One of the things you need to pull yourself up is a healthy brain. But poor people can’t take that as a given. One enemy of sound mental function is lead, which seriously impairs cognitive development.
The kids whose brains were attacked by lead back then are now young adults. Many of them show the effects in lower intelligence and less self-control. Even today, poor African-American areas are unusually prone to lead poisoning.
Children who feel unsafe at school, who are disproportionately black, do measurably worse academically. Those who witness shootings or suffer violent attacks may develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
Chronic violence carries hazards for the mind, as well as the body.
“Simply put,” writes Princeton sociologist Douglas Massey, “people who are exposed to high levels of stress over a prolonged period of time are at risk of having their brains rewired in a way that leaves them with fewer cognitive resources to work.”
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