But so the question for me was, okay, so where does the ghetto come from? And my first thought was, well, it must be something in black behavior. It was obvious that they came from the ghetto, itself, the surroundings.
I realized that while there were certainly behavior problems, those came from someplace. As I began to see mothers who were 13 and 14, it was hard to blame them for abusing their children if they were themselves, abused children. If they can’t take advantage of medical care we’re offering for free, then no wonder they’re poor.įortunately, my patients instructed me and I kind of stayed with them. I started sliding toward that American point of view which says that poor people are responsible for their own poverty. But after working here two or three years and observing the behavior of the poor people I worked with, you know, they didn’t come in for their appointments, wouldn’t tell me the truth, they were addicted, they were abusive or receiving abuse, all those things. Could you tell me why you set out to write Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen, and what brought about the book and the idea?ĭavid Hilfiker: When I worked here, I came with the usual liberal assumptions that it was really kind of society’s structures that had caused poverty. It is a welcome addition to a field that may, indeed must, one day spark change.”ĭan Falcone: I’m here with David Hilfiker, author of Urban Injustice. Mumia Abu Jamal said of the book, “Hilfiker knows a good deal about an American which most folks in this nation have very little real knowledge, other than disturbing stereotypes, clichés, and misinformation. David Hilfiker is the author of Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen, published by both Seven Stories Press and AK Press. In 1990, he co-founded Joseph’s House, a community and hospice for formerly homeless men dying with AIDS. The Christ House is a medical recovery shelter for homeless men, where he and his family also lived.
In 1985 David Hilfiker started the Christ House in Washington, DC to practice medicine in the center of the city. David Hilfiker is the author of Urban Injustice.
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