question about racial inequality?

Question

im currently working on an essay for my english class, and the topic has to be something about race.

im thinking about writing about the racial inequality in the United States and Im going to use the racial wealth gap as example. Statistics show that racial minorities have higher unemplyment rates and lower average incomes. Is discrimation the ony thing to blame? Or are the racial minorities responsible for it also? Please explain. thanks

Sorry for poor grammar.

thanks all for the information

Answer 1

There are many explanations for this problem than just racial inequality. Here are some things to look for in the website below -
1) Compare education levels by race - Both current and historical. That doesn't prove that there wasn't racial inequality 20 years ago, but if educational levels by minorities are increasing and getting closer to parity that would indicate that the situation is getting better. If I remember right from when I did this several years ago, that Asians were increasing their educational levels much faster than anyother group and Native Americans were moving into professional fields at a rapid rate.
2) Try to think of other factors that might hold back specific racial groups, then see if it is supported by evidence. The Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics is full of data. You might be able to find some white papers on the web on the subject.

I would be willing to bet, that historically racial inequality was largely due to discrimination, but as time goes by, it is becoming less. The issues that are hard to determine and I am not sure where to recommend that you go. How much does putting a disciminatory pressure on a minority 50 years ago, change their culture. Does that cause an inferiority complex to rise up, and then as a group they start believing that they can't succeed. I know I have observed that in families so I am not sure why it might not occur is a wider group.

Let me give you another example - San Francisco was settled by bankers and financier that wanted to take advantage of the gold rush. Oklahoma was opened to white settlers that were farmers. Nothing against either group, but does that mental mind set explain where the areas are today, a hundred to 150 years later. I would be willing to bet that is true. Another example, if you are from Texas, everything is bigger in Texas -- Does that mindset cause Texans to go out and try to prove it? If it happens to the people in a state, why couldn't it happen to a race of people that are constantly put down. -- These are questions that I don't know the answer to.

I know that brain power is not the explanation for racial differences. After having worked in business for 30 years, I know that it wasn't just racial inequalities that explained all the differences. I would see specific races that seemed to have a higher percentage of persons that were more "under the pressure of historical inequality." And other minorities that seemed to have a higher percentage that excelled. Again I know it wasn't brain power, it was other factors. Racial discrimination has been used as an excuse too much. Individuals excell from all races and minorities, and individuals fail from all races and minorities.

Wow did I go on longer than I intended!!!! You ask the right questions.

Answer 2

Present discrimination is not the only or even the main cause of income inequality. Much of it is due to more single parent families (one earner)
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2006/10/29/income-by-number-of-earners/. Also there has been a increase in the premium paid for education and growing up in economically disadvantage homes, attending inferior schools etc make blacks less likely to attend and graduate from college. Past discrimination, and also the effect of slavery in weakening families, are still effecting the young blacks today. However discrimination still exist. It did not disappear with the desegregation of the public school system in 1954, or the public accommodation and voting rights acts of 1964, or even the civil rights movement. Those opposed to civil rights legislation said "you can't legislate hearts and minds" and to some extent they were right. People who had been raised surrounded by racism did not change, but to a surprising degree their children did. Many of the people with power to hire and promote grew up at a time when discrimination was the norm, and still retain the prejudices of their childhood. There are even some prejudice twits among the the current 20 year olds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Education_Income_Race.jpg
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5932-2004Dec16.html

Answer 3

As an educator, I can tell you that the privileged of this country have better access to the more prestigious schools and universities. I am very much bipartisan, but our President , with a poor C average , was admitted to Yale. This is still the privileged white man's world when it comes to education. For those minority students who clawed and fought their way into higher levels of academic institutions and defied the odds... I applaud you. I sincerely do. Keep on bucking the system and proving others wrong who say you could not make a difference. You are the backbone of this country;, and my guess is that you will feel more passionate about this country than someone who got a free " pass" .

Answer 4

I studied a lot of sociology in college... with that said, I believe that it is kind of a trickle down effect. I will give you a scenario: back in the day, there was a lot of racism (like around 1940's or 50's). Minorities were not allowed schooling, etc, etc. So let's say you are born into a family in 1960 that is of a racial minority. You are probably born to parents who have little to no education and are only able to get jobs that pay very little. They probably live in the inner city, where you will go to a school that is under funded because many people believed that your education as a minority is not that important. So then you grow up in almost the same situation as your parents. You are stuck in the inner city because you got no opportunity to get a good education, which resulted in getting bad grades or dropping out, so you are not able to attend college because they accept you. I think this cycle just continues if you know what I mean. I think that things do get progressively better, but it is increasingly harder for people to be economically mobile. Especially people who are minorities. And, no, I do not believe that minorities are to blame. I think that schools of choice are to blame. Because no one wants their kid to go to an inner city school so people send their kids to suburban schools. This causes the state to give less funding the inner city schools. This means that these kids don't have access to computers and other things that prepare you for college like kids in suburban schools do. It is truly a viscious cycle. Good luck on your paper. I hope this helps!

Answer 5

The problem, and it's a serious one, is that most of the discussion about "Race" nowadays is based on a paradigm, which distinguishes ethnic groups based on the fallacy(the process by which a false English argument is proved to be true) that peoples of African-extraction in America--3,5, & 7 generations removed from the African Slave trade and slavery in America, were not and are not human beings. It's not only offensive to people of the aforementioned descent, but it is not correct: biologically in terms of genetics and anthropologically in terms of our species common ancestor.

REASONS the term "RACE"
(1 Biologically: all human beings have the same genetic compliment in terms of chromosomes(23 from the mother and 23 from the father=46 in all)
(2 Anthropologically: all human beings (Homo Sapiens) can trace their roots from Australopithecus, Robustus, Boisie, Neanderthals, Cromagnon, Homo Erectus, Homo Habilius, Homo Sapien to a common ancestor in Africa.
Yes, millions of years of evolution and we have not learned much.
The "issue"--and it's a serious one, is REALLY about "Social Equality" and power: social, political, and economic--"who" has it and "who" does not have it--PERIOD, OR THE LACK THEREOF for people of color since the beinging of the history of slavery in America, the US Constitution and the fallacy therein, which defined people os color as non-sentient beings, the SLAVE CODES which allowed it to florish and the Civil War, which was fought to preserve said slavery and all the fallout today because of our inability to look at the dark and wicked corners of our history as Americans. There is no such thing as "racial minority" outside of the context of an obsolete paradigm, which in 50 years isn't going to mean anything to anybody anyway. That's the word.

Answer 6

I think African, Hispanic, Asian, and European immigrants see the USA as a land of opportunity.
Optimism is more likely to lead to success than pessimism.
Some African and Native Americans hear about their history and believe that they are destined to be outcasts in American society because their ancestors were.

Good jobs require either education or ownership.
Most minorities are less likely to have rich parents who own a business or can pay for all of a college education.

USA Labor force by occupation
managerial and professional (31.1%),
technical, sales and administrative support (28.6%),
services (14.1%),
manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts (23.7%),
farming, forestry, and fishing (2.5%)

Answer 7

Time for a little political incorrectness again. If this is for college, it is highly likely that your professor won't appreciate these Facts.

Inverse proportionality

Illegitimacy Rates:
Black ~ 68%
Hispanic ~ 45%
White ~ 24%
Asian ~ 15%

Median Household Income:
Asian ~ $61,000
White ~ $51,000
Hispanic ~ $36,000
Black ~ $31,000


I am fairly sure that discrimination does not cause pregnancy.

The blatant excuses that people like Brandy & carly give do not help matters. The "It's not my fault; I am a victim of society" garbage makes things worse.

Answer 8

After reading your question, this scripture came to mind, "God gave eyes to both the rich and the poor" i inter pet this scripture and what it conveys , as much to say,God gave eyes to the rich and ;poor both, they see the same things, so why isn,t the poor person as rich as the rich person? Really when you look at people, do you yourself see them, as unequal to you, do you see yourself as superior to those around you, of whatever color or religion they might be? Or and do you feel yourself being discriminated against by the rich of any color,or religion?? sometimes i wonder, where does this term inequality come from, are people on both sides of the table or whatever you wish to call this arena playing games with one another, who is unequal, who has allowed themselves to be the inferior, are the people who think they are superior to others really living a lie and in delusion who is fooling who, if you believe you are superior, are you really, and visversa, are people who think of themselves as being dicriminated against and oppressed because of their race or religion really inferior, and really responding to illusion , is such discrimination really a mirage,,, sorry for the bad grammer and repeating myself here, hope you get something for your report

Answer 9

that can never happen because their will be people of all color that think they are the best