The Experience of Belonging From a
Socioeconomic Lens
By Rosanna Salcedo The Cambridge School of Weston • Weston , MA
There is , in this country , great stigma around being from a low-income or working-class background . The pervasive rhetoric is that if you are low income or working class , it is your fault . The stereotype includes ideas about being lazy and unintelligent . Worse yet , you are accused of being a freeloader , and it is assumed that you are prone to criminality . Race , ethnicity , citizenship status , and other identity markers are often conflated in the stereotype about class , adding additional layers of bias and discrimination . These ideas are perpetuated in the media and by public figures when they denounce public assistance programs , claiming they incentivize idleness and create a culture of dependency and indigence , and they often associate people of color and immigrants with being the primary recipients of government safety nets . This messaging creates feelings of shame and inferiority for individuals from low-income or working-class households .
This situation is something I am keenly aware of as a first-generation Latina living in the United States , navigating white , privileged spaces . My parents are working-class immigrants , and I am the first in my family to finish high school and attend college . I was a student on significant aid in college , and while the tuition award was generous and allowed me to attend , the school did
Page 10 Summer 2023 CSEE Connections