Racial Disparities In America Essay

Since America’s beginning, race based barriers have mired the fulfillment of our shared principles and many of these barriers still persist today. The institutionalized inequalities are detrimental on an individual basis as well a societal basis. Racism does not only affect the individuals that are being oppressed but also how society functions as a whole. Racial inequalities have manifested in American society in ways that underlies a wide range of societal domains such as housing patterns, educational opportunities, healthcare inequality, and incarceration rates. Current events and experiences demonstrate moreover that racial inequality is still adamant in the American culture. Long after slavery, the Jim Crow Era, and the civil rights movement, racial inequality has taken distinctive forms which affect many people within a racially oppressed group. Racial segregation at large is embedded within a structural matrix that not only permeates in the American culture but in our private and public institutions. Disparities in the criminal justice system and housing patterns remain a key barrier to racial equality in America. In order to eradicate racial inequality, there needs to be policy solutions that place fundamental changes to a system with profound historical origins, one that structurally disadvantages minority groups.

HIV/AIDS Disparity among African Americans Health disparities are the differences in accessing and receiving quality of health care provided to different populations (book). The multiple causes of disparities may include gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, stigma or socioeconomic status. One of the common disparities in the US is among African American women who are infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its viral successor, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). There is no clear answer as to why disparity is an ongoing problem within the population but factors that contribute to this epidemic include race itself, poverty or low income and lack of access to care

The 1950s and 1960s was a period of growth and prosperity in America. Features of the common life included innovations such as television, dishwasher, and home air-conditioning. However, not all Americans equally benefited from the economic growth of this period of time. In addition to Jim Crow laws and unequal economic opportunities, America’s society became further segregated as many whites moved to the suburbs while blacks remained in run-down city neighborhoods. These many inequalities sparked the civil rights movement, where African Americans stood up and fought for their rights using nonviolent methods. The movement influenced the emergence of many prominent figures including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was successful in achieving equal rights for African Americans through nonviolent protests such as the Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, and marches.

Since the topic of this paper has been clearly been stated one of the first questions that may come to mind would probably be how did all of this come about. This change in our country didn’t occur immediately but was the product of a long time of planning and manipulation of state African Americans had been left. One of the first tools used keep black people from learning was the creation of the black codes. These were laws in put in place to keep African Americans in positions of menial labor and farm work. One of the biggest codes of the black codes was the vagrancy laws that were put in place mostly in the southern regions of the

The book Race, Incarceration, and American Values describes mass incarceration as essentially a legalized form of genocide that is slowly destroying the fiber of African American families and communities. It provides explanations for the origin of mass incarceration as well as the reasons for the disproportionate level of African Americans in the prison system. Glenn Loury, along with Pamela Karian, Tommie Shelby, and Loic Wacquant discuss how America has let fear and greed cause an inequitable landscape for citizens who have the misfortune of being born the wrong color and of the wrong social-economic class. The principals of equality and freedom on which America was founded has become nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Maybe the pride America displays to the World as a Global power incapable of wrong doing is what is holding it back from recognizing the mistakes it made and undergoing to process of change. Or, maybe it is what we fear most. It is what we know in our heads and hearts; but never dared to say. That it is a careful crafted system to keep those with power in power!

The struggle for social and economic equality of Black people in America has been long and slow. It is sometimes amazing that any progress has been made in the racial equality arena at all; every tentative step forward seems to be diluted by losses elsewhere. For every "Stacey Koons" that is convicted, there seems to be a Texaco executive waiting to send Blacks back to the past. Throughout the struggle for equal rights, there have been courageous Black leaders at the forefront of each discrete movement.

The problem addressed in this dissertation is that the federal minimum wage in the United States (US) has been at a stalemate for several years. (Addison et al, 2013) While policy makers are undecided whether to sign a bill into law that will increase the federal minimum wage, the workforce is held in a quandary. The inequality of wages across the country is unbalanced, because some states and various industries are exempt from the minimum wage laws. (Clain, 2012) Due to lack of awareness of the minimum wage laws, the workforce employed by these industries or resides in the states that are exempt from the minimum wage laws, is at a disadvantage on wage equality. Unfortunately, even if some individuals are aware of the minimum wage laws, the lack of financial resources to relocate for better employment opportunities or even to obtain a higher education will be difficult for these individuals and their families. (Baron, 2014) Workers who earn only the minimum wage or below, are likely to have a lower education level, less skills or experience, or a disability that limits their ability to perform in certain jobs. (Hoffman, 2014; Smith, 2015) Consequently, individuals and their families are left to depend on government assistance programs, in order to make up for the income that they’re lacking. (Mărginean & Chenic 2013; Milkman et al, 2012) In some cases, the possibility of these individuals or groups participating in criminal activities is more likely to occur, due to low

In the United States the time has come for the next president to be elected and the political fervor has come early this year with an unconventional, surprisingly interesting primary race. With the coming of a new commander in chief the incessant grilling of the candidates has begun and issues, such as poverty in the United States, are being given the national spot light during debates. The issue of poverty has recently gained traction among citizens as well as politicians, and to the credit of the activists behind the increase in outspoken rhetoric gaining increased traction. When each of the politicians on their respective stages discussed the issue at hand, the validity of the problem heightened. This has created minimum wage as its own political issue, which has moved it away from being a suggestion for a problem into a problem of its own. Minimum wage is a flawed approach to the ever expanding problem of poverty. Actions will be taken to battle poverty, however, minimum wage is not the best direction for America to proceed in. A higher minimum wage does more harm than good, hurting the American economy, increasing the price of needed goods, and raising unemployment.

When we hear the words “justice system” we should be thinking about fairness, justice, honesty, righteousness. However, contrary to what comes to mind in reality the justice system is rife with inequality, injustice, corruption and dishonestly. The definition for institutional inequality is the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group of society (about.com) and this is what people of color are facing on a daily basis. On this paper examined the research about the ratio of African American and other ethnic groups incarcerated versus whites, also how this affects the community, why such a high percentage of African Americans ages 25-29 are incarcerated and the racial disparities that exist in the justice system.

The United States has always been a country that has functioned on the basis of capitalism and focused on economic gains and stability. The reproduction of the slave system seems to be inextricably connected to race in America, as well as underlying political, social and legal systems that operate in society. Multiple scholars have noted that the social world that is existent today is a result of the economic agenda that is concentrated in politics. The carceral state alone reveals how African Americans in the United States are caught in the institutions that dictate and extort their identities in order to contribute to a system that is set up for their downfall. From slavery, Jim Crow in the south and the ghetto of the north, to the Hyperghetto and prison system of today, the United States has operated through different forms of labor from different, dominant social types that range from slaves to lowly skilled workers to criminals. In order to change the capitalist system that creates loopholes that ensure the imprisonment and lack of fundamental rights and resources for African Americans, it is important to analyze and consider the prison and convict leasing systems, prison abolition and blackness as criminality as a whole.

The African American has been behind the eight-ball since slave ships transported the 1st slaves to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade. African Americans seizing equivalent status to white men at the end of the Civil War can be scrutinized as an achievement in capitalism. Investing in uplifting the African American from within itself is the only the way social views will pivot. Focusing on educating themselves will lead to financial gains for the community closing many gaps statistically across America between racial groups. The financial freedom received will in turn allow events to be handled differently for many African American in our justice system and the changing of how the events are perceived will change the views of the race that was once deemed 3/5 of property. No longer will the African American be lagging in the equality race in the country if these changes are achieved. Russell Simmons, a Hip-Hop mogul said, “I don’t think financial freedom and economic empowerment is the last leg of the civil rights movement. Taking one step toward financial literacy takes you two steps toward personal consent.” The journey of the African American achieving financial freedom will lead to overcoming systematic injustice as long the African American invests within in

Rapid expansion of civil liberties and rights in America occurred during the last half of the 20th century. The social, moral, and racial injustice shown towards the African Americans community during the 1950’s and 60’s lead to the birth of a new nation. Throughout the South many African Americans were denied the basic right to vote, barred or segregated from public facilities, subjected to insults and violence, and misrepresented by the judicial system. In the North, black Americans faced discrimination towards employment, education, housing, and many other areas. Due to this racial inequality, many African Americans and their supporters banded together to form civil rights movement for change, and in do so they were subject to significant

The unequal pay makes life hard for African Americans, but even the government did not support African Americans in their pleas against segregation, and this is important for students to know about in order for them to develop a deeper sense of sensitivity towards the situation. It is hard to grasp the idea that even the government, which is the system that is in charge of the community, does not truly support the community, but instead supports a part of the it—the non-colored people. With all the media coverage of racism and violence today, students are easily desensitized. It is easy for students to think about the present, but it can be beneficial for them to learn about these situations

There are several issues that arise from the inequality in wages such as; not being able to feed the family, pay the bills and raise children. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour. The current federal poverty line for a family of three is at $19,530. Working 40 hours a week, every week for a year the minimum wage would pay someone $15,080. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “3.6 million people, earn the federal minimum wage or less.” These Americans are working in the food, retail and the home health industries. They provide for our daily necessities yet they are unable to provide for themselves. Workers, like Aarin Foster have to work crazy shifts and do all they can just to get by.

In this paper I will discuss the social problem that is affecting the Black Community currently. Since the establishment of this country our ancestors, regardless of what background or ethnicity, have fought and lost their lives to live in this country that we call the Land of The Free. I believe that this motto should be stood by, but it is not. It is very ironic due to the fact that it really is not the land of the free if put into perspective. When we think about all the problems in the world, it is more like the land of the prisoners. Our country has the highest incarceration rate in the world. It is stated, “…per a population of 100,000 people, 716 are incarcerated”(Wagner, web). When comparing that to the following country, United Kingdom, their ratio is 147 people are incarcerated per every 100,000. These statistics speak endless amounts of words about our country and the problem is occurring right in front of our eyes. Within these high incarceration rates throughout the U.S. we can also see how Blacks are being sentenced longer and harsher for the same crime committed as whites. This is due to the unjust actions in our criminal justice system being corrupted by the judges who have different interpretations that are sentencing citizens based on their own reasoning and opinions. Without knowing it, this is affecting blacks in their communities and the country itself. The rest of my paper will discuss this social problem further.