial crisis. Students graduated to find there were no jobs, homeowners faced the heartbreak of foreclosure, and baby boomers saw their retirement savings disappear. Providence, Rhode Island, was among the cities hardest hit. The numbers of unemployed, homeless, and poor swelled; reliance on food banks climbed 45 percent; and Depression-era scenes, such as hundreds of people lining up for a few dozen jobs at a new hotel, were noticeable throughout the city (Providence Journal 2010; Rhode Island Community Food Bank 2010). As the global economic crisis cascaded into a city-level fiscal disaster, the thin safety net standing between the working poor and the growing population living in poverty began to dissolve. Public transportation, social services, and public assistance were reduced; cuts to public education led to teacher layoffs, larger classes, and closed schools.
