Race, Class, and Housing Insecurity in Desmond's Evicted

Introduction: Poverty, Race, and Housing in Evicted

Matthew Desmond addresses the intersection of race, class, and gender in Evicted. The case studies he uses take place in Wisconsin, which serves effectively as a microcosm for the United States. While the overarching issues Desmond discusses can be one of the book's main draws, it is the details within each story that compel readers to take action or learn more about issues like institutionalized poverty, institutionalized racism, the perpetuation of the housing crisis, and systematic economic exploitation. The people Desmond profiles lack the power to stimulate change, and yet through collective action and self-empowerment it becomes possible to foresee policy change—or at least normative changes in addressing the needs of the poor.

As the title suggests, Evicted focuses on the causes and ramifications of both legal and quasi-legal evictions that take place with alarming frequency. By conducting field research separately in predominantly white and predominantly Black neighborhoods, Desmond also shows how race factors into the causes and effects of poverty and housing insecurity. Housing insecurity affects each person and their family differently, but it ultimately causes tangible problems linked to instability and fear. Discrimination and segregation compound the problems that African American families face. While technically discrimination is illegal, race-based decisions on housing still exist, and few individuals have the resources—time, energy, or money—to pursue litigation when their next bed and meal remain an uncertainty. Bias certainly exists, as Desmond demonstrates with quantitative data showing that white landlords are more likely to rent to white tenants than to Black or Hispanic ones, even when other variables are controlled for (346). Race-based segregation also prevents solidarity among the poor—the type of solidarity that could facilitate policy and legislative changes.

Coping Mechanisms Among the Poor

All of the individuals Desmond profiles employ coping mechanisms to subvert or undermine their condition and status in society. Even when those coping mechanisms do not bring about real change or self-empowerment, they allow for psychological resilience or social networking. Lying is a common coping tactic, used to influence landlords (Desmond 3). Many single mothers also feel compelled to lie to their children in order to protect them from harsh realities and to insulate them from fear, anxiety, and pain. A few actually hide their children from landlords, who prefer not to rent to single mothers (Desmond 26). Some people subvert the system in other ways, such as by stealing electricity (Desmond 66). Tenants can sometimes pay off part of their rent through under-the-table work for landlords—a process that provides landlords with easy access to cheap or free labor while helping tenants avoid eviction (Desmond 135). Those who receive state or federal assistance such as food stamps find ways to stretch these meager resources as far as possible.

All of the people profiled must stretch their limited resources, using the majority of their income to pay rent while finding creative ways to avoid starvation or unsafe, unsanitary living conditions. Some self-medicate with drugs or alcohol; others suffer grave psychological and physical illness as a result of their circumstances. Many do not cope well, while others maintain a sense of humor and hope that transcends their suffering. Because asking family members or friends for support carries its own stressors—and because those traditional means of social support are often unavailable—some turn to strangers and other "disposable ties" (Desmond 163). Networking with disposable ties can preserve pride and protect family relationships, but it also prevents the development of self-reliance, self-efficacy, and empowerment that would more meaningfully help people facing eviction. Desmond further shows that while the poor often help each other, relying on disposable ties can expose vulnerable individuals to abuse.

Domestic Violence, Gender, and Criminalization

Abuse, domestic violence, and related issues are prevalent among the poor, as these behaviors can function as coping mechanisms within deeply constrained circumstances. The women profiled in Evicted often conceal their experiences with domestic violence because making an official police report would attract unwanted attention from the landlord and likely result in eviction (Desmond 189). Coping strategies reflect gender- and race-based social norms: women are more prone to being evicted or to remaining victims of abuse rather than changing their circumstances, due to financial instability and the absence of adequate support systems. Women like Crystal turn to prostitution as a financial coping mechanism and as a means of achieving a semblance of financial independence (Desmond 268). Many men, on the other hand, act out in ways that lead to criminal charges, and Black men in particular are more likely to be branded as criminals rather than have the root causes of their behavior addressed. The coping mechanisms used to survive the damaging effects of systemic poverty are thus complex and deeply interconnected. Hopelessness and despair function as social and psychological precursors to antisocial and violent behaviors—a sense that nothing matters and nothing works.

Some people simply lower their expectations gradually until they tolerate intolerable living conditions. As conditions deteriorate, individuals learn from experience that complaining to the landlord risks disastrous consequences. Getting on a landlord's bad side can lead to sudden eviction on short notice and impaired ability to secure future housing. Because eviction can also make it harder to arrive at a job on time, housing instability exacerbates the already significant challenge of finding viable work. Being unskilled or under-educated could be addressed through adequate access to pathways for personal improvement and professional development, but these opportunities rarely, if ever, exist. Not only are the poor often regarded as write-offs—beyond help or unwilling to improve themselves—but their status in society serves a definite purpose. Landlords and property owners capitalize on the poor, and the system enforces their right to do so. Most of the poor lack effective coping mechanisms, instead succumbing to disillusionment, cynicism, fear, and depression.

Works Cited

Desmond, Matthew. Evicted. New York: Penguin Random House, 2017.