The African-American Class System

There are 4 peculiar institutions of the United States stated by Loic Wacquant. These 4 peculiar institutes were developed to control, define, and confine the African Americans to the lowest positions in society. These institutions has spanned from before the United States came to be.The 4 peculiar institutes Chattel Slavery, Jim Crow, the Northern Ghetto, and Prison were designed to take control of the African American race for free labor. The African American race has been stigmatized and defined as living property, slaves, sharecroppers, menial workers, and criminals. All of these titles share a common goal which is to keep them at the bottom of society.

Still between 1865 and 1876, there was a culture identity crisis for African Americans. We cannot explain the roots of African American culture without

African Americans didn’t know that is was a Great Depression. African Americans have always been poor and knew how to survive. By 1932, approximately half of black Americans were unemployed, blacks always felt unemployed and under paid. Whites attempted to keep blacks out of work by not hiring African Americans. They used racial violence, and discrimination tactics to keep an underprivileged population depressed.

Racial discrimination is the main and ongoing problem in the social life of Americans. When we look at the gap of incomes between White and African Americans, we can see the inequality between these two groups. In general, whites have more annual earnings than their black counterparts in America. Lori Ann Campbell and Robert L. Kaufman emphasized that the wealth determinants, which are the indicators of socio-economic status, have effected more on Whites than Blacks. And even when society is organized, there is still some disparities on account of race and ethnicity. (Campbell and Kaufman, 2006). And income disparities between African and White Americans have definitely effected the peace of the social life. According to Campell and

Americans of African descent still have limited economic freedom, even after the end of the civil war on Monday. The hugest or in other words the most serious problem after the Civil War it was hard work. After the Civil War, Americans of African descent in this release, but we do not know where exactly to go, especially in the south. They traveled far, but some remained and hard work because they did not have anywhere to go and no one to see. Also, they were not able to get all of their land, and thus began the cycle of poverty known as sharecropping. War in South Africa to prevent Americans from exercising civil and political rights - is another example of a border post is passed Black Codes which were discriminatory

From the beginning when the African slaves first set foot on American soil, the Negro has been perceived as an inferior race. Unfortunately, the effects from slavery still take a hold of the Negro race even today. In this novel, Carter G. Woodson attempts to thoroughly explain why exactly this has come to exist. Although written years ago, the ideals in his book are still seen to be true. Woodson's theory is that because of the way the Negro is treated by the oppressor, he has been brainwashed to believe his inferiority to other races to be the truth. This in turn keeps him from trying to advance in any shape or form because he thinks that he will step out of his place. "When you control a

African Americans throughout the road to gain racial equality exercised many methods in order to attain such liberties. We start our exploration by viewing the most paramount methods to acquire racial equality; these methods included lobbying public officials through the court system and through peaceful public protests. We'll lastly address the violent methods used to gain racial equality but see how they were mostly unavailing.

Imagine a world where prestige is evaluated by neither one’s character nor accomplishments, but predetermined by skin color. Visualize a world in which the nuances of skin color are used to sort and divide people amongst two factions: White or Black. Envision society segregated. Whites and Blacks tossed into two different worlds, as if mankind is a pile of dirty laundry which needs to be organized by color. The reality is this hypothetical world did in fact exist in the United States prior to the 1970s.

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

Understanding that the poverty of black Americans did not just stay within the home is a big step in understanding urban poverty. Urban poverty reached outside the home, into the parks, schools and playgrounds. With poverties reach being that extensive, there was something other than adversity causing this. Louis Gates wrote an article about this called “Black America and The Class Divide.” (Jr.)

In this chapter Zinn explains to us the class divisions that happened in the American Colonies. He also explained to us that there were upper class also know as the elite class and there was a middle class and a lower class. He then further explains that this then caused a lot of conflict between them. He then explains the founding fathers as upper class men who just didn’t want the lower class to succeed. I found that part very strange because in my old history class what I learnt about the founding fathers was that they were trying to help Americans as a whole. We learnt that they were trying to help America succeed and be its own nation. Zinn then mentions that they were the new privileged class “ New privileged leadership” (Zinn). I believe

Social Stratification in the African American community has changed over the years. Social stratification is defined as a rigid subdivision of a society into a hierarchy of layers, differentiated on the basis of power, prestige, and wealth according to Webster’s dictionary. David Newman in Sociology Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life describes stratification as a ranking system for groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society. From slavery to the present, the African American community has been seen to have lower status compared to white people. Today, the stratification or hierarchy difference between whites and black are not really noticeable, but it is still present. However, during

The ideal concept of American society is one in which all of the citizens are treated equal in all every realm and situation. Class, race or gender does not divide the utopian America; everyone is afforded the same opportunities and chances for success. In this chimerical state Americans are able to go as far as their dreams allow and with hard work and perseverance any thing is possible. Many Americans subscribe to this pluralist view of the Country, believing that within our democratic system it is the majority who maintains control and sets policy. Unfortunately this idyllic country does not exist nor has it ever existed. America is made up of distinct social classes and the movement within those classes is for the most part,

Throughout America’s past, racial inequality has been a reoccurring theme in our society. Ever since the Europeans invaded America the white man has been superior compared to all ethnicities. No more than two hundred years ago, African Americans were slaves and only counted as three fifths of a person. Within the past hundred years African Americans have managed to obtain more equality in some situations, but in other cases racial inequality has become worse than it was when segregation took place. The gaps between the quality of education of white and black students receive appears to be growing instead of shrinking. The lack of quality education blacks receive has contributed to significant health differences between

As students, we are often taught about the different caste systems and how America’s system was so much better. But is it really? If you have grown up and studied in American high schools, where textbooks are mostly censored, and the history lessons are sugar-coated to present this country in the most positive light, which prides itself on freedom and equality for all, then this book comes as a rude awakening. History has pretty much always been told from the perspective of those in the position of power, while the less fortunate are always brushed to the side with no mention. This book provides a rare and disturbing insight into the cultural history of class and