The Struggle is Real: The Systematic Oppression and Short comings of African Americans.
Qadash D. Scott
English 1102
Professor Micheal Fournier
December 2, 2018
Violence, poverty, incarceration, unemployment, fatherless households, and many other negative aspects of living are problems that can be found all across the globe in every nations backyard. This fact is unfortunate but hardly surprising considering the type of material and temporary values the majority of people in our society place on a pedestal. People tend to put these material things, whatever they may be, over other human beings. Although these problems are prevalent in just about every country, they are undeniably visible and standout within the black race; specifically the African American populous that I am so familiar with. The African American community continues to be dealt the short end of the stick in almost every aspect that directly correlates to success in America which are in education, employment, healthcare, and overall opportunities to build generational wealth to pass down to future generations. Day by day the same story of impoverished black kids brought up in violent and neglectful circumstances only to repeat the same cycle is all too familiar to me and the rest of America. Although this is a national crises to some, the overwhelming majority seems to not show much empathy towards the situation.
The obstacles and challenges put in the way of black Americans gives one the impression that the struggle for a fair chance is by design. Nothing this outrages could ever be unintentional. Not only is there oppression from other races within the country but there is also oppression from the African American community that seems to perpetuate this never ending cycle of poverty, crime, and loss of identity we as a community so desperately need to rid ourselves from.
First let’s discuss the disparities of wealth distribution and the alarming rate of poverty within the black community. Black poverty is inherited and passed down to the next generation. “Black Americans born poor are much less likely to move up the income ladder than those in other racial groups, especially whites” according to author Scott Winship. There are numerous factors that play into this including educational inequalities, neighborhood effects, and even parenting. In 2018, the African American community only has about one-tenth of the White American communities wealth. On average white families in America earn a median wealth of $171,000 as opposed to black families’ median wealth which is $17,600. Not only do white families earn at least ten times more money on average but the gap is actually started widening after the great recession in 2007 when in prior years of the recession black families actually made about 14% of what their white family counterparts made. Even though that is not much of a difference in wealth it still says a lot in terms of the ignored inequality of wealth distribution or opportunities between black and white families.
In a much more recent article, author Lisa J. Dettling describes how the wealth median for white families and black families fell about thirty percent during the recession of 2007 through 2010. What is most significant about this finding is that the wealth median for white families dropped ten percent during 2010 through 2013 while the wealth median of black families doubled that percentage within the beginning years of the aftermath. These findings side with the argument of inequality and covert discrimination in America towards the African American community from an economic stand point.
It is also important to note that African Americans hold the second highest poverty rate in the country at a whopping twenty-three percent. The poverty rate of African American families double the poverty rate of the country itself which sits at eleven percent. Given the history of bondage and apartheid of black people in America, it is safe to say that poverty in the black community has always been a serious problem. These disproportionate statistics between households make the argument of oppression hard to dismiss.
Inner city crime plays a big part in the grand scheme of this topic. A lot African Americans are subject to living in hellish circumstances due to the constant threat of violence being effortlessly brushed off by the community itself. There has been studies that proved direct correlations between crime and poverty across the globe. According to digital strategist author Dario Berrebi,
“What reveals the unmistakable connection between poverty and crime is that they’re both geographically concentrated – in a strikingly consistent way. In other words, where you find poverty is also where you find crime.” Poverty and crime are definitively tied with one another in America. Black communities especially experience crime, death, drugs, and abuse like it’s a normal thing to go through. The craziest part about it all is that it seems as if it is promoted as a lifestyle rather than a call for help. In my personal experience I know of several of my black male friends and acquaintances that have committed robberies, thefts, and even shootings within their own communities. I strongly believe their actions are results of misguidance and neighborhood influences as well as the lack care and resources needed so much in these communities.
I always find myself asking the question of why are there so many impoverished and crime ridden cities in America that are predominantly African American. Everyday I would hear about someone I know dying by a gun or getting locked up for murders. No matter what time frame we are in the situations never seem to get better. The worse part about the African American community always being entangled in violence against themselves is that it’s normalized to the point where people make it apart of a culture to harm one another. This is another form of oppression but instead of it being from an exterior presence it is within the community. I personally believe that this is a mentality that is years in the making and would take generations to even start to chip away at such a calcified mind-state.
For instance, In 2012 the city of Chicago Illinois, (specifically the Southside) experienced a historical moment when breaking the record for all time highest amount of homicides committed in that year According to articles. The city had an overall homicide count of five-hundred and fourteen bodies total with three-hundred and ninety-two of those bodies being young black males from impoverished neighborhoods. Out of this total of five-hundred and fourteen bodies, seventy-seven percent of them were African American youths; boy and girl. The total number of deaths that year earned the windy city the title of murder capital of the United States of America. It is also recorded to have been more death in Chicago than the on going war in Iraq. This earned the city the much more memorable and sinister title “Chiraq Drillinois.” If there wasn’t any proof or citing for these outrageous numbers I would have to think that this story was a lie. Unfortunately it’s all too real for the young black men and women living in these areas. The odds always seem stacked against African Americans in every aspect people look at.
Unsurprisingly enough, the neighborhoods that racked up the most homicides were also reported to be the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago that had a demographic of predominately black citizens. The neighborhood of Englewood reportedly had the most murders in the year 2012 sitting at about 40 homicides. According to HomeSnacks Weekly, Englewood Chicago is well within the top five poorest areas to live within the city. It’s median income is a little under $20,000 and it also has an increasing unemployment rate of 18.7 percent. These numbers don’t even makes sense when comparing them to 16 years and over white counterparts in the country who’s unemployment rate sits at about 3.8 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are many other black communities in America that have nearly identical issues when it comes to violence and poverty. I specifically find this piece of information to be compelling in the sense that African Americans seem to be several leaps behind their white counter parts despite the progress and overall growth made within the generations. It seems like no matter how much progress we achieve African Americans achieve there frankly will always be great disparity between them and different racial groups in America.
I believe that the biggest issue African Americans must face in order to even begin to fix the overwhelming issues of today is the presence of a father in each households as well as a functioning family. According to article “Kids Count Data Center”, as of 2016 67 percent of black kids live in single parent households. This is nearly triple the rate of Non-Hispanic White counter parts and more than quadruple the percentage of Asian and Pacific Islanders. Studies have also shown that this exact absence of both parents in a child's life directly correlates to things such as the likelihood to commit crimes, the higher chance of living below the poverty belt, and even a higher risk of depression at a young age. The statistic based site “Statista” shows that in 2017 30.8 percent of black single mothers are more likely to live in poverty. Coupling this statistic with the overwhelming single black parents family households makes for an interesting conflict because I am able to relate and thoroughly understand the correlation between single parent households and negative effects on the children.
The overwhelming majority of my African American peers live in a single parent households and the majority of those households are usually missing a father. The peers that I’ve known well do not have access to the same guidance and care as I, a young black man who has a father, has. I believe not having your father during your adolescence is very detrimental to a kids development and growth. Black children being fatherless in very impoverished areas isn’t anything new. This can be due to early incarceration, early abandonment, or even early death of the father figure. Incarceration is the most evident of the factors within the African American community. Black men on average in America have a higher risk of seeing prison within the time span of their lives more than any other race in our country. According to the Bureau of Justice National Prisoner Statistics, in 2013 the amount of black males that were incarcerated in prison, which was roughly 745,000 prisoners, was significantly higher than the prison counts of India, Japan, Israel, England, Lebanon, and 4 more countries combined. It is very important to also note that America has the largest prison population in the world. The incredible slant of inequality and statistical data molded my argument and thesis into what it is currently. This speaks loud volumes when discussing the topic of tolerated inequality within the African American communities for many years. These numbers directly correlate to the broken homes of black Americans as well as overwhelming violence and even poverty.
As you can see, all these factors of poverty, less opportunity unity for education, high incarceration rates, and uncontrollable violence all distribute heavy adversity towards the African American community. These problems are hardly ever discussed in our country because, as I said previously in the paper, people just still don’t seem to really value the health and wealth of the African American community. This research definitely still leaves a lot of questions as to solutions to the problem at hand. I struggled to find anything definitive and concrete to possibly bring an end to the inequalities. I would have to say that I have a very pessimistic view on the future for the black Americans. No matter how wealthy or far we get in this country I feel as if the problems of inequalities and the systematic oppression of black people will be forever ingrained within the community. It’s like African Americans and trauma are synonymous with each other.
In conclusion, African American people still face very real and unwavering inequalities and systematic issues that date back to earlier years of America. Despite these inequalities we have managed to show amazing strength and progress throughout generations. I do hope that one day that the African American community will no longer be plagued with the same mentality and horrific issues that are unique to only us. Until that time the struggle for success is still very real.