Racial Inequality Presentation
Racial Inequality in the United States
Wealth Inequality
Wealth disparity between white and black Americans like other disparities it is rooted in the legacy of Slavery, the wealth of previous generations being a predicting factor for current wealth, it is no surprise that without wealth redistribution America will continue to have a large racial wealth gap. Generations of income inequality have taken their toll, although with the end of legal segregation and job discrimination one would think this would close the gap in wealth somewhat. And from the 60s to the 80s this was the case with the wealth gap shrinking from 1963-83, however by 2013 this reversed to similar levels of wealth disparity as was seen in 1963[1]. When it comes to employment in 2017 it was found that equally qualified black job applicants are 36% less likely to be called back than black applicants[2].. With the continuation of job discrimination black incomes remain lower, which despite the outlawing of hiring discrimination in 1964 remains unsurprising given the persistence of unconscious bias. So when it comes to economic opportunity America remains a deeply racially unequal society, a gap which appears to have grown. The reasons why this persists is in part because of the history of oppression of African-Americans, given the fact that inheritance is a significant predicting factor for wealth with Menchik and Jianakoplos (1997) estimating that it accounted for 10-20% of the racial wealth gap. Wealth inequality is rising in the USA to unprecedented levels across all racial groups and given the disproportionately large number of working-class people in Black communities this wealth inequality hits black communities harder than white communities. Wealth inequality has vastly increased since 1964 when the top 0.1% of Americans had an income 46 times the size of the bottom 90%, by 2018 this rose to 196 times the size[3]. Given that the top 1% of households are 90.9% white[4] this rise in wealth inequality disproportionately harms Black Americans. As such it becomes evident that even if discrimination were eliminated (which is not the case), due to the generational nature of poverty without large scale economic redistribution gap between Black and White people will persist.
Housing Inequality
This economic inequality is seen clearly in the disparity in housing between Black and White Americans. Inadequate and de-facto segregated housing remains as a legacy of FHA policies from 1934-68, redlining would label minority communities risky for mortgage loans resulting in Black people receiving less financial support. From 1934-68 only 2% of federally insured home loans went to African Americans[5]. This like other forms of wealth has generational effects contributing inequality. This is shown clearly by the gap between black and white home ownership with Black home ownership rates at 41.6% opposed to 71.9% for white non-Hispanic people in 2015[6]. This ultimately leads to less financial stability and fewer opportunities as a result of being in impoverished neighbourhoods with a climate more prone to crime, disease and poorly funded services all of which serve to ensure racial inequality lasts longer than legal discrimination.
Educational Inequality
These inequalities are further reinforced and in turn reinforce significant educational attainment gaps between white and black Americans. This attainment gap has it roots in the fact that slavery did not cultivate literacy or education which was not essential. Even to the extent that many states would develop laws forbidding the teaching of slaves or in some cases any black people to read. Segregation policies resulted in poorer educational opportunities for black students particularly in the South where segregation was mandatory before Brown v Board of Education. These policies may no longer exist, but educational disparity persists and schools often remain de-facto segregated; only 12.9% of white students attending a school with a majority of students being people of colour as opposed to 69.2% of Black students. Furthermore 72.4% of black students attend high poverty schools as opposed to 31.3%[7] of white students. This is in part due to housing as public schools are typically funded by local property taxes. This takes a toll, around 78% of Black students graduate from high school as opposed to 89%[8] of white students. This comes from generational poverty and the legacy of segregation which places black students in poor schools and impoverished communities. This poor education will reinforce the material conditions which caused the poor education. Although current racial bias has an affect too, black students have been shown to suffer proportionally more out of school suspensions than white students even when accounting for other factors[9]. Whether conscious or not centuries of racial bias in America still play a large part, this is by no means surprising, these biases are older than America itself.
Whether it be housing, education or wealth disparity the problems that Black Americans face tend to intersect with poverty and as such equality will likely not be achieved unless rising wealth inequality is addressed.
The disparity in the policing system of the United States:
Origins of the disparity in the policing stems from two issues, the “Slave Patrols” and the “Jim crow Laws”. These were used to enforce the law on African Americans during the 18th– 19th centuries with their effects being consequences of how tense the situation is today in America. Slave patrols which usually were in the Southern slaveholding states of America were used to control America’s slave population. [10]“They located and returned enslaved people who had escaped, crushed uprisings led by enslaved people and punished enslaved workers found or believed to have violated plantation rules”. The Jim crow laws first enforced as [11]early as 1865 after the ratification of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in the United States. These laws existed until 1968, only 52 years ago. These laws were created to segregate black people from white people, this came in the form of not allowing black people to vote, have separate buildings and facilities and the prevention of education. Defiance or resistance to these laws often resulted in prison, public beatings or death. “The black code” acted to locate former slaves and to in a sense offer to return them to indentured servanthood. Black peoples’ children could be seized for labor purposes forcing them into essential slavery, even after the abolition This was present in the south of America and was used a way to control the former slave population, often the case in the south former confederate soldiers was lawyers and judges allowing this form of population control to occur. The Jim crow laws were enforced nationwide in the late 19th century truly segregating race in America. These laws were the foundation of the racial divide in present-day America as it highlights the oppression of African Americans throughout United States history. These laws were in effect until 1968 after the housing segregation was signed off by the white house. The policing of African Americans has historically been to separate them from white people. This creates a cycle where African Americans are not integrating with white people and vice versa creating ambiguity and anxiety between each community only hearing the worse news and actions of each other rather than knowing they are the same, however segregation of almost everything in America has made the issue worse. African Americans have been oppressed however each community has hundreds of years of beliefs that do not work with one another and this stems from the historic policing of Black people.
The policing of African Americans today is a sensitive issue. Since the civil rights movement during the 1960s and its progress in gaining equality for Black people during the mid to late 20th century, There Is still a problem with policing in America. It is understandable due to the oppression of African Americans “technically” ending in the late ’60s, however, 200 years of segregation, racism, and history will not be resolved by law. In America, ongoing racism occurs every day by citizens but issues with the police forces in each state in which duty is placed above opinion are mandatory is a problem. The most infamous case of policing in recent years was the Rodney King case in 1992. A videotape of a police officer beating a citizen brutally, three of the officers were acquitted in turn sparking mass riots in Los Angeles. The issue reminded people of the “old south” and as the police officers were white the case was about race. The problem with this case is not the case rather itself but what it represents. It represents White police officers beating a black man legally and brutally. [12]The Washington Post tracks the number of Americans killed by the police by race, gender, and other characteristics. The newspaper’s database indicates that 229 out of 992 of those who died that way in 2018, 23% of the total, were black, even though only about 12% of the country is African American. Another statistic shows the decline of black prisoners, [13]The decline in the black-white gap between 2007 and 2017 was driven by a 20% decrease in the number of black inmates, which outpaced a 13% decrease in the number of white inmates. Statistics support the fact that there is a disparity in the policing towards African Americans in America today.
Today in America racial divide is a very sensitive topic as many people disagree with the argument that there even is a racial divide, for things to be improved for African Americans there needs to be no corruption amongst police officers as well as equal amounts of African Americans in police forces. This task is difficult due to the size of America and the racial divide per state however the U.S Government could introduce sanctions/ laws preventing racial bias or punishing it if caught however this could go against America’s freedom of speech. The issue is larger than itself but strides have been made since the civil rights movement improving the situation of African Americans, however, I believe it will take decades for equality to be completely achieved and racism to be stamped out.
Voting Inequality
For the African American community, the road to universal black suffrage has been a long and arduous battle and still continues to be a contentious issue. In recent times, the idea of voter suppression has been once again brought to the table during the current Trump administration. On May 11 2017, the President issued the ‘Establishment of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’ which was brought in to “study the registration and voting processes used in Federal elections”[14] The establishment was headed by Kris Kobach, a senator of Kansas who’s known for his vocal support of stricter voter ID laws and was brought into prevent voter fraud. It has been criticized of really being a tool for voter suppression. This recent case is relevant as voter suppression is at the centre of voting inequality in the black community and is a form of discrimination.
The core of voter suppression and the struggle for equal voting rights for Blacks dates back to the 19th century. Despite Andrew Jackson installing universal suffrage in a country where less than 6% of the population were allowed to vote, this right did not extend to the African American community. This would continue until the 3 February 1870 and the ratification of the 15th amendment which stated that voting rights would “…not be denied…based on account of race”[15] Whilst this was a major breakthrough for voting equality, it would still take another 95 years before African American civil rights would begin to be upheld.
Through the use of the Jim Crow laws, African Americans would continue to be disenfranchised. These state laws were created to restrict African Americans from voting. Laws such as the introduction of the Literacy test in 1890 were designed to suppress black people from voting and keep a distinct segregation between the races. Literacy tests were given to prospective voters so that even if an African American was registered to vote, the test would be rigged and would still not be allowed to vote. This had a significant impact as by 1862, barely a decade since the ratification of the 15th amendment, only 6% of African Americans were registered to vote in southern states such as Mississippi and poll taxes were used almost as a voting fee which further suppressed the African American population from voting. This was on top of violence and intimidation from white supremacy groups, this has been called “Southern states adopted poll taxes and literacy tests to suppress any black voting not already nullified by fraud and violence.”[16] In addition, there also seemed to be a sense of urgency to protect black voting rights in the North, by the party that ratified the 15th amendment in the first place. The Republicans lost major support in the South dropping from 40% between 1874-1886 to 30% by 1896. This loss did not dampen the success of the Republican Party as William McKinley won the Presidency anyway in 1896. This clearly shows that the Republicans did not need the southern vote to succeed and were not incentivised to protect the rights of African Americans and led to further voter suppression for the next few decades. It was said that “McKinley declined to criticise the election riot of whites”[17]
This legacy of voter suppression would eventually come to a head with the civil rights movement from 1955-65. The Montgomery Bus boycott of 1955 lasted a whole year until it racial segregation on public transport was deemed to be illegal and helped bring the issue of African American civil rights to the fore front of American politics “…the high profile civil rights campaigns…attracted the bulk of American media attention”[18] Through the use of media attention, Martin Luther King focussed on re-enfranchising the African American population who had grown disillusioned over the decades worth of racial voter suppression. He spent much of his time focussing on fighting racism in Mississippi through the use of protests and mass marches through Birmingham, Mississippi and across the southern states. By 1964, across all the confederacy states, there was on average about 57% of eligible African American voters who were not on the electoral roll and not eligible to vote. The civil rights movement came to ahead with the passing of the Civil Rights act on July 2 1964 which prohibited discrimination in schools, public transport and any other public facilities. The act passed comfortably through the house “the voting rights bill encountered relatively little difficulty in Congress, by early August it became law”[19]
The legacy of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has left a huge impact on American politics and the effects and aftermath of the Act are still being felt today and still face scrutiny in the current political climate. It has been said that “The future of black electoral politics remains unsettled a decade and a half into the twenty-first century”[20] with many seeing the election of Donald Trump a reaction to the Obama presidency. Barack Obama had only been in the US senate for 3 years before his ascendancy to the White House but as of 2007, only 50% of blacks believed his words with many citing his birthplace of Hawaii and his bi-racial heritage as showing that Obama did not truly understand the experience of average African Americans. It is clear that Obama did not completely represent the African American culture but approached a more broader appeal to all.
The disillusionment of Obama is linked to the rise of Donald Trump as he has seen to appeal to more conservative and right-wing voters. Currently, the NAACP are issuing a legal case against the ‘Election integrity’ for seemingly being in violation against the fifteenth amendment and intentionally supressing the vote to African American voters. Overall, it is clear that African Americans have a long way to go in terms of voting equality as African Americans continue to fight voter suppression and whilst it has improved with the impact of the civil rights movement, it is clear that the black population have a long way to go to achieve complete representation in terms of voting.
[1] Urban Institute . 2017 . Urban Institute calculations from Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers 1962 (December 31), Survey of Changes in Family Finances 1963, and Survey of Consumer Finances 1983–2016. Urban Institute . Washington D.C
[2] Lincoln Quillian, Devah Pager, Ole Hexel, and Arnfinn H. Midtbøen . Edited by Douglas S. Massey . August 8th 2017 . Meta-analysis of field experiments shows no change inracial discrimination in hiring over time . Princeton University, Princeton, NJ .pg1
[3] Emmanuel Saez . March 2nd 2019 . The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States . UC Berkley .
[4]Lisa A. Keister . 2014 . Annual Review of Sociology (The One Percent) . Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina . pg357
[5]Tom Hanchett (Edited by John F. Bauman, Roger Biles and Kristin M. Szylvian . 2000 . From Tenements to the Taylor Homes (8 The Other “Subsidized Housing “Federal Aid To Suburbanization,1940s-1960s) . The Pennsylvania State University Press . University Park . pgs 163-179
[6] US Census Bureau, Homeownership By Race
[7] Emma Garcia . February 12 2020 . Schools are still segregated,and black children are paying a price . Washington D.C . Economic Policy Institute . pgs 1-3
[8] U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Consolidated State Performance Report, 2016–17
[9] Maithreyi Gopalan and Ashlyn Aiko Nelson . April-June 2019 . Understanding the Racial Discipling Gap In Schools . Washington D.C . AERA Open, April-June 2019, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 1 –26 . pg14
[10] Walker, Connie Hassett, “The Racist Roots Of American Policing: From Slave Patrols To Traffic Stops”, The Conversation, 2019 <http://theconversation.com/the-racist-roots-of-american-policing-from-slave-patrols-to-traffic-stops-112816> [Accessed 6 April 2020]
[11] “Jim Crow Laws”, History.Com, 2018 <https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws> [Accessed 6 April 2020].
[12] Walker, Connie Hassett, “The Racist Roots Of American Policing: From Slave Patrols To Traffic Stops”, The Conversation, 2019 <http://theconversation.com/the-racist-roots-of-american-policing-from-slave-patrols-to-traffic-stops-112816> [Accessed 6 April 2020]
[13] John Gramlich, “The Gap Between The Number Of Blacks And Whites In Prison Is Shrinking”, Pew Research Center, 2018 <https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/30/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/> [Accessed 6 April 2020].
[14] Federal Register (2017) ‘Establishment of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’, , 82(93), pp. 1 [Online]. Available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/16/2017-10003/establishment-of-presidential-advisory-commission-on-election-integrity (Accessed: 04/04/2020).
[15] Whitman H. Ridgeway (2011) ‘A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875’, The Journal of American History, 97(4), pp. 1131 [Online]. Available at: https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=016/llsl016.db&recNum=1166 (Accessed: 04/03/2020)
[16] Michael Karman (2007) Brown V. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement, (pp.3) New York: Oxford University Press.
[17] Ibid, pp.5
[18] Robert Cook (1998) Sweet Land of Liberty?; the African-American struggle for civil rights in the twentieth century, (pp.150), Longman.
[19] Steven Lawson (2014), pp. 157 Running for Freedom: Civil rights and Black politics in America since 1941, : Wiley-Blackwell.
[20] Ibid, pp. 342
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