Racial problems in the USA

Racial problems in the USA

Discrimination is still practised in the United States against black Americans. This discrimination has many causes, which are impoverishment, criminality and in general things which happened years before, for example slavery.

Through this time of slavery, Blacks were suppressed by the white people. The Blacks had to do lower jobs and they experienced that they were lower humans. And it is normal that they build up a kind of hate. But the Whites were superior and because of that the blacks had no chance to compensate this situation. This period of slavery has last until the middle of the last century.

Another aspect and a cross reference to the working situation at slavery times is employment at the present time. But before discussing employment, unemployment is a major factor to consider. In 1987, the unemployment rate of blacks was 13 percent. This is more than twice the the rate of white Americans, which had a 6 percent unemployment rate. It can not be proven however, that Blacks were discriminatedagainst because they are required under law to be given equal opportunities as compared to Whites in the job market.

Later in 1992 over 1 million black males were unemployed compared to the 4 million unemployed white males. This may sound good, but only 12 percent of the American population is black, so the equation does not add up. Also for the Blacks that are able to get jobs, they don't get paid near as much as Whites. In 1992 whtie people an average of $13 more than Blacks.

Discriminatory acts are are also found in the field of education towards both Blacks and Whites. One way to prove that Blacks here could be discriminated against too, is the fact that 4 percent more 18 and 19 year old white students were enrolled in colleges in 1991 than Blacks. An opponent example is that total in 1991, 2,5 percent more blacks were enrolled in any school level than whites.

The reason for Blacks being discriminated in their education is as well the fact that admissions offices of colleges and universities don't have to accept any single person unless they want to. That is why want to know your race when you apply there. This is mainly how they discriminate against Blacks. Because of this, in 1994 only 14 percent of Blacks have degrees beyond high school, compared to 26 percent of Whites and only 3 percent of Blacks have advanced degrees, compared to 6 percent of Whites.

Another area of discrimination in the 90's is with legal rights. For this I only found that 6 percent of black males are in prison or jail, compared to 1 percent of white males. One hypothesis for this discrepancy may be that many black people are unable to get lawyers to help them, causing them to have to go to prison. Being unable to get a good lawyer is not discrimination, but because many have a poor education, and work for low pay due to discrimination, so their legal representation is inferior. This also contributes to the fact that more Blacks are sitting on Death Row than Whites, and that 9 out of 10 male inmates are Blacks.

Those facts named above are an attempt to prove the discrimination in a statistical way, because these comparisons make clear the Blacks disadvantages.

Now it is time to search for the reasons of racial problems. If somebody is asked what he occurs to Blacks, first catchwords are criminality, drugs and poverty.

With some facts I try to show how these prejudices are achieved. First of all 80 percent of the black Americans live in cities. At Washington D.C. the Blacks form the majority by being 64 percent of the total population. Above named prejudices like poverty and criminality are based on every 3^rd Black living under the poverty line and every 4^th Black being in prison. These existing facts strengthen the prejudices of poverty and criminality.

An example for the normal black life is the 29-year-old Denise Marsha. In a report she describes her impressions and those of her children. The family lives in the northwest of Washington D.C., in an area where exclusive Blacks live. There it is normal to hear shots every day. Every of her children has got a different father. One of these fathers is in prison condemnedfor drug trafficking.

In a following report, Mark Lewis, one teacher of her daughter Jasmin, points on the relations existing in American schools: some of the schools have a policemen which has to guard the entrance. Only this is an indicator for existing violence. But more a affecting is the fate of the pupils, the situations where they life in and how they handle with it. One pupils' mother is an alcoholic and the other pupil saw his father being shot on.

Those given facts are characteristics for an unfortunate living. Being confronted with so much disadvantages every day and at the same time seeing Whites not having so many problems it is clear that there are many causes of friction.

It seems like the Americans sitting on a powder keg, because every day they are confronted with those differences.

In 1992 it was a kind of breakout, when indignant Afroamericans began to plunder districts of Los Angeles. It was a reaction on an acquittal of four policemen. These policemen have merciless bet up the black Rodney King in front of a running camera.

Today the American nation is holding up his breath because they know that many cities with their overcrowded slums could blow up by the least occasion. But the racial problems are going on

Quellen:

1988 World Book Encyclopedia; p. 33

1989 Social Problems (Vol. 20) by LeRoy Barnes; p. 34-35

1993 Information Please, Almanac; p. 56, 58, 61

1994 Information Please, Almanac; p. 42

Brueckenbauer, Wochenzeitung, Nr. 42 (Okt. 96)

Die Schule im Ghetto, Internet-Dukument, Dominik Landwehr