There is much to be discovered about race, whether it be through genetics, sociology, biology or history, there is a lot to be understood and recognize how it is structurally embedded in our institutions. In the article “Race- Stalking The Wild Taboo” written by Richard Spencer, there are very interesting points that are made in regards to his belief that Race is genetic and all around biology which, in turn, leads to social inequality. Spencer claims that because of evolution and genetics, social inequality is no one’s fault but their own because of low SAT and IQ scores compared to others but ignores that those results come from a long line of institutional racism from schooling and neighborhoods. David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard University, …show more content…
Whether it be because of illness, home environment and home resources, or access to early education, there is a strong indication that SES affects IQ and testing scores in school. According to the American Psychological Association, “...low SES in childhood is related to poor cognitive development, language, memory, socioemotional processing, and consequently poor income and health in adulthood.” (2018) Because of low SES, the government then allocates fewer funds to the schools in the area and have an increased dropout rate and lower test scores. In Spencer’s essay, he takes many of his points from the controversial book The Bell Curve written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray. “...American schools are only failing to negate millions of years of human evolution.”(Spencer 2017) Spencer writes in his article that these IQ score differences are biologically based rather than SES based. Even at same amounts of family income, it was recorded that African American children still scored lower in their SAT scores compared to white children. What Spencer does not mention or leaves out, is that this is cumulative from all schools and districts. In inner-city schools, there is a very high ratio African American students and other minorities versus the white population which is around 20%. (Greene and Peterson 1998) These inner city schools low funding and resources which would mean lower SAT scores compared to another school with better funding. Spencer leaves out the fact that many African Americans live in inner-city areas because of past red lining and no matter their SES, they may be stuck in an area where their child goes to a lesser-funded inner-city
This being despite constant growing evidence that race really does matter in the post-civil rights age, effective solutions are in short supply and as the authors talk about "mutual obligations." The authors brought up a nice analysis of American race inequality, focusing on the rise of white supremacy and the continuation of white privilege despite the removal of direct institutionalized segregation. Solving current racial problems seems nearly impossible because it requires addressing largely unseen forces of indirect institutional
Race, simple external differences linked to other complex internal differences, has historically created issues in American society. “Race and racial inequalities are one of the most vital issues confronting contemporary U.S. society,” explains Sociologist Ronald Takaki. In the past race has had both biological and social implications across the country.
Differences in social-class, family structure, and discrimination against blacks as a disgraced group are all proposed causes for the black-white gap in test scores. If the gap is caused by a difference in social-class or family structure, then when the
Angela Y. Davis, the author of Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex, shows how private organizations benefit from the incarceration of expanding quantities of people of color. Davis argues that in spite of the fact that the jail blast has expanded the benefits of worldwide partnerships, it “devours the social wealth” of our groups by depleting them of their human and monetary assets. Davis thesis is where she states that the political economy of detainment facilities depends on racialized presumptions of criminality. The cycle continues of the racist laws which follows into racist prison system which then follows to racist policing practices. The prison industrial system materially and morally ruins its occupants and
148). [This excuse means that Black teachers are inferior to White teachers, and is, therefore, an insult to Black teachers.] For segregationists, the lack of Black achievement resulted from “inherent Negro inferiority” (p. 148). [This is the old environment verses genetics argument. The segregationists were right. As many scientific studies show, genetics is a far more important determinant of intelligence than is environment. Genetics accounts for about 75 percent of intelligence. (V. The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Inheritance of Mental Ability by Cyrll Bur, Man’s Racial Nature and Race and Politics: the Racial Controversy by H.B. Isherwood, Race Difference in Intelligence by John C. Loehlin, Major Findings from Twin Studies of Ability, Personality, and Interests by Robert C. Nichols, Racial Difference in Mental Growth and School Achievements by R. Travis Osborne. Race, Intelligence and Bias in Academe by Roger Pearson, Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective by J. Philippe Rushton, A Question of Intelligence: The IQ Debate in America by Daniel Seligman, and Integration Is Genocide by Thomas Coley
Whether or not we claim that race is a socially constructed or a legitimate area of scientific inquiry, it all comes down to the primary idea that we all belong to the human race, regardless of skin color, facial features, height, weight, or any other specific physical characteristics. It is truly unforgiving that many individuals all across the United States have evolved with the mentality of this social and political category of race which has been deeply rooted in our brains, surprisingly, without in actuality realizing that everybody in the entire world is closely related to one another. Nonetheless, sociologists and gender scholars, such as Dr. Dorothy Roberts and W.E.B Du Bois, argue that race is a social and political concept and does
Race is a hot topic in our world. We all think we know what race is. After all, we are constantly being bombarded with it whether it be from media, politics, or sports. The truth is that race does not revolve around the idea of biological traits or characteristics. It is a modern concept that we as a society have created to divide people into categories. I will argue that race is socially constructed from a biological, political history, and sociological standpoint, and how it may impact other areas of our society.
Very often bright students don not consider their academic abilities high, because comparing not individually, but as a group in whole. That’s why very often there is a stereotype that Blacks are poorer educated than Whites. There are several reasons for that. First of all the root of such difference lies in constant racial segregation of African Americans from the rest of the population, which led to obvious differences in education. Historically, African American students never had the same educational opportunities as White students and, therefore, started out at a different place altogether. African Americans began with a system that banned their participation altogether and that later provided limited access, but only as a matter of law, not as a commonly accepted practice. Although, presently, legal restrictions on access to schooling and higher education have been lifted, the remnants of racism still exist at the very core of the schooling
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once stated, “No human race is superior; no religious faith inferior. All collective judgements are wrong. Only racists make them.” Imagine being discriminated against for something you couldn’t control; like the way you look or talk, what you believe in or the way you live, how would that make you feel? Now imagine being dehumanized for that something you can’t change. It may sound preposterous, but during the holocaust that’s precisely what happened. The dehumanization of the Jewish midst the Holocaust is vital to learn about because it enlightens us on the unfair bigotry, ghastly living conditions, and how the Jewish had their identity stripped away.
“The socioeconomic achievement gap in education refers to the inequality in academic achievement between groups of students. The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college-completion rates, among other success measures” (Ansell, 2017). Typically, when discussing the achievement gap, educators are comparing the academic progress of African-American students or Hispanic students to the progress of white students. More-often-than-not the white students will have more educational achievements than their non-white colleagues (Ansell, 2017). The most widely accepted theory as to why students with higher socioeconomic status (SES) do better academically is high parental involvement, access to economic resources and access to highly qualified teachers (Huang, 2015. Pg.6). Students of low socioeconomic status often live in poverty. This means that the student may not have sufficient school supplies or even someone at home to help him with his homework. There are numerous children in the United States’ school systems that are failing due to the achievement gap. These students are at a disadvantage because the school systems and teachers do not notice or even care about their home life and how it comes into play in their education. It is important for our nation to not only understand the achievement gap but take steps toward correcting it.
Although race does not exist in the world in an objective way, it still is relevant in today’s society. It is obvious that race is real in society and it affects the way we view others as well as ourselves. Race is a social construct that is produced by the superior race and their power to regulate. “The category of ‘white’ was subject to challenges brought about by the influx of diverse groups who were not of the same Anglo-Saxonstock as the founding immigrants” (Omi and Winant 24). Frankly, ‘white’ was the norm, the others were considered an outcast.
Racism and prejudices seem to be one of the causes for why African American students achieve low in academics. According to Garry Bold, even though funding levels of black schools are the same as wealthy white schools, predominately black schools will remain unequal. The reason why predominately black schools remain unequal is because educational reforms such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) keeps probing into black schools in attempt of creating a new and improved way of teaching African Americans students so they can be like their white
Racial inequality is quite a hot topic in our society. Not everyone sees eye to eye, but racism is embedded into our very way of life. “Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics” (ADL, 2017). Race wasn’t developed for the way people use to in modern society. Scientists used race to classify the differences between each type of group of individuals. Science played a crucial role in the development of racism. Whether people want to believe it or not, every person has either witnessed a form of racism or has been a victim. Most people don’t intentionally commit these actions, but the society that we live in indirectly degrades certain types of people, while the opposite race benefit. While there are many aspects that racial inequality affect, I believe that education is one of the biggest problems. Along with that, I believe there are major problems in the employment and income area that needs to be addressed. Health and residential segregation are also factors that play a role in racial inequality. On the bright side, we as a community of diverse and very unique people have made some strides in the name of equality for all. However, we have a long road ahead if we want to call the United States of America a land that is truly free.
As mentioned earlier there are stereotypes that come with socioeconomic status, including that children from low socioeconomic status families tend to not perform as well in school as children from higher socioeconomic status families. This is not because the children from low socioeconomic status have a deficiency that causes them to underperform, but rather it is because there is an expectation that the children will not do as well and so the children walk into the classroom facing a losing battle (Schmitt-Wilson, 2013, p 228). The education that a child receives in the earliest years of their life sets up a framework for the education through the rest of their lifetime (Stull, 2013, p 54). That being said, if a child does not receive the best education in the earliest years of their schooling, it is not surprising when they do not do as well in school and do not seek higher education after high school. Another common stereotype is that children from low socioeconomic status will not go on to get high paying jobs, but even if this is true it is not
“Environmental influence during the first few years of life is crucial to all later abilities, especially intellectual ones”(Lightfoot et al., 2013, p.437). In the United States many children don’t receive an excellent education due to living in neighborhoods that are economically poor, typically where many minority children grow up. Children usually learn through social enhancement, imitation and explicit instruction that are provided in their culture from their families. The children who come from low-income backgrounds are found to do poorly in subjects, as well as standardize testing. Some thoughts are whether standardized testing discriminates against ethnic minority students and students from low income backgrounds, which usually rank below from other students in other socioeconomic status.