Racial Disparities In The 21st Century

"The more it changes, the more it remains the same thing" (Karr).
The 21st century is a product of great strides between the Holocaust of enslavement and the sixties toward equality for people of African descent. On the contrary, the 21st century has also demonstrated the failure to change the paradigm of social equality. As a result, racial disparities in “The New Century” is still prevalent in areas of social economics, employment, politics and the criminal justice system. This paper will compare the growth of African people from the sixties through the 21st century.
“For what does it profit a man, Dr. King would ask, to sit at an integrated lunch counter if he can’t afford the meal?” (Obama) The metaphor refers to the goals of African
Americans during the civil rights movement outlined by Dr. King which compared the correlation between freedom and social economics. One of the key objectives of the 1960’s Civil rights movement was social justice due to financial inequality. The demand for economic advancement of blacks was largely due to unequal employment practices and wage discrimination.
Jim Crow Laws played a major role in employment inequality. For example, black barbers were unable to service white women and white nurses were unable to services black men. The employment disparities in segregated cities such as Birmingham, Alabama created major economic issues for African Americans. The unemployment rate for blacks in the 1960’s were almost triple that of whites as there were no black police officers, firefighters, bus drivers or bank tellers to name a few. Therefore, The Civil Rights Movement established boycotts to business that African Americans were consumers, but the business refused to employ as workers. The movement led to major changes which formed The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banning discrimination based on race, color, religion, and sex. Affirmative Action was also a pivotal point post-sixties as the Equal Employment Opportunities was an extension of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Equal Employment Act was created to help bridge the gaps of employment discrimination by enforcing hiring practices of certain classes such as, African Americans, women and people with disability. The
Civil rights movement led to the biggest increase in African American income from 1965 to 1975. The economic rise of African Americans posts the Civil Rights movement ceased by the 21st century. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina destroyed parts of New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama “African Americans were still denied equal access to government giants and loans to rebuild” (Karenga). Additionally, statistics substantiate that between 1992 and 2000 all Americans incomes grew as a result of the economic boom during the Clinton administration however, a significant income gap has never changed. Many black-white income gaps still exist in home ownership and wages in the 21st Century.
The Civil Rights Movement fight for employment equality included labor unions right-to-work laws of 1961 created by right wing politicians who wanted to dissolve the power or labor unions.
Statistics confirm that the right to work labor laws decreased incomes, provides inferior health insurance coverage and contribute to higher workplace fatalities therefore; union members played a big role against the struggles of civil rights. African Americans in the 21st Century labor market still face reduced labor inequality. The issues reside at higher levels of power due to the process of job advancements in the workforce. Studies show evidence that African Americans need better qualifications to receive promotions oppose to their white counterparts. For example, an African-American woman with a Master’s degree makes less than white men with an undergraduate degree (dept of labor). Other areas of disparities include the transition from industrial labor to technological labor in the new Century which reduced the level of high paying jobs for urban unskilled
workers.
The Black Power Movement inspired black political progress between the 1960’s throughout the 21st Century. The voting act of 1965 propelled black voters to the polls expanding African American Political influence. For example in 1966 there were only six blacks in congress, ninety-seven in state legislatures and no mayors. By 1976 blacks had elected eighteen blacks to congress, several hundred to state legislatures and several mayors of major cities (Karenga, p.166). The black power movement also ignited “The Political Thrust”, a movement which promoted black political independence, unity among Africans around the world and self defense. A major proponent of the movement is Malcolm X who played key a role in political change. Malcolm X self-governing and African solidarity ideology helped “redefine the black struggle from one of civil rights to human rights” (Karenga p.163). The need to build national independence grow thought the sixties and the seventies which started the first National Black Political Convention in 1972 which produced the “The Black Political Agenda”. The Eighties continued political projects which saw a rise in voting actions among African Americans which led to Chicago’s first black Mayor Harold Washington. Jesse Jackson also ran for president in 1984 and 988. The first black governor was also elected in the state of Virginia in 1989. The 21st Century excelled African Americans to the height of political power when President Barack Hussein Obama was elected in 2008. Obama was the fifth African American senator in U.S. history, an attorney, and professor. His campaigned forced on positive change for all Americans.
After the 1960’s efforts to increase equality there was a rise in incarceration rates in the United States. The criminal justice system was used to hurt the efforts of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements with programs such as COINTELPRO, police brutality and The prison system. A counterintelligence program created to stop the progression of the Civil Rights movement by the United States Government in 1968 attempted to censor black leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Some of their strategies included acts of terrorism, asking Dr. King to commit suicide, bugging telephone lines, agent pretending to be part of the movement to create chaos and division. Police brutality was also major factor in government deterrence of black movements. During the Civil Rights movement the police intervened during marches beating and sometimes killing non-violent protestors. Due to Jim Crow laws there were no black police and most of the police were white. The abuse took many forms including racial profiling, false charges and intimidation. The violence against protesters lead to the Anit-Police Brutality Organizing in the 1960’s. Many blacks were encouraged to fight back which lead protesters throwing bricks and bottles at police cars and officers. Police brutality is still a modern day issue for many minorities as outlined in books such as, “The New Jim Crow”. The book exposes the mass incarceration of African Americans today. The incarceration rate is due to the harsh drug laws passed after the 1970’s and other forms of social and structural inequality.
In conclusion, the 60’s was the most significant time in black history as it was the forefront for social change and ultimately created greater social economic power, employment opportunities, the black political movement and created awareness around criminal justice issues. Based on the contrast from the 1960’s to present day it appears that African Americans movement has progressed and digressed in many different ways however, it is still evident that the 1960’s movements have come a long way, but leaves much more to be desired.