Preview

Income Inequality of African Americans

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2273 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Income Inequality of African Americans
Racial discrimination is the main and ongoing problem in the social life of Americans. When we look at the gap of incomes between White and African Americans, we can see the inequality between these two groups. In general, whites have more annual earnings than their black counterparts in America. Lori Ann Campbell and Robert L. Kaufman emphasized that the wealth determinants, which are the indicators of socio-economic status, have effected more on Whites than Blacks. And even when society is organized, there is still some disparities on account of race and ethnicity. (Campbell and Kaufman, 2006). And income disparities between African and White Americans have definitely effected the peace of the social life. According to Campell and Kaufman to understand the inequality of wealth between African Americans and other citizens, we need to consider first how that income comes from, how it is accumulated and sended out through society. (Campbell and Kaufman, 2006).

By analysing the income, education and occupation, we can reach much more dependable outcomes of the disparity in wealth. Because these three factors are the key elements of this disparity and these elements lead to the source of the inequality of wealth. Lori Ann Campbell and Robert L. Kaufman pointed out that the outcomes of wealth inequality between Blacks and Whites is much more acute than any other economical outcomes in the society that can not be explained by the key determinants of Black and White’s that are education,occupation and income. (Campbell and Kaufman, 2006). The difference in earnings because of the racial stratification between Blacks and Whites are someting that very important for the disposition of American society. Whites annually earn 80 percent higher than their Black counterparts and also their hourly wages are almost 48 percent higher than Blacks. (Dodoo and Takyi, 2002). These numbers are clearly show that wage is the most crucial factor for the wealth of a person.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    | The number of middle-class black families in the United States has been increasing, but one critical aspect that distinguishes them from middle-class white families is their…

    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Institutional racism has shaped inequality with the help of cultural factors. People have become colorblind because of the success of some African-Americans. Oprah is the richest African-American in America but she ranks at number 221 of Forbes 2014 400 richest Americans with three billion dollars. (Forbes, 2014, 1) We also have an African-American in the highest office in the world, The White House. For some reason this has led to the belief that African- Americans are no longer struggling. For some reason when one succeeds that means we all have but that is so far from the truth. As Michelle Alexander puts it, “The fact that some African Americans have experienced great success in recent years does not mean that something akin to a racial caste system no longer exists. No caste system in the United…

    • 4576 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    races, social, and financial classes, and also how much wider the gap has become in recent years.…

    • 1758 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his book The Declining Significance of Race he further examines the question; "Why do poverty and unequal opportunity persist in the lives of so many African Americans?" In response, he traces the history and current state of powerful structural factors impacting African Americans, such as discrimination in laws, policies, hiring, housing, and education. He argues against either/or politicized views of poverty among African Americans that either focus blame solely on cultural factors or only on unjust structural factors. He tries to demonstrate the importance of understanding not only the independent contributions of social structure and culture, but also how they interact to shape different group outcomes that embody racial…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are gaps between incomes when comparing all racial groups. The group that I chose to study is African Americans. According to our text book, there is a significant gap between the incomes of the Black and White households (Schaefer). In 2009, the median income of Black households was $32,584. This is much lower than that of the White households holding at $54,461. Household incomes for African Americans have been gradually rising and can be seen in the median household income for the year 2013, $41,142, according to the tables provided in MySocLab Social Explorer Map: Income Inequality by Race (). There is also a low possibility of African Americans owning a home because of the lower income, but also due to discriminatory lending practices (Schaefer). Employment is another area that is held lower for African Americans. The unemployment rates have been high since the 1940s. The unemployment rate for Black males aged 16-24was 35 % during the height of the recession; this is very high because the national unemployment rate was this high during the Great depression. The social standings for this group, African American, is also much lower than Whites. There is a 39.2% rate for Black families with two parents and a 49.7% rate for those families that are only maintained by the mother (Schaefer, Figure 8.4). From a political standing, even though Barak Obama has entered and been in the White House, African Americans still have not received an equal share…

    • 872 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eth125 Racial Society

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    * Write a 150- to 300-word summary of the economic, social, and political standings of that group. Use additional resources if necessary, from the University Library or your textbooks. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Based on a 2000 Census, Income for whites are between $25,000-$30,000. Income for Hispanics is less than $15,000. Income for blacks is $20,000-$25,000. According to Thomas Segrone, a black family earning $50,000 in income is less likely to receive an inheritance, own their own home, and more likely to have more debt than a white family making the same income. Middle income black families are more likely to have lived in poverty in the past than white families of the middle class. Blacks have been more likely to live in poverty, crime and receive lower health care. African Americans were known to be social with their creations and inventions way before it was known. Their skills and inventions were passed on. They played roles with politics as well. After the civil war, blacks considered themselves republicans. It was the republicans along with Abraham Lincoln that started the abolitionists.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Institutional Racism

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In this research paper you will identify a social problem/issue related to contemporary racial and ethnic inequality in the United States and research all that you can about that problem. You will explore in your paper:…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    African-American History

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Financial advancement for blacks' achieving the boundaries of assets has been moderate. . With Winfrey the main African American sufficiently rich to categorize amongst America's 400 wealthiest individuals, blacks as of now include 0.25% of America's monetary world class and contain thirteen percent of the U.S. populace. The post-social equality time is likewise striking for the latest Great Migration, in which a huge number of African Americans have come back toward the South, frequently to seek after expanded monetary open doors in now-integrated southern urban areas (Franklin, V. P.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For example, the CEO-to-worker-pay ratio in the United States is 354-1, which makes income inequality, especially among minorities the defining challenge of contemporary times (Fitz n.p). For this reason, the government must expand its authority and programs to encompass ways of bridging the inequality that has become a typical problem in today’s American society. Conservatives such as the Republicans have been arguing for cuts that are geared towards improving the welfare of the poor (Amy 2). However, the government should increase funding for poverty programs, education, and job training to ensure that minority groups, as well as other Americans, are empowered…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our two assigned chapters displays how racial minorities are disproportionately impoverished in cards stacked against them. There happens to be a consensus on the underprivileged struggling on all three economic indicators (i.e., the racial wage gap, wealth gap, and differences in unemployment rates) that generate feasibility behind a typical image of a poor Black individual in the United States of America. The interrelatedness of race and poverty doesn’t, in fact, correlate to the veracity of more poor Americans being white rather than a person of color. This likelihood to destitution still relies on the contribution of varying ramifications that have established perpetuation of racial wealth disparities. Ultimately, society will gradually cutback on their future over time hinged on structural…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever been forced to change your personality while you are around a certain group of people? Growing up I questioned the every detail about my life and my race. I did not know who or what I was. Being an African American girl in America everyone expected me to be illiterate and ghetto. Ghetto is a term used describe someone who is loud and obnoxious. Whenever I spoke my friends would stop me. They said that I was acting white and that I spoke that way. They told me to come back to acting black. There was not a day that went by that I was not called an oreo. An oreo is an African American who is black on the outside but white on the inside. Why was my intelligence defined by a stereotype? Every time I did something that normal African…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    African American Poverty

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This data shows us that there are about 8,420,300 more white families living in poverty than African American families. Though I will concede that for the population that African American make up there is large amount poverty among single parent households. Out of this data, there are 25 in which there are white impoverished families than African Americans. This proves that poverty is not just a race issue and should be treated more as an American issue. If white American’s are born with white privilege why are there in total more impoverished white American than that of other races. If white privilege were to be true, then why are there so many improvised white people. Those 17,981,400 white families living in poverty should have all the advantages…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many issues that we face as humans in the societies that we live in. Income inequality is a touchy subject for some. For most though, it’s a subject that needs to be discussed in our society today. Minority households in my opinion seem to suffer more from income inequality than Whites. We should all want to know what the problem is. I don’t think it’s because whites have all the better paying jobs than minority workers. From my understanding of information gathered women and minorities continue to bring home less than white men because of the way income inequality has spread through many communities. One of the major issues that can possibly impact the future and the behaviors of an individual is income inequality. What is income…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I believe racial inequality is one of the most important causes of economic inequality. I argue that racial inequality is also expressed economically, or at the very least has an economic impact. Rodney E. Hero and Morris E. Levy points out in their article “The Racial Structure of Economic Inequality in the United States” that “inequality between racial groups accounts for a rising share of total income inequality”. Inequality does not exist in a vacuum, and I believe whether it is racial or gender inequality, there is an economic impact.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Drug Illegalization

    • 965 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In 2009, white citizens in the United States had a net worth of $113,000, Asians totaled around 78,000, and Blacks and Hispanics averaged around 6,000. White citizens racked up nearly 20x the net worth of black citizens. How did the wealth gap grow to this extent? In the article “Uncle Sam Lends a Hand”, government wrongdoings and systematic exclusions are exploited. The article lists the creation of social security in 1935, which created a safety net for most workers and guaranteed them income after retirement, because it excluded most low income workers who were predominantly minorities and kept them from receiving benefits and protection. Also listed, is the suburban growth due to the federal housing programs in the 1930s-40s. This created a loan system that discriminated against minorities by granting low cost loans and higher ratings to all-white communities and giving low ratings and denying most minority neighborhoods of any loans. The 3rd contribution to the wealth gap in this article is the urban redevelopment in 1949 from the National Housing Act which destroyed much of the housing in urban areas and did not replace it in attempts to renew them.…

    • 965 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays