This from the AP’s Stephen Ohlemacher (11.14.06):Decades after the civil rights movement, racial disparities in income, education and home ownership persist and, by some measurements, are growing.
White households had incomes that were two-thirds higher than blacks and 40 percent higher than Hispanics last year, according to. . .the Census Bureau. . .
“Race is so associated with class in the United States that it may not be direct discrimination, but it still matters indirectly,” said Dalton Conley, a sociology professor at New York University and author of Being Black, Living in the Red.
When will those white people stop discriminating against poor blacks and Hispanics? Hasn’t it been almost 400 years already? Enough is enough, I say.
Except for one inconvenient fact, dropped in the same story, but not explained or in any way related to discrimination, direct or indirect:
Asian household incomes were 19 percent higher than whites’ and almost double the income of black households.
3 comments:
Dad,
Glad to see that blogger's comments function is working again! I have tried to comment on several previous posts but they were refused...
I honestly can't tell if you are being sincere or facetious here, but on the former assumption I will rise to your bait.
Obviously, the phenomenon of racist discrimination in the United States is principally a white on black phenomenon. It originates in slavery - the holding of black slaves in chattel by white owners - and continues after the Civil War with Jim Crow, the KKK, and segregation. Post Civil Rights Act, it continues with the Republicans' "Southern Strategy". You actually lived through the latter stages of this national trauma - it was not that long ago.
So I don't think a flippant attitude about white-black racist discrimination is called for. In fact, I challenge you to take the "Race IAT" quiz at:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/
Let us know what you think. (This test is discussed at length in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink.)
Aloha,
Derek
Derek:
Here’s one of many stories about college-educated blacks doing as well economically as college-educated whites:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/bythenumbers/2005-03-28-income-education_x.htm
Also, Caribbean blacks have performed as well as whites in this country for generations.
Yes discrimination is a real part of our history, but Asians are victims as well, so let’s not prove discrimination by using income figures. It’s just not factual.
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