On
the shelf
Life
inside Chicago’s “Beltway”
In Working-Class Heroes: Protecting Homes, Community,
and Nation in a Chicago Neighborhood (University of
California Press) Maria Kefalas, AM’95, PhD’98,
paints a cultural landscape of race relations in the Southwest
Side neighborhood she calls “Beltway,” one of
the last remaining footholds for Chicago’s white working
class.
"Working-class homeowners
find that their financial circumstances have become inextricably
linked to their neighborhood’s future. For many residents,
living in one of the brick bungalows makes it possible to
afford other luxuries like private school for the kids,
a cabin by a lake, an RV, or possibly occasional vacations
to Las Vegas and Disneyworld. A move to the suburbs means
giving up the little extras."
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