The Black Disadvantage in the United States
The Black Disadvantage in the United States
Racial profiling, higher risks of incarceration, poverty, unemployment, more student debt; these are just some of the issues that African Americans face in the United States today. The statistical facts show that African Americans Face an uphill battle compared to White Americans. A good portion of the financial inequality that exists is due to the trickle down of white financial ancestral inheritance which was able to amass overtime unlike the historically disadvantaged, enslaved, and segregated African American. How often do we see news stories about police officers targeting or using excessive force on a white person? While it undoubtedly has happened at one point or another, it is hardly a prevailing problem for the white community. In contrast, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “blacks were more likely than whites or Hispanics to experience use or threat of force.” ("Use of force," ) In fact, ever since the Rodney King beating shined a bright spotlight on the use of excessive force against African Americans, these stories of police brutality continue to make their way to the news. “Every few years an incident occurs in the Black community where a Black man is handled with excessive force or is shot to death by police. The confrontation may be taped or due to the surrounding circumstances the African American community and sometimes the media will rally behind the alleged victim and demand justice.” ("Interesting facts about,”) As we move from supposed crime onto actual crime and look at the rates of incarceration, there is a huge disparity when comparing African Americans and whites, in fact, according to the NAACP, “African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population” and “African Americans are incarcerated nearly six times the rate of whites,” (NCAAP)
Without digging any deeper one might think that African Americans may just be more prone
Racial profiling, higher risks of incarceration, poverty, unemployment, more student debt; these are just some of the issues that African Americans face in the United States today. The statistical facts show that African Americans Face an uphill battle compared to White Americans. A good portion of the financial inequality that exists is due to the trickle down of white financial ancestral inheritance which was able to amass overtime unlike the historically disadvantaged, enslaved, and segregated African American. How often do we see news stories about police officers targeting or using excessive force on a white person? While it undoubtedly has happened at one point or another, it is hardly a prevailing problem for the white community. In contrast, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “blacks were more likely than whites or Hispanics to experience use or threat of force.” ("Use of force," ) In fact, ever since the Rodney King beating shined a bright spotlight on the use of excessive force against African Americans, these stories of police brutality continue to make their way to the news. “Every few years an incident occurs in the Black community where a Black man is handled with excessive force or is shot to death by police. The confrontation may be taped or due to the surrounding circumstances the African American community and sometimes the media will rally behind the alleged victim and demand justice.” ("Interesting facts about,”) As we move from supposed crime onto actual crime and look at the rates of incarceration, there is a huge disparity when comparing African Americans and whites, in fact, according to the NAACP, “African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population” and “African Americans are incarcerated nearly six times the rate of whites,” (NCAAP)
Without digging any deeper one might think that African Americans may just be more prone
References: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs (n.d.). Use of force. Retrieved from website: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=703 Hout, M. (2004). The hidden cost of being african american. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-03-10.htm Interesting facts about the african american population. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blackdemographics.com/culture/crime/ Myers, J. (2007). Dominant-minority relations in america. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. NAACP. (n.d.). Criminal justice fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet NPR Staff. (2013, May 25). Job searching while black: What 's behind the unemployment gap?. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/05/25/186609052/for-black-americans-finding-work-an-uphill-battle Tavernise, S. (2011, September 13). Soaring poverty casts spotlight on ‘lost decade’. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/14census.html?pagewanted=all United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. (2012). Poverty. Retrieved from website: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/