"But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow."
However, I am not so sure this is true. There have been many African American people who have worked hard, sent their children to school, and are now living high end lifestyles. Take for example Nelvia M. Brady, who has her PHD and is an author, columnist, and owner of This Mother's Daughter, Inc., Chicago, IL.
(Many more successful African Americans can be found HERE) Have these certain few been given some sort of advantage? I do not believe so. They or their parents have worked hard in positions and jobs that may have been les than desireable, but through hard work they have ascended to the top of the socioeconomic ladder. This is part of the American dream. Like many presidents (like Obama himself), CEOs, and millionaires, an American can grow up poor, work hard, and die rich. African Americans who experience poverty could climb the ladder too. All they have to do is put their foot on the first rung.
To a certain extent. I think that the Jim Crow/Segregation laws have put Black-Americans at a disadvantage. Those laws have not been gone for that long of a time in the grand scheme of things and it placed the Black community in quite a hole. Woman received the right to vote in the 20's, but in the workplace still earn notably less than their male counter parts and that was 90 years ago. These laws have not been out of commission for too long and it takes a while for laws with such a broad reach to not affect society today.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there was much discrimination toward blacks in the 1950’s 60’s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. Furthermore the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibited discrimination in housing.
ReplyDeleteThe passage of these important civil rights laws provided the framework for greater opportunity among lower-class blacks. However since that time many in black neighborhoods have remained low-income and black-on-black crime has not abated. In fact, during the days of discrimination black community members had to support one another. Today, however, they prey on one another.
There are probably many reasons for African-Americans feeling downtrodden. However, the two primary ones are the insidious welfare policies that ensued and the black community imploding upon itself.
The well-intentioned welfare policies had the unintended perverse consequence of incenting men to leave women rather than marry or become husbands. Women on welfare received higher payments with each additional child and payments were cut if a wage earning man was in the household. These actions resulted in fracturing families and enslaving single parent black mothers by the welfare system that was supposed to help them.
Furthermore, as the welfare system weakened the black community it did not raise income but rather kept the low-income locked into their “working-poor” jobs and neighborhoods. Many young men were unable to find gainful employment and resorted to collecting welfare or taking up criminal activities, such as drug dealing – anything that would bring them money, prestige, or a distorted sense of power in an otherwise powerless life.
It is a sad fact of history that African-Americans generally have not prospered as have other groups due to the very policies intended to help them. Among this, they have not helped themselves. There have been some that have escaped their neighborhoods and been able to transcend the hopelessness, frustration, fear, hate, and violence. There has also been an increase in the number of middle-class African-Americans since the 1960’s. However, it is difficult to dispute that many African-American lives and much potential has been wasted.