Essay On African Americans

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America has a lengthy history on how it became the powerful country it is today, and although its history can be interrupted in many ways (depending who you ask) one thing that is for certain is that wealth has yet to be distributed equally amongst minorities. According to the article “Income inequality matter; Extreme gap in wealth makes society unstable.” Philip Meyer claims that the wealth gap between whites and minorities has existed since Ronald Reagans’ term of presidency (A9). Although Ronald Reagans’ term ended many years ago the mistakes that caused this imbalance of wealth (and its aftermath) while he was in office remains almost if not exactly the same as when the problem initially began (Meyer A9). The wealth gap continues to target minorities and is affecting our communities at an alarming rate, however, many attempts have been made to reduce its existence but the factors of income inequality, unemployment rates and discrimination before and after our recent 2007 recession prevents our country from eliminating such a toxic problem.

The equitable wealth disproportion between African Americans and Whites is still on the rise. Researchers have identified systematic barriers affecting the ability for African Americans to accumulate wealth. In addition, researchers indicate several possible factors such as, less intergenerational inheritance, higher unemployment and lower incomes (Desilver, D, 2013). Impoverished generations have been unable to escape their restricted economic condition. Whites have gained an economic opportunity for every unfavorable condition that has impeded African Americans economic opportunity over time forging grounds for economic disparity. Because of unfavorable conditions due to the effects of slavery, generations of African Americans have had to bear racism and inequality. According to Pew Research the median household income of a family of three in 2011 was $39, 760 for African Americans in whereas White American Family median household income is $67, 175 a household income difference of $27, 000 (Morin, R

Racism has always played a significant role in people’s life throughout the history of America. The effects of this have always been negative on the minority people. They are facing problems that they should not be facing like other Americans. Poverty When it comes to the topic of poverty, most of us will readily agree that race plays a role in poverty. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of who will step forward to end racism in America. Whereas some are convinced that it will never come to an end, others maintain that poverty can be diminished with the help of government and Americans. Minorities have to deal with the disadvantages that they have because of poverty. It is not their fault that they are in this unfortunate situation. The government is not doing their part in helping them get out of poverty. Moreover, Minority children are getting affected by this negatively. In a country like America, inequality should be nonexistent. It is shameful to see that Americans and the government are not taking any steps to stop this injustice with the minorities. Even though people think that inequality does not exist “[i]n 2000, after a decade of remarkable economic prosperity, the poverty rate among African Americans and Latinos taken together was still 2.6 times greater than that for white Americans” (Jenkins). Even when the country is doing well economically, minorities are still more likely to be in poverty when compared to the whites. There is a

Bowles, M. (2011). A history of the United States since 1865. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Historically in the United States, there has always been a significant difference in the way different races have been treated. Even after many years of laws and bills being passed to create a smaller gap in the inequality of the different races, we still see a large problem with inequality today. One of those inequalities is the difference between white and African American’s, in history whites have always been at the top, and blacks at the bottom, civil rights movements lead by black leaders in the 1950s and 1960s changed the way blacks were treated, but although there was some change our society still recognizes blacks as the inferior race. Looking at inequality today, blacks are still being treated differently in jobs, the criminal justice

For the past 30 years the “gap” in income received by the rich and the lower class has continuously continued to increase, showing no signs of decrease anytime soon. This gap has mostly affected the middle class, which is made up of mostly African Americans and Hispanics, making America less determined to correct such an issue. Given the circumstances African American’s are the focus of this issue due to the fact they make up majority of the middle class. It is known that modern racism exist within today’s society in various ways, one of which happen to be within the economy. For decades the economy has had its downfalls, however, it’s been facing an issue that it has been hiding from the rest of the nation. The gap that everyone speaks has

Another premise in this review focuses on the significant divergences of opinions about the plight of the African American’s situation here in America. Some scholars are asking, how has this new pattern of inequality for the African American emerged? Many scholars point to the decline of middle level jobs (Harrison & Bluestone 1988), the redistribution of manufacturing jobs away from large cities like Chicago and Detroit, where many jobless blacks live (Sassen 1988), and the rise of earnings inequality among workers of all races (Danziger & Gottschalk 1993) as causes. One manifestation of these changes may be that gains in earnings have been offset by a growing racial disparity in unemployment between black and white men (Moss & Tilly 1991).

It is time to take action in order to relieve African American citizens of strife placed upon them by way of inequality. There have been solutions stated to solve the given problems of lower education, substandard housing, and disproportionate payment of the African American race as compared, mainly, to the Caucasian race. As a way to combat lower education, it is recommended that schools become more diverse, as opposed to always being predominantly one race. Schools should be integrated with students of all economical and racial backgrounds, as well as teachers being diverse for students to have an authority figure to which they may relate. Not only do African Americans of low income need aid in a school setting, but they also need some aid in the home setting. Many African Americans are living in poverty and to contest the poverty that may later result in constant disciplinary action or even so far as dropping out of school, it would be useful for the government and school system to provide more assistance. Schools should implement extended time meant for unprivileged students to complete schoolwork, as well as the school board paying for supplies for said students, as the students are not able to afford them themselves. Finally, African American employees are nont granted the same pay as their differently raced counterparts. This may be counteracted by the Paycheck,

African Americans have been systematically discriminated against since the advent of slavery over 200 years ago and still continue to be oppressed. Slavery created the ideology that Whites were superior to African Americans, because slaves were seen as property and not as human beings (O’Connell 2012). Following this sentiment, African Americans were not allowed to receive an education, let alone learn how to read. These slaves were dependent on their slave owners for the total well being of themselves, as well as their families. This dependency has created a cycle of poverty that has spiraled into the 21st century, affecting heavily populated areas of minority communities. While there is poverty among all Americans, Black Americans suffer from poverty rates highly disproportionate to White Americans (O’Connell 2012).

The unemployment rate in the African American community is higher than any other group in American society. Institutionalized racism and unequal education opportunities have contributed to the unemployment rate. There are various reasons why the unemployment rate is greater in the African American communities. Consequently, Blacks are attaining higher education at a rate lower than other groups in society, and lack opportunities in the workforce. These are just two of the elements that cause the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites in America’s financial system. African men and women were brought to America for slavery. Once the slaves were freed, they had to find work and enter into the American workforce with little or no education. Therefore, countless Blacks were forced to take lower level jobs in American society. As a result, racism and inequality became institutionalized injustices that widen the wealth gap. Scores of Blacks were denied the opportunity to purchase properties and to attain assets and wealth. The majority of Whites do not know Black people’s reality and financial obstacles because White people do not face housing discrimination or scrutiny in the workplace. White people have benefited from the inequality that minorities face in the United States financial system. According to Hilary Shelton Deputy Director, Washington Bureau, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People “because of affirmative action, fairness is

The conclusion of the Civil War in favor of the north was supposed to mean an end to slavery and equal rights for the former slaves. Although laws and amendments were passed to uphold this assumption, the United States Government fell short. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were proposed and passed within five years of the Civil War’s conclusion. These amendments were to create equality throughout the United States, especially in the south where slavery had been most abundant. Making equality a realization would not be an easy task. This is because many problems were not perceived before and during the war. The reunification of the country would prove to be harder than expected, and entry into a new lifestyle would be

When I see African Americans, the first thing that comes to mind is dangerous and disrespectful people that impacted many events in a negative way throughout the years, that involved that particular group of people. As a helper in my field in nutrition, I would feel uncomfortable working with African Americans. With this being said, when I am surrounded by the group of people, I question myself, if I am safe or if anything negative was going to happen? Overall, I just get negative feelings when I am surrounded by African Americans. These thoughts and feelings have been ongoing, since, I was raised by my parents. My mindset of African Americans varied throughout my life due to multiple encounters that affected my

Race relations are an ever prominent issue in American society. Controversies focusing around race are a commonly seen smeared across the front page of the newspaper or headlining on the evening news. The opposition is usually between a minority group and "The Man," a colloquialism used by many Blacks to refer to the overwhelming power stemming from white racist tendencies. This racial tension can sometimes can cause the oppressed to band together against the oppressor. Many times, the most prevalent link is between the African American community and the Latino community. Here we find two groups of people with very similar lifestyles who find camaraderie between themselves when dealing

Today many people believe that we have obtained racial equality. However there are multiple reasons and statistics that contradict those arguments . For decades African Americans has been deprived of basic rights, “If America had racial equality in education and jobs, African Americans would have two million more high school degrees…(Raines)”. There are many drastic racial gaps from education to owning property. Throughout America’s history blacks have been limited, when it comes to education, property, and other things. If people truly believe that after four hundred years of enslavement and limited rights, can be fixed within one generation they are wrong. The African American community has faced