The Effect of Racism in America Against African Americans Today Unless you were born a minority, chances are you probably don’t fully understand the weight of racism. The largest group that has faced discrimination in the U.S. are African Americans. Since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s equality has improved, but how much? In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional and illegal to have racially segregated schools (Wilmore: Civil Right: How far have we come?). Today 86% of whites claim to have a friend who is black, compared to 18% the year the Civil Rights Act was passed (Thernstrom, 1998). However, the injustice that follows blacks economically, socially, and educationally affects their outcome of life. Although there
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“CBS News found that 84 percent of whites and 83 percent of blacks believed that the act made life better for blacks in the United States, while only 2 percent thought it had made life worse” (Civil Rights Act of 1964 Revisited, 2014). In 1954, 44 percent of whites said they would move if a black family became their next door neighbor; as of 1998 that figure is 1 percent (Thernstrom, 1998). According to a poll conducted by CBS in 2014, 8 in 10 Americans think the act had a positive effect on the country, with only 1 percent thinking it had been negative (Civil Rights Act of 1964 Revisited). Politically, we have also made strides in only half a century. During the March on Washington in 1963, when the youngest speaker John Lewis was 23, every member of the 535 people in Congress were white. According to Wilmore, today Lewis is one of the 38 blacks in the House of Representative (Civil Rights: How far have we come?). Not to mention that we have had a black president, Barack Obama, serve two terms in office. With public opinion surveys conducted since 1996 reporting 9 in 10 Americans would vote for a black candidate if they were qualified, which is considered a significant step forward in race elections (Wilmore, Civil Rights: How far have we come?. These advancements would have been unheard of during the Civil Rights movement. Nevertheless, some discrimination has made little to no change …show more content…
Economically, they tend to make less and only be able to afford to live in poor neighborhoods. In most cases, if the neighborhood is poor, so is its public school (Wilmore, Civil Rights: How far have we come?). As shown in this chart, the average black student attends a school with exam scores close to the 37th percentile, while a white student is close to the 60th percentile (Reeves and Rodrigue, 2015). Inner-city schools that have smaller budgets than well-off public or private schools don’t get up-to-date textbooks, technology, or extracurriculars. This harms the students’ education when they have to use outdated books and used equipment. Because most inner-city schools are primarily black, caucasians and African Americans often learn at a different rate as well (Wilmore, Civil Rights: How far have we come?). Black students, on average, are behind in math, science, reading, and writing in comparison to white students. In reading, blacks are almost four years behind by the time they graduate high school. Even if they have a career where a college degree is not requires, companies like Honda now requires employees who can read and do math problems at a minimum 9th grade level. In the 1992 NAEP test, 47 percent of whites and only 18 percent of African Americans could handle the reading portion enough to be able to be employed at an automobile plant (Thernstrom,
“CBS News found that 84 percent of whites and 83 percent of blacks believed that the act made life better for blacks in the United States, while only 2 percent thought it had made life worse” (Civil Rights Act of 1964 Revisited, 2014). In 1954, 44 percent of whites said they would move if a black family became their next door neighbor; as of 1998 that figure is 1 percent (Thernstrom, 1998). According to a poll conducted by CBS in 2014, 8 in 10 Americans think the act had a positive effect on the country, with only 1 percent thinking it had been negative (Civil Rights Act of 1964 Revisited). Politically, we have also made strides in only half a century. During the March on Washington in 1963, when the youngest speaker John Lewis was 23, every member of the 535 people in Congress were white. According to Wilmore, today Lewis is one of the 38 blacks in the House of Representative (Civil Rights: How far have we come?). Not to mention that we have had a black president, Barack Obama, serve two terms in office. With public opinion surveys conducted since 1996 reporting 9 in 10 Americans would vote for a black candidate if they were qualified, which is considered a significant step forward in race elections (Wilmore, Civil Rights: How far have we come?. These advancements would have been unheard of during the Civil Rights movement. Nevertheless, some discrimination has made little to no change …show more content…
Economically, they tend to make less and only be able to afford to live in poor neighborhoods. In most cases, if the neighborhood is poor, so is its public school (Wilmore, Civil Rights: How far have we come?). As shown in this chart, the average black student attends a school with exam scores close to the 37th percentile, while a white student is close to the 60th percentile (Reeves and Rodrigue, 2015). Inner-city schools that have smaller budgets than well-off public or private schools don’t get up-to-date textbooks, technology, or extracurriculars. This harms the students’ education when they have to use outdated books and used equipment. Because most inner-city schools are primarily black, caucasians and African Americans often learn at a different rate as well (Wilmore, Civil Rights: How far have we come?). Black students, on average, are behind in math, science, reading, and writing in comparison to white students. In reading, blacks are almost four years behind by the time they graduate high school. Even if they have a career where a college degree is not requires, companies like Honda now requires employees who can read and do math problems at a minimum 9th grade level. In the 1992 NAEP test, 47 percent of whites and only 18 percent of African Americans could handle the reading portion enough to be able to be employed at an automobile plant (Thernstrom,