Race Matters
Race Matters
In America, society likes to believe that America is a Color Blind Society. They say they don’t see race, but just Americans. It has been noted that whites who are exposed to images or shows of upper-middle-class blacks, like the Huxtable family in The Cosby Show, the Kyle family in My Wife and Kids or the Banks family in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, believe that blacks have the same socioeconomic opportunities as whites (Gallagher 94). Media is one of the main reasons why people in today’s society might believe that America is a Color Bind Society with television shows, like the ones stated above, and celebrities, like Jay Z and P-Diddy, who are doing very well for themselves. A 1997 Gallup poll found that most whites believe that blacks have “as good a chance as whites” in the community in finding jobs and a Kaiser Family 1997 Poll found that most whites believe that blacks are doing at least as well or better than whites in income and educational attainment (Gallagher 98). However black men, over the age of 25, had a 12.3 percent unemployment rate in 2012 while white men, over the age of 25, had a 6.1 percent unemployment rate in 2012 (Bureau of Labor Statistics: House Hold Data Annual Averages).
With that being said, in 2010, the educational attainment of black men was 17.7 percent, slightly lower than the year before, while the educational attainment of white men was 30.8 percent, slightly higher than the year before. Black men are at a disadvantage. They are already deemed as a threat to society, a stereotypical threat that is. With cases like Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and even as far back as the case of Emmett Till, it is obvious that when a person sees a black man they will associate them with trouble. First it was whistling at a white woman, now it is a hooded sweatshirt or playing loud music in a car (Harris-Perry). “But always, this one thing has been the same. No presumption of innocence for young black men. No benefit of the doubt.
In America, society likes to believe that America is a Color Blind Society. They say they don’t see race, but just Americans. It has been noted that whites who are exposed to images or shows of upper-middle-class blacks, like the Huxtable family in The Cosby Show, the Kyle family in My Wife and Kids or the Banks family in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, believe that blacks have the same socioeconomic opportunities as whites (Gallagher 94). Media is one of the main reasons why people in today’s society might believe that America is a Color Bind Society with television shows, like the ones stated above, and celebrities, like Jay Z and P-Diddy, who are doing very well for themselves. A 1997 Gallup poll found that most whites believe that blacks have “as good a chance as whites” in the community in finding jobs and a Kaiser Family 1997 Poll found that most whites believe that blacks are doing at least as well or better than whites in income and educational attainment (Gallagher 98). However black men, over the age of 25, had a 12.3 percent unemployment rate in 2012 while white men, over the age of 25, had a 6.1 percent unemployment rate in 2012 (Bureau of Labor Statistics: House Hold Data Annual Averages).
With that being said, in 2010, the educational attainment of black men was 17.7 percent, slightly lower than the year before, while the educational attainment of white men was 30.8 percent, slightly higher than the year before. Black men are at a disadvantage. They are already deemed as a threat to society, a stereotypical threat that is. With cases like Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and even as far back as the case of Emmett Till, it is obvious that when a person sees a black man they will associate them with trouble. First it was whistling at a white woman, now it is a hooded sweatshirt or playing loud music in a car (Harris-Perry). “But always, this one thing has been the same. No presumption of innocence for young black men. No benefit of the doubt.