Affiliations: Department of African American Studies, L.D. Wilder
School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, VA, USA | Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA | Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory, Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: M. Njeri Jackson, Ph.D., Department
of African American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 842509,
Richmond, VA 23284-2509, USA. Tel.: +1 804 828 1384; Fax: +1 804 828 8714;
E-mail: mjackson@vcu.edu
Abstract: Unemployment among African Americans with SCI poses a serious
challenge to successful recovery and community reintegration. Recent research
and public discourse about documented racial disparities in employment
following injury is often laden with assumptions about the absence of "social
capital," including networks of support, appropriate skills, work ethic or
viable work history profile. Such assumptions inform social policy aimed at
assisting the unemployed, including African Americans with SCI and are embedded
in explanations for reducing the role of government or the "state" in
addressing poverty and related social issues, one consequence of which has been
a reduction in programs and funding for persons with disabilities. Social
capital theory has also been used to justify an increased reliance on
non-governmental networks and institutions (particularly faith-based) to
address concerns of individuals and families struggling with employment, health
care or other issues traditionally addressed by the state. The emphasis on
individual initiative and cultivation of networks of support assumes the
absence of both among those who are unemployed. The purpose of this paper is to
describe and discuss the attitudes of African American men with SCI toward work
and their perceptions of obstacles and supports in their attempts to seek and
secure employment in comparison and contrast to explanations presented in
"social capital" theories. Using the qualitative component of a larger project,
which used mixed method design, we identify and present the perspectives of
African American men with SCI. The results of this study raise questions about
assumptions and policies based in social capital theories and suggest a need to
reconsider and reframe explanations for unemployment and those social
reintegration strategies embodied in related policies.
Keywords: Social capital, work, spinal cord injury, employment, health disparities, African Americans
