It was much harder for blacks to get a job, and there employment position could be described as ‘the last to be hired, the first to be fired’. African Americans faced discrimination almost in every job, and they earned less, often due to the poor educational opportunities. The voting rights were different in the North from the South. In the North, almost all African Americans could vote. In the South however, the blacks were disfranchised, since the state governments introduced literacy tests, tests on the knowledge of constitution and Poll taxes, which African Americans had trouble with, because of poor education and financial problems.
The idea behind this research is to try and point out some of the disparities in sentencing, and possibly offer some potential ways to reduce the problem. “Racial disparity in sentencing, historical representation of current biases, plea bargaining and racial profiling are all factors contributing to the current over-representation of minorities in the judicial system, further threatening the African American community and weakening the family. Aggregate data and statistics compiled supports the assumption that African Americans are disproportionately subjected to conditions such as racial profiling, traffic stops leading to searches and seizures yielding minor offenses that lead to incarceration, rather than probation or rehabilitation. Further, they are given much longer, disparate prison sentencing than white offenders under similar circumstances. These systematic disparate treatments contribute to a dysfunctional community and lead to the socioeconomic destruction of the African American family infrastructure.” (Coulson-Clark, et.
Contrastingly whites are underrepresented. However such statistics do not tell us whether members of one ethnic group are more likely than members of another ethnic group to commit an offence in the first place; they just tell us about involvement in the criminal justice system. For example differences in stop and search or arrest rates may be due to police racism, while differences in rates of imprisonment may be the result of courts handing down harsher sentences on minorities. There are other sources of statistics to reveal link of ethnicity and offending. Victim surveys ask individuals to say what crimes they have been victims of.
Many of these facilities were, education, healthcare, transport, cinemas, restaurants and churches and even housing and estates were segregated. This shows the extent white went to separate them from the ‘inferior’ race. Jim Crow laws limited black Americans from having a better way of life as they were made poorer, didn’t have the opportunity to managerial roles as they were only allowed the low paying jobs and weren’t equal to white people increasing poor conditions, also, led to unequal or no voting rights in coloured communities. Under the Fifteenth Amendment black people had legal rights to vote across America. However, many southern states found ways around the laws to disenfranchise the black populations.
In contrast, Black Americans perceive that racism is a constant reality in their lives, White individuals continue to respond toward them. Micro-assaults are probably most similar that what has been called “old fashion racism because of their expression is deliberate, conscious, and explicit as seen in many countries around the globe. Racial micro-aggressions are use today towards blacks and Hispanics world-wide. Micro-aggressions reflect an unconscious worldview of White supremacy that directly assails the racial reality of non-White people. Racial micro-aggressions have an accumulative and harmful impact on people of color invalidating them as racial/cultural beings, undermining their spiritual and mental capacity, imposing a false reality on them.
Angelica Nwandu Professor Lang Final Paper May 3, 2010 African Americans and the Mass Media The general population relies on the media as a main source of information and the basis on which many of their opinions and biases are formed. (lapham, pg. 37). The dangers of mass media is that it is a regurgitation of societal stereotypes that are being fed to the masses. Not only does the mass media have the power to influence opinions and encourage racism, but the media has the power to impact voting decisions as well.
SOCIO ECONOMIC PROBLEMS FACED BY BLACKS IN AMERICA Why is it that African Americans are socio economically backward? And what measures need to undertaken to improve the condition of blacks in America? These are some of the most important questions plaguing the African American community. The United States is considered a country which has people from all racial groups, ranging from whites and blacks to Orientals etc. Like the African Americans, all other minority groups have faced hostility in America but unlike the blacks, they have been able to uplift themselves from a socio-economic perspective.
Question: To what extent do ethnic minorities achieve the American Dream? The American Dream is the magnet which attracted a variety of different races and nationalities to America, in seek of a better life. However, this was not the reality for all of them, and many still face a life of poverty and discrimination. Ethnic minorities tend to suffer from both social and economic inequalities, despite the fact that the US prides itself on being a democracy in which every citizen is equal. The question considers the extent to which ethnic minorities have achieved the American Dream.
Limitations on Education Social stigmatism has an effect on the choices we make and the way we live our lives. For example, in the black community a high level of education, or speaking in a “white” fashion is something that people can get made fun of for. The high level of poverty in the African-American population in America isn’t solely due to social stigmatism, however. The choices each individual makes will also influence the outcome of their lives. To put it simply, there are two main type of effects on the poverty levels in the black community: structural and behavioral.
Double consciousness forces blacks to not only view themselves from their own unique perspective, but to also view themselves as they might be perceived by the outside world. Du Bois spoke of this when he talked about “the sense of looking at one’s self through the eyes of others”. As a result, blacks can suffer from a damaged self-image shaped by the perceptions and treatment of white people. Black life in turn can easily become shaped by stereotypes perpetuated by mainstream culture. According to Du Bois the prejudices of white people elicit “self-questioning, self-criticism, and lowering of ideals” among black people.