Poverty In America Essay

Improved Essays
America is one of the best countries in the world, it isn’t called the land of opportunity for nothing. Although, there are still problems within the country that cloud the vision of the “American Dream”. For example, African Americans and Caucasians go through social issues in their day to day life, Some are similar to each other and some completely biased to their race. Poverty in America knows no color, 14% of Americans live in poverty, according to the Huffington Post, and the number doesn’t seem to be decreasing. Communities in poverty succumb to violence, lacking in education, and turn to drug abuse as a result to this. People who live in poverty lack the resources to maintain a healthy living environment, and the medicine needed to treat illnesses. Therefore, health care is a major issue in these communities, but it’s just one of the many issues I will discuss. Unemployment is at an all time high in the United States and it is impacting the African American community more than Caucasians. Getting a job in this economy is difficult for everyone but significantly harder for blacks and other minorities. They are discriminated in Corporate America by how they look before their abilities are even acknowledged . Even if a black man and a white man apply for the same job, the white man would …show more content…
Numerous deaths have occurred in the past year and they seem to be casted away as insignificant; most don’t even make it on the news. The police are deliberately attacking African Americans, particularly the males, with no concern for the consequences because they feel as if they’re able to get away with it. According to the Huffington Post 42-year-old Lester Brown was tasered for no apparent reason while being asked to step outside his home. There was a video that helped in proving that it was a unneeded aggressive act; the officer was fired with no legal consequences or jail

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Poverty in the African American community has always been a problematic. Most African American woman that live in poverty are single mothers. The family resources correlates to the child cognitive and behavioral development in early school years. For instance the mother’s employment, education attainment, depression symptoms and the environment the family lives in. The children that are being raised in poverty are at a disadvantage because they don’t have the proper support from their family.…

    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Amadou Diallo Trial

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages

    These are only five cases that are known, so many more may exist. At what point do we call to action the officers meant to protect us? Police brutality disproportionately affects African-Americans more than any other racial group in America. An FBI study of “justifiable homicide” shows that from 2005-2012, white officers used deadly force against a black person almost two times a week. Of those killed, one in every five was 21 years old or younger.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today America misrepresents themselves as a land of freedom and we all live the “American Dream”. In reality we live in a world with racism, hate, and social hierarchy based on the color of your skin. David Walker's appeal during the 1830, gave a rallying point for the rebellion against slavery. It created a path for many African Americans such as Malcolm X and Henry Highland Garnet to speak out as well. Walker's appeal has social relevance in today's society, especially addressing the racial privilege amongst us socially, economically, and mentally.…

    • 1792 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In recent years police brutality against unarmed African American males have been a common headline in the news. Unfortunately, with every tragedy it seems as if another one follows shortly after. According to the Businesses insider, “Since 2005, just 11 cops have have been convicted of fatally shooting somebody while on duty even though thousands of people have died from police-involved shootings...54 officers charged in connection with the fatal shootings, only 11 have been convicted, according to the analysis from the Washington Post and Bowling Green State University... Thirty-three of the 49 victims were black, and 43 of the officers were white, the study found”(Gorman).…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The author’s main point in writing this book is too educate people about what poverty is and how it is affecting our society today. She also writes different effective ways that we can change and help people in poverty. Beegle says her goal is to simply make a difference for those living in poverty and to give them real opportunities to do something great with their life. I think Beegle wanted to explain real world problems and tell her own personal story to explain what poverty really means to her. When reading this book and seeing all the statistics about how many families live in poverty I felt more and more blessed and I think that is what she wanted to get across to her audience.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    America through Hardship Much of America’s history is filled with challenges created by a foreign enemy, such as the Central Powers during World War I, or a domestic adversary, which could be anyone from the U.S. government to a specific group of people, like racist white Southerners. When faced with difficult times, Americans respond in a variety of ways but one of the main three responses is with defaming the group or person who is causing them fear, frustration, or pain. Another usual way Americans respond is with protesting or having a rebellious attitude when faced with frustrating decisions made by the U.S. government. And the last way Americans might respond is with violence.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Expansion of Medicare could help those who are in extreme poverty seek and receive the care they need. Substitutes for practitioners working in underserved communities could give incentive for physicians to help the uninsured get affordable care. These are just a few ideas that may help provide insurance, or at least affordable care, to African Americans in poverty. Education may be the single most important, and one of the easiest ways to help African Americans in poverty end these health disparities. According to Dore and Eisenhardt (2015), "education is considered as the most SES component since it shapes future occupational opportunities and earning potential.…

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Too often an innocent individual is shot and killed by the police. Over the last 4 years, a total of 1,000 people has been killed by a police officer. Some of these law enforcement officers were not charged which resulted in public outrage and a number of mass protest across the country, led by African Americans to response…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When in all reality it created a larger event. This problem is important to talk about because, the poverty rate is steading going in the United States among African Americans. Society is affected by this in many ways. I choose this topic because, I grew up in a poor black family in America. So, I can talk from first-hand experience what it’s like to be poor and black in America.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police Brutality When cops continually use their training and tactics in ways that brutally harm and injure people, it is unjustly wrong. It is becoming an assumption that white cops are purposely targeting African American citizens. Cops are rushing to conclusions and taking lives or seriously injuring people. Once these citizens are injured it makes it very hard for them to believe in or even trust the law, which in turn is causing a major concern nationwide. Take for instance the Michael Brown “Hands up, don’t shoot” incident that happened on August 9, 2014.…

    • 1556 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There have been a numerous amount of fatal shooting of African Americans in the past several years and the number only grows larger. The government has not punished the officers nor passed any new laws/bills to punish officers who use too much force or disobey their code of conduct. Media addresses the issue of racial profiling…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Children make up 23.1% of the U.S. population and they disproportionately experience poverty compared to other age groups. California has the highest child poverty rates. Child poverty has profound long-term educational, health and economic consequences. According to The California Poverty Measure 24.3% of children in California remain in poverty.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Poverty In America

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Living one day at a time, fearing the future, hungry, having no shelter, Poverty. “Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.” (Eco. & Soc.…

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Poverty in America Poverty has plagued the world for as long as anyone can recall, and it persists in America today. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 14.3% of the American population is in poverty. Minorities are at a disadvantage because of how easily they can be drawn or pushed into poverty. Poverty does not necessarily have a color, but minorities are often used as one. Poverty has become a major problem, which only grows every year.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the United States, one of the richest countries in the world, why are so many people in poverty? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the “official poverty rate in 2014 was 14.8 percent, which means there were 46.7 million people in poverty” (U.S. Census Bureau). Poverty is an important and emotional issue. To understand poverty in the United States, it is essential to look behind these numbers to see the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems to be poor. The U.S. Census Bureau uses a set of guidelines to determine if families meet that poverty threshold.…

    • 1463 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays