Early Friendships Can Change Our Lives
Jimarielle Bowie grew up lower-middle class in a family hit hard by divorce and the 2008 housing crisis. Her family instilled a sense of hard work in her. At school, though, she made friends from a wealthier part of town. Her friends’ goals, she learned, were not just about hard work, they were about college.
She signed up with them for SAT courses. Their parents helped her with college applications. Now, at 24, Ms. Bowie is a criminal defense lawyer and the first in her family to get a postgraduate degree.
Her story of rising economic status, shared by the New York Times, makes intuitive sense — we are affected by our friends. Now a new study of over 70 million people finds friendships across class are the biggest factor in social mobility — bigger than race, family income, and the quality of your education.
We’ve known for a long time that children in low-income families have a hard time rising in social class. Earlier studies have found that the class we are born into is the class we almost always end up in as adults. This new research reveals a remarkable exception.
The study, published in Nature, found that poor children who grew up where 70 percent of their friends were wealthy increased their future income by 20 percent on average. Diversity alone — bringing people of different classes together — isn’t enough to change lives. People need to forge friendships. The researchers did a complex analysis of millions of students and their parents using social media connections to determine the webs of friendship.
“Growing up in a community connected across class lines improves kids’ outcomes and gives them a better shot at rising out of poverty,” said Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist and one of the four principal authors of the study. The community has to have two qualities — economic diversity and a high level of connection.
Schools are one place where income barriers can be bridged. Where else do you see people weaving across class? Are you doing this in your community work? You can read more about the study in several places, like the New York Times, the Brookings Institution, Harvard Gazette, and the full report from Nature, and then share your thoughts by replying to the newsletter.
Upcoming Events
Living Our Values: Bringing DEI from the Office to Our Neighborhoods
In any social setting, we carry our histories and multiple social identities. Those are often subconscious. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at work have helped us become more aware of our own identities and value those of coworkers. These tools can also help us support our communities. In this one-hour virtual gathering, we’ll discuss what it looks like to bring DEI awareness into our local work, so everyone feels welcome and that they belong. We’ll hear from those using DEI to connect their neighborhoods about how to do this work. Weave’s Executive Director Frederick J. Riley will host the hour with Dr. Arvenita Cherry of Maximus, a leading provider of health and human services.
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Support Refugees on Campus
Welcoming Week is an annual national campaign celebrating communities working to be more welcoming to all, including immigrants. As part of the 2022 campaign, Every Campus a Refuge is hosting a free one-hour webinar (September 12 at 4:00 EST) on how schools can provide housing and weave refugee families into campus and local communities. The panel will talk about resettlement, how students get involved and learn about integration, and how school and community resources help refugees.
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How to Build Social Connection in Young People
Here’s your chance to hear Weave Executive Director Fred Riley talk about creating connection between young people today as part of the Foundation for Social Connection’s 2022 Action Forum. Mr. Riley's session will run Wednesday, October 12, from 1:40PM - 2:00PM EST. During this free, virtual, three-day forum, you can also attend other sessions on how community action reduces loneliness, or on ways to improve social connection using Meals on Wheels as a model. View the forum’s detailed agenda and register here.
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Connect with the Weave Team
Drop by and talk with us this month — If you don’t fully understand the Weave Project, want to meet the team, find out how to get involved, or have ideas to share, we are holding office hours monthly. Come say hello!
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If you haven’t already, join our online community today! You can get energized by other weavers from all over, find more tips and resources to further your weaving work, attend community events, and discuss how to build social trust in an energized community passionate about showing up for their neighbors.
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