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Jamila Michener Profile picture
Jamila Michener
@povertyscholar
Prof @Cornell: policy, power, poverty, racism, health, housing|Author: Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism & Unequal Politics|@povertyscholar.bsky.social
Feb 18, 2021 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
This @ezraklein piece is rich and thoughtful. It centers the realities & well-being of women, particularly women of color, in a policy debate that can too easily focus on lifeless labor force participation stats or racialized tropes/stereotypes about work. nytimes.com/2021/02/18/opi… And of course, I'm cited! I talked to @ezraklein for an hour this week. Often, after intensive conversations w/ reporters, I worry that there is ample fodder for taking my ideas out of context or misstating them. But this piece captured the core of my perspective. Here it is...
Dec 29, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
A heart wrenching, resonating read. The emphasis on Black men, though important, was overdone at times (b/c many of the patterns described apply to Black women too). Nevertheless, so many parts of this rang painfully true. Some examples... propublica.org/article/how-co… I don't have to know the folks who were interviewed to get this b/c there are Black people (men & women) in my life like this. I have worried about them most as COVID has ravaged our communities, the folks who are pillars--& vulnerable in more ways than I can bear to think about.
Oct 18, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Racism is extra exhausting b/c it does not just harm you, it hurts people you love. I just had a long talk with my big brother. He drives Uber full time in NYC. Last night he came across a police officer who was driving the wrong way down a one way street w/out sirens on (1/n) To be cooperative & avoid trouble, my brother quickly put his car in reverse & backed up to make room for the officer to get by. Then, as the officer drive by, he rolled down his window & yelled out to my brother “that’s right, boy, I thought so.” My brother is a grown man.
Oct 18, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
As bad as these numbers are, I am so desensitized to the abysmal state of academia that @cornellgov granting Phds to 10 black people & 5 Latina/os in 22 years is actually more than I expected. Who are these 15? I legit want to know each person @DeondraRose @ProfCZM See Michigan & Chicago at the top. Why? Don’t know for sure but both have powerful scholars of color who have long been toiling to make space (intellectual & physical) for students of color. As a uchicago phd I can tell you that this made ALL the difference @cathyjcohen @mcdawson
Oct 15, 2020 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
5th grade Social Studies is raising my blood pressure. My son's assignment today was to compare Trump & Biden based on "evidence" offered in these informational snippets written by other children. I like that the teachers are broaching politics. But there are a few problems here. ImageImage First, other kids' personal, first person perspectives are deemed evidence. The assignment requires my son to "support" his answers with "evidence from the texts." My son was like, "what evidence mom, where is the evidence?" I don't know son, I don't know.
Jun 8, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
The volume of requests flooding my inbox tells me that there are a lot of people who have been moved by the events of the last two weeks & are looking to engage--to do something concrete. That is a good thing. Nevertheless, caution & thoughtfulness are really vital. Here's why: Despite intentions otherwise, it is totally possible for folks to do real harm to the very causes and people that they are now intensely motivated to help. That is why I have been thinking very intently about how to balance bold action & thoughtful caution. You should too.
Apr 4, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Available evidence (though injuriously limited) shows that Black people are being infected & dying of #coronavirus at higher rates. Disproportionate Black suffering is what many of us have suspected and feared because it is consistent with the entirety of American history. It's happening in Milwaukee
Jan 30, 2020 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
CMS released details today on their latest attempt to undermine #Medicaid. It's called the Health Adult Opportunity (HAO) Program. The euphemism filled "fact sheet" they posted is designed to obscure the purpose & consequences of HAO. Let me break it down. shar.es/a3O5J7 Notice that the "opportunity" here is for states. The emphasis is on giving states "flexibility"--something they already have an immense amount of when it comes to #Medicaid. Beneficiaries are not explicitly mentioned until the end of the intro paragraph, barely an afterthought.
Oct 20, 2019 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Circling back to offer further thoughts. To be clear, the paper is useful & the work is welcome. Moreover, Baicker and Finkelstein cite me, Jake Haselswerdt as well as Clinton & Sances in the paper. In fact, Joshua Clinton is an editor at the journal this is published in (1/n). So the issue is not that the paper fails to make a contribution or formally cite relevant research. Instead, there are two issues in my view. First, the paper passingly cites but doesn't fully engage relevant research. Surprise! I'm talking about my own work here (2/n)
Aug 12, 2019 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
This #publiccharge policy is going to hurt millions of the most vulnerable people in the country. That is, of course, the entire point. From the perspective of the work I do as a scholar--and from a personal standpoint--it's a dismal development (1/n). prospect.org/article/trump-… Public charge is a bit "in the weeds" for people who don't spend a ton of time thinking about what social policy looks like for the most marginalized, so here is a quick summary from the article linked above (2/n):
Feb 1, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
THIS👇🏾What is happening in Utah is a disaster for democracy. A grassroots coalition got Medicaid expansion passed via ballot initiative #utahdecided. But Utah legislators refuse to be responsive to the clearly expressed will of the very people who elected them. A well planned, far reaching, information rich, democratic process led to the success of #Medicaidexpansion on the ballot. Now, that very expansion may be overturned by way of rushed, secretive, dishonest political maneuvering. Democracy in exchange for partisan victory.
Jan 2, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Got my teaching evals today. I usually wait a few weeks before reading them b/c I get so attached that harsh evals can be hurtful to read too soon. BUT...since I have barely done any work for 11 days & I won't be teaching next semester, I decided to read my evals today (1/n) The thing about teaching evals is: there is no winning. Even though I am generally a popular teacher & plenty of students say positive things, it's hard to shake the negative comments. Here is what I aim to do: 1) listen to constructive feedback (pos & neg) 2) learn 3) grow (2/n)
Dec 12, 2018 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I'm annoyed by this article for lots of reasons, but mostly because it resonates. It would take all day if I tried to tell all the stories. Folk relentlessly doubt that I do what I do--for no discernible reason except that I'm a black woman nyti.ms/2GcK386 Old lady next to me on a flight a few weeks ago was the funniest. I was working, but she wanted to talk. So I obliged.

OL: What do you do for a living?
Me: I'm a professor.
OL: A COLLEGE professor😯?
Me: Yes
OL: But don't they need Phd's?
Me: I have a Phd
OL: No. I'm confused.
Dec 5, 2018 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
So, my 5 year old came home today talking about "Black Pete"-- whom he described as a "little black elf guy who wacks the bad kids with a stick." He proceeded to ask if he could draw pictures of Black Pete whom he casually referred to as a "bad Black guy" washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2018… My husband got wind of this first when he picked up the kids from school. He immediately e-mailed the teacher & explained why it was a problem (especially given that my son is one of the only black kids in the class). He even suggested readings to her. That man handled business💯
Aug 2, 2018 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Just finished up an R&R (2 more to go, then I can take a breather). This one is the first time I've co-authored with a man. It went well. We worked together on equal terms. Frankly, I've always been hesitant to co-author with men. That may sound like "bias" but let me explain. 2/ Honestly, I've often felt as if men don't listen to me as well, don't take me as seriously & aren't as interested in engaging me. Not ALL men. I'm not painting w/ that broad a brush. I've met plenty of men who are great interlocutors but I'm talking about general patterns.
Jul 17, 2018 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Catching up on some reading & I'm enjoying this @RussellSageFdn journal issue on anti-poverty policy. I will use these articles for my fall class on "the Politics of Poverty in the U.S." But here's the thing... rsfjournal.org/toc/rsf/4/3 2/There is scant substantive discussion of politics in this issue. That's not a criticism of the authors, they adeptly tackle subjects within their realms of expertise. The problem is that scholars of American politics have little to say about the politics of anti-poverty policy.
May 13, 2018 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Interesting @TCFdotorg report about ballot access & health policy. Some good stuff & lots of poli sci citations. It's worth noting that these grafs reflect precisely what I find in chap 4 of #FragmentedDemocracy 2/ Drawing on pre-ACA data (indeed, health politics & policy were happening pre-ACA), I find that Medicaid beneficiaries living in states that expanded benefits were more likely to participate in politics, while those living in sates that reduced them were less likely to do so
May 7, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I taught on race in my public policy course today (130+ students). One student asked what I thought about the Bell Curve & arguments RE: the cognitive inferiority of black people. The student who asked this is nice, engaged and (I believe) genuinely curious. 1/n But I have been thinking about what it means to be the professor, the ostensible expert, in front of a lecture hall teaching--and to have to respond (calmly, reasonably, logically) to the claims of people who assert your inherent inferiority. 2/n