Introduction
Social issues are conditions that are undesirable to the human society. They are those factors that infringe on the dignity of the human race. For purposes of a dignified living, these problems must be corrected by the individuals and other stakeholders (Leon-Guerrero, 2015). Social problems include contemporary issues affecting the current social setup. They also entail perpetual undesirable conditions affecting the life of the individuals. According to Leon-Guerrero (2015), most of these elements are extensive and damaging to the human. Examples include unemployment, poverty, racism, sexism, crime, and homelessness.
In this paper, the author will analyse poverty as a social problem in the Mississippi Delta. The issue will be analysed from the perspective of LaLee’s Kin, a documentary touching on the poverty of families working and living in the cotton farms in Mississippi. In addition, the author will discuss the identified social problem from the perspective of three sociological theories and concepts. Finally, the current state of poverty in Mississippi Delta will be reviewed.
Poverty and the Legacy of Cotton Farming as Depicted in the Documentary
In the documentary, LaLee’s family is shown as having a large number of members living in small trunks in farms around the state of Illinois. The surrounding area is characterised by paddy fields, and cotton plantations traversing the whole region (Sarha, 2015). There are few trunk houses occupied by black people. All these elements are an indication of poverty in the region. Also shown here are few schools that are struggling to provide quality education to the learners. Two of these schools are under probation and are working to move away from the ‘warning levels’. Leon-Guerrero (2015) explains that social issues are those problems that bring a community down economically. The community plays a critical role in providing real solutions to these problems.
In the documentary, poverty is portrayed when members of LaLee’s family are unable to go to school due to lack of economic empowerment (Sarha, 2015). They lack pencils and papers to attend classes. LaLee explains that nobody in her family got the chance to go to school. She gives the example of her granddaughter. The girl is bright, but she lacks books to attend classes. As a result of poverty and subsequent lack of education, LaLee’s lineage does not have a chance in modern American society.
The Connection between Poverty as a Social Problem and Sociological Theories
The society is characterised by systems of interactions and interrelationships that place individuals into particular belief and cultural realms (Crossman, 2017). In most cases, people experience things that end up constraining their actions. Poverty is one of the problems affecting the quality of life in society. It is related to socio-economic constraints, which affect the ability of the individual to lead a fulfilling life. An example is the level of poverty found among the families working in cotton farms, which is the focus of the documentary LaLee’s Kin. In the documentary, the headteacher of the school explains why development cannot take place in the community. According to him, the community cannot prosper given that majority of the people here lack formal education. In addition, the prevailing conditions do not motivate the children to focus on school. According to him, the only visible things in the community are large cotton plantations and farmlands, something that does not inspire hard work among the future generation (Sarha, 2015).
According to Crossman (2017), one needs to interrogate history and other aspects of life to understand social behaviour and the relationships existing in the society. According to Leon-Guerrero (2015), this can be achieved with the help of different concepts and theories that have been formulated to help understand human interactions. Poverty and its impact in the society can be reviewed from the following symbolic interaction, conflict, structural strain, and labelling theories.
Symbolic theory
According to Leon-Guerrero (2015), humans are social beings. As such, they can interact with subjects and objects found in their surroundings. Individuals assign meanings to these objects and events (Crossman, 2017). Poverty is associated with several elements that can be interpreted as symbols. They include poor housing and lack of education. Most of these symbols are available in LaLee’s Kin.
Conflict theory
According to this theory, scramble for resources and power differences are some of the factors that lead to tensions in society (Leon-Guerrero, 2015). Uneven distribution of resources leads to social change (Crossman, 2017). Poverty may lead to conflicts in society and within the family. The conflicts may arise as people fight over limited resources. In the documentary, LaLee’s community is characterised by conflicts due to poverty (Sarha, 2015).
Structural strain theory
According to Leon-Guerrero (2015), individuals set certain goals that they strive to achieve in life. For this to happen, some resources are required. Social structure and culture are required to accomplish these goals (Crossman, 2017). The inability to access the required resources causes tensions in society, leading to crime and other social ills. Poverty is one of the indicators of social constraints in society. In LaLee’s Kin, the community is unable to achieve its goals of socio-economic prosperity due to this social problem (Sarha, 2015).
The Current State of Poverty in Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta is a unique region in the US. The land is fertile, and people have a rich cultural heritage. However, in terms of economic development, the delta lags behind other regions in the country (United States Census Bureau, 2014). The situation is largely the same as what existed at the time the documentary LaLee’s Kin was made. According to a report released in 2014 by the country’s Census Bureau, approximately 48.5% of the people in Mississippi live below the poverty line. The figure represents the level of poverty in the region between 2008 and 2012 (United States Census Bureau, 2014). The situation has not changed much in this region. A lot of people are still living in poverty.
In spite of the high levels of poverty in the delta, there has been modest growth since 2000. For example, since 2010, the number of people with a Bachelors degree has increased. In addition, the number of people without a diploma and whose education level is below the 9th grade has reduced (United States Census Bureau, 2014). The implementation of the Mississippi Delta Region Development Plan 2016-2019 is expected to improve things further.
Conclusion
Most blacks and Indian Americans are living in poverty. As portrayed in LaLee’s Kin, Mississippi has a large of blacks living in poverty. People in this region lack access to proper formal education. As such, they cannot qualify for white-collar jobs. They rely heavily on casual jobs in the cotton fields. Infrastructure and economic development are slow because of the low levels of education. All these factors contribute to poverty in this region.
References
Crossman, A. (2017). Major sociological theories: A list of sociological theories and frameworks. Web.
Leon-Guerrero, A. (2015). Social problems: Community, policy, and social action (5th ed.). New York, NY: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sarha, R. (2015, June 28). LaLee’s kin: The legacy of cotton (2001). Web.
United States Census Bureau. ( 2014). Number of people living in ‘poverty areas’ up, Census Bureau reports (Release No. CB14-123). Web.