AFRICAN AMERICANS AFRICAN AMERICANS TODAYTODAY

CHAPTER 8CHAPTER 8

EducationEducation• African Americans place special

importance on acquiring education• Racial and ethnic groups realize that

formal schooling is key to social mobility• Documented inadequacy of quality and

quantity of education• Educational gap between Blacks and

Whites• Always been present• Gap is narrowing in recent years

• Many students would not drop out of school were it not for the combined inadequacies noted:• Insensitive teachers• Poor counseling• Unresponsive administrators• Overcrowded classes• Irrelevant curricula• Dilapidated school facilities

• Several can be addressed with more funding but some are stalemated by disagreements over what changes lead to the best outcome

School SegregationSchool Segregation• De jure patterns of segregationDe jure patterns of segregation -

according to policy or law children were assigned to schools on the basis of race• U.S Supreme Court decision in 1954 - Brown

v. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas.• De facto SegregationDe facto Segregation

• Results from residential patternsResults from residential patterns• Apartheid SchoolsApartheid Schools

• Refers to schools that are all BlackRefers to schools that are all Black• 1 of 6 of the nation’s Black students are in

attendance

• TrackingTracking• The practice of placing students in specific The practice of placing students in specific

curriculum groups on the basis of test scores curriculum groups on the basis of test scores and other criteriaand other criteria

• African American children disproportionately assigned to general classes and more White children placed in college preparatory classes

• African American students more likely than White students to be classified as learning disabled or emotionally disturbed

• Integration is not one of the successes of public education

Acting White, Acting Black, or Acting White, Acting Black, or NeitherNeither

• ““Acting White”Acting White”• Common view reason of African Americans, Common view reason of African Americans,

especially males, not succeeding in education especially males, not succeeding in education is that they do not want to be caught “acting is that they do not want to be caught “acting white”white”

• Shifts responsibility of low school attainment from the school to the individual

• Overemphasizes personal responsibility, not structural features – quality of schools, curriculum, and teachers

Higher EducationHigher Education• There has been an increase in African

American students going to college and graduating

• Upward trend to higher education has declined and in part is a function of:• decline in educational financial aid• push for higher standards• employment opportunities• negative publicity and a decline in enforcement

of affirmative action• racial incidents on college campuses

The Economic PictureThe Economic Picture• Income and WealthIncome and Wealth

• Two measures of overall economic Two measures of overall economic situation of an individual or householdsituation of an individual or household

• IncomeIncome• Refers to salaries, wages, and other Refers to salaries, wages, and other

money receivedmoney received• WealthWealth

• A more inclusive term encompassing all of A more inclusive term encompassing all of a person’s material assets, including land a person’s material assets, including land and other types of propertyand other types of property

• In 2005• Median income of Black families was $37,500

compared with $64,663 for White non-Hispanic households

• Black income today resembles that of Whites more than 10 years ago

• 24.7% of Black people lived below poverty level compared with 8.4% of non-Hispanic Whites

• That an African American family is three times more likely to be poor shows staggering social inequity

• Wealth demonstrates greater disparity• Generations of social inequity left Blacks, as a

group, unable to accumulate the wealth of Whites, as a group

EmploymentEmployment• Even in the best of times, national

unemployment rate is significantly higher for Blacks than Whites

• Factors explaining official unemployment rate of young African American males• Many live in depressed economy of central cities• Immigrants and illegal aliens present increased

competition• White middle-class women entered the labor force• Illegal activities at which youth find they can make

more money have become more prevalent

• Official unemployment rateOfficial unemployment rate• Federal government’s Bureau of Labor Federal government’s Bureau of Labor

Statistics counts as unemployed only people Statistics counts as unemployed only people actively seeking employmentactively seeking employment

• Leaves out millions of Americans, Black & White

• UnderemploymentUnderemployment• Refers to working at a job for which one is Refers to working at a job for which one is

overqualified, involuntarily working part-time, or overqualified, involuntarily working part-time, or being employed only intermittentlybeing employed only intermittently

Family LifeFamily Life• Challenges to Family Stability

• Female-headed household• Economic status of African-American male has been

deteriorating• Extended family and augmented members as a

means of emotional, social and physical support

• Sociologists attribute rapid expansion of single-parent households to shifts in the economy that keep Black men, especially in urban areas, out of work• Phenomenon not limited to African Americans

Strengths of African Strengths of African American FamiliesAmerican Families

• Robert Hill (1999)Robert Hill (1999)• 1. Strong kinship bonds• 2. Strong work orientation• 3. Adaptability of family roles• 4. Strong achievement orientation• 5. A strong religious orientation

• Social scientists are learning to look at both weaknesses and strengths of African American family life

• Most consistently documented Most consistently documented strengthstrength• Presence of an extended family householdPresence of an extended family household

• Most common featureMost common feature• Having grandparents residing in the homeHaving grandparents residing in the home• Extended living arrangements more common

among Black households than among White ones

• Arrangements recognized as having important economic benefit of pooling limited resources

The African American Middle The African American Middle ClassClass

• African Americans still aware of racial subordination even when that have achieved economic equality

• Migration of middle-class African Americans from ghetto in 1970s and 1980s left a vacuum• No longer present as role models

• African American middle-class do not automatically accept all aspects of White middle-class

• W.E.B. DuBois (1952)W.E.B. DuBois (1952)• When racism decreases, class issues When racism decreases, class issues

become more importantbecome more important• ClassClass

• Sociologist Max WeberSociologist Max Weber• Refer to people who share a similar level of wealth Refer to people who share a similar level of wealth

and incomeand income

• Sociologist William J. WilsonSociologist William J. Wilson• The Declining Significance of Race (1980).The Declining Significance of Race (1980).• ““Class becomes more important than race in Class becomes more important than race in

determining black life-chances in the modern determining black life-chances in the modern world” (p. 150).world” (p. 150).

HousingHousing• Plays a major role in determining quality of a

person’s life• For African Americans, housing has been

restricted through discrimination• President Kennedy Executive OrderPresident Kennedy Executive Order

• Government required nondiscrimination in federally Government required nondiscrimination in federally assisted housing, included only 7% of the housing assisted housing, included only 7% of the housing marketmarket

• 1968 Federal Fair Housing Law (Title VII of the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Law (Title VII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act)1968 Civil Rights Act) and U.S. Supreme Court decision of Jones v. MayerJones v. Mayer combined to outlaw all racial discrimination in housing

Residential SegregationResidential Segregation• Factors that create residential segregation

in the United States• Private prejudice and discrimination• Prejudicial policies of real estate companies• Ineffective enforcement of anti-bias legislation• Public housing policies and past construction

patterns reinforce housing for the poor in inner city neighborhoods

• Policies of banks and other lenders create barriers based on race to financing home purchasing

• RedliningRedlining• The practice of discrimination against people The practice of discrimination against people

trying to buy homes in minority and racially trying to buy homes in minority and racially changing neighborhoodschanging neighborhoods

• Zoning LawsZoning Laws• Enacted to ensure specific standards of Enacted to ensure specific standards of

housing constructionhousing construction• Can also separate industrial and commercial Can also separate industrial and commercial

enterprises from residential areasenterprises from residential areas• Some appear to curb development of low Some appear to curb development of low

and moderate-income housingand moderate-income housing

Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice• Blacks constitute:

• 4.7% of the lawyers• 15.7% of police• 17.1% of detectives• 28.4% of security guards• 39% of jail inmates

• FBI’s Uniform Crime ReportFBI’s Uniform Crime Report• Black’s account for 28% of arrests even Black’s account for 28% of arrests even

though they represent only about 13% of though they represent only about 13% of the nation’s populationthe nation’s population

• Conflict TheoryConflict Theory• Higher arrest rate is not surprising for a Higher arrest rate is not surprising for a

group that is disproportionately poor and group that is disproportionately poor and therefore much less able to afford private therefore much less able to afford private attorneys, who might prevent formal arrests attorneys, who might prevent formal arrests from taking placefrom taking place

• UCR focuses on index crimes most often committed by low-income people

• Victimization SurveysVictimization Surveys• Annual systematic interviews of ordinary Annual systematic interviews of ordinary

people to reveal how much crime occurspeople to reveal how much crime occurs• Show that African-Americans are 22% more likely

to be victims of violent crime than Whites

• Differential JusticeDifferential Justice• Whites are dealt with more leniently than Whites are dealt with more leniently than

are Blacksare Blacks• Whether at the time of

• Investigation, arrest, indictment, conviction, sentencing, incarceration, or parole

• The application of differential justice The application of differential justice to the harshest judgment that can be to the harshest judgment that can be made in the legal systemmade in the legal system• The Death PenaltyThe Death Penalty

Health CareHealth Care• Black men are much more likely to fall

victim to:• Unrelenting stress• Heart disease• Cancer

• Compared with Whites, Blacks have higher death rates from heart disease, pneumonia, diabetes, and cancer

• Death from strokes twice as high as Whites

• Conflict PerspectiveConflict Perspective• Howard Waitzkin (1986)Howard Waitzkin (1986)

• Racial tensions contribute to the medical Racial tensions contribute to the medical problems of African Americansproblems of African Americans

• Stress resulting from racial prejudice and Stress resulting from racial prejudice and discrimination help to explain high rates of discrimination help to explain high rates of hypertensionhypertension

• Blacks represent 6% of practicing physicians

• Of students entering medical school in fall of 2004 – only 6.5% were Black

• Issues of environmental justice

PoliticsPolitics• Only 38 African American congressional

representatives• Locally elected Black officials have

difficulty jumping to statewide office• Non-Black voters are concerned that view

of Whites and non-Blacks will not be represented by an African American

• GerrymanderingGerrymandering• Dated from 1810; the bizarre outlining of Dated from 1810; the bizarre outlining of

districts to create politically advantageous districts to create politically advantageous outcomesoutcomes

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS

• To what degree have the civil rights movement initiatives in education been realized, or do they remain unmet?

• What challenges face the African American middle-class?

• What are the biggest assets and problems facing African American families?

• How are differential justice and victim discounting related?

• How is race-based gerrymandering related to affirmative action?

• How are the problems in crime, housing, and health interrelated?

• What are the implications of Wilson’s assertion that class has become more important than race in determining life-chances of African Americans? Why do you agree or disagree?