UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 36, Page 3
July 9, 1992
Black philosophers explore issues of 'underclass' in new book

     Bill E. Lawson, associate professor of philosophy at the, has
edited a collection of works by black philosophers from across the
country addressing the issues of the urban underclass.
     The Underclass Question, just released by Temple University
Press, is a collection of works by contemporary black philosophers and
the first book to address the plight of the underclass from a
philosophical viewpoint.
     In a collection of original essays, the philosophers consider
questions raised by the existence of a group of people in the United
States whose lives dramatically contradict the American dream.
     The authors debate whether underclass is simply a new label for
the poor or whether it represents a distinct class.  In their
discussions, they ask:

     * Are there values that are unique to poor urban blacks?
     * What does rap music tell us about the underclass?
     * Do middle-class blacks have an obligation toward poor urban
       blacks?
     * What are the obligations of the American government to the
       urban poor? and
     * What is wrong with the current conception of urban poverty?

     The idea for the book came from a conference Lawson organized at
the University in l989 on "Philosophy and the Black Underclass."
     "What you believe about a group affects the public policy you
make for that group," Lawson said.  "This book challenges the
assumptions people make about such issues as poverty, race and the
legal system.
     "This is a book for people who make public policy, for those who
study sociology and the economy.  Some of the issues it raises call
into question the existing paradigms of poverty and race in America."
     In the introduction to the book, Lawson writes, "It is my hope
that, like Descartes' work, this volume will give social scientists
and those persons interested in achieving social justice reasons to
rethink certain assumptions about the relationship between poverty,
the black experience in America and governmental policies."
     Lawson grew up in a housing project in southern Philadelphia and
received a distributive education diploma in high school in l965.  He
served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and in l975 received a
bachelor's degree with honors in philosophy from the University of
North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  He later earned his doctorate in
philosophy, also at Chapel Hill.
     Before joining the University of Delaware in l986, Lawson was an
assistant professor of philosophy at West Virginia University in
Morgantown, W.Va.; at Montclair State College in New Jersey; and at
Spelman College in Atlanta.
     Lawson live in Wilmington with his wife, Barbara, and his son,
William.