...Mashell Chapeyama Business Administration Sociology Key words Racial inequality, ethnic inequality, geographic location, discrimination, cultural orientation Causes of racial and ethnic inequality This discussion looks at the causes of racial and ethnic inequalities in the world. There are a number of causes of inequalities. Some causes are geographical location and discrimination. However inequality is on the decline on a global scale. Racial and ethnic inequality is found in many countries where there are either many races or ethnics or both. In Zimbabwe there is racial and ethnic inequality. There are various reasons for that. Whereas my discussion covers what is basically in my country, I have also researched on ethnic and racial inequalities in United States of America as from 1950s to 1970s, and the current situation. One main cause of inequality is the geographical location. Some people who are located in most remote areas of the country normally become marginalized. There is poor transportation system, poor education and far of from urban centers where technology and industrialization is mainly found. These people who live in remote areas are cut of from the rest of the world. They do not access quality education. Hence they remain marginalized and backward. In Zimbabwe a number of ethnic groups are found at the borders of the country. That is the reason for the inequality. Another cause of this disparity is cultural orientation. Various ethnic groups...
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...For the greater good of this nation, the education system has to be reformed, as racial inequality is evident and the discriminatory educational system is becoming a self destructive factor on the citizens of the United States of America. In the U.S, public education funds rely on taxation of local property. These property taxes vary between different districts and locations. This variance of property tax revenues often leads to inequality of education due to lack of financial resources in the school to provide opportunities, facilities and programs for the students. This inequality of opportunities is evident and often leads up to broader, much larger social problems in the long run. According to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, racial minorities are more likely, than their white counterpart, to be suspended from school, receive less access to math and science classes, and are usually taught by lower-paid teachers with less experience. (Rich 2015) Statistics from the date proved that based on the data collected during the 2011-2012 academic year, black students face harsher discipline than other students and are three times more likely to be suspended than white students. Young African-American students are also suspended and expelled at disproportionate rates, even students as young as preschool-level. Students of color also lacks the access to schools that offer a full range of math and science courses, which undoubtedly impacts their chances of getting...
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...He discusses poverty – insofar as he suggests that money affords one access and the opportunity to receive more; with more opportunity comes more access and more access provides social capital. This is what explains the lack of fluid social capital among the lower class. While poverty is not necessarily an issue of race issue but more so class, racial inequality & racism still very pervades contemporary American society. Structure & agency are also enabling agents to inequality in America; adequate agency is required to surmount barriers created by certain structural forces designed by society. Macleod comes to the conclusion that individual agency is ostensibly inferior to social institutions and structural constraints. One’s outcome is more dependent on their social milieu, more than anything else; this, he purports, is what accounts for demographic patterns of...
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...Los Angeles: A critical essay looking into increasing inequality and its root causes in the metropolitan area across the last 50 years Los Angeles is one of the most economically developed cities in the world and it represents a beacon of technological advancement, social progression and equal opportunity for people all around the world. Los Angeles (L.A.) was recently ranked 9th on the Global Economic Power Index (Florida, 2012) and 20th on the Global Power City Index that included criteria such as “livability”, “cultural interaction”, “environment” and “accessibility” (Institute for Urban Strategies, 2014). These ideas may ring true for some; however there are many who live within the city limits that experience a very different reality. In the last 20 years there has been an increasing amount of academic literature examining rising economic, social, political and underlying racial inequality within L.A. This essay will attempt to evaluate this literature so as to examine what inequalities are occurring and identify possible causes underlying them. For future reference within this essay, I am going to be looking at L.A. as the Greater Los Angeles Area, which includes the city of L.A. and other interconnected urban areas so as to avoid confusion on where possible boundaries are drawn and also to have a greater area from which to draw comparison from. Socio-Economic History Leading to Contemporary Inequality The situation Los Angeles is currently in can be attributed...
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...Rights Movement during the mid-1950s. He has made many speeches throughout the Movement in which he is best known because of them. During the Civil Right Movement the main goal of it was to end racial inequality. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary inequality means, “an unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better opportunities than other people.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” is the most compelling...
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...stratification- is systematic inequalities among groups of people 1. Wealth and income (social class) 2. Racial inequality 3. Gender inequality. Equality/inequality -Ontological equality -Equality of opportunity -Equality of condition -Equality of outcome Why inequality exists? Inequality in wealth and access to resources is generated by three processes: 1.) Unequal division of labor and/or low mobility across occupations. 2.) Surplus or abundance of resources 3.) The desire to accumulate wealth and assets Types of social mobility: mobility refers to movement between different position within a system of social stratification 1. Horizontal 2. Vertical 3. Structural 4. Exchange Why the class structure is changing -Massive growth in inequality between the rich and the poor. Called the “Great U-Turn” -Shrinking of the working class, with some growth in middle class and working poor. -Growth of poverty and the “underclass” -Rate of poverty is increasing twice as fast as population growth Why income inequality is increasing -Largely due to the increasing concentration of wealth at the very top of the income distribution. consequences of income inequality -High levels of income inequality reduces social cohesion, overall health, overall wealth, and education -Increases crime, debt, and political polarization Social construction of race -Instead, social scientists argue that “race” is socially constructed. Racial categories and the...
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...This is linked to the high school dropout rate and college enrollment rate. High-school dropout rates are least among Whites and highest among Hispanics, and college enrollment rates are least among black and highest among whites. Racial gaps in education are supported by the concepts of concerted cultivation and the accomplishment of natural growth. In the text, Unequal Childhoods: Class Race, and family Life, Annette Lareau illustrates how parenting styles differ by social class position and the effects of these different parenting styles on children’s growth. Parents living in the middle/upper-middle class follow concerted cultivation, which includes parents cultivating the talents of their children with questions and discussions and having children be involved in organized activities to provide wide range of experiences. Students are exposed to more resources and opportunities that allow them to be prepared for college applications. Accomplishment of Natural Growth is a parenting style exercised by parents in lower and poor class. Economic constraints put the focus on housing and providing food. The inequalities between urban, working class school and suburban school reflect inequalities in society: parents’ education and careers,...
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...Social Inequalities of Sports The world of sports has so many different levels to it. In each separate sport, there are different levels that range from recreational and neighborhood teams all the way up to professional leagues. Getting all the way up to this professional or even the collegiate level is a very impressive feat that not many people can say they have accomplished. However, athleticism and talent are not the only thing that gets you to these levels. There are many other factors that have to do with how far you can take your sport and how far your sport will allow you to go. There are many different inequalities such as race, ethnicity, class, and gender that shape each athlete’s experience in their respective sports. The first is race and ethnicity. The conversation about racial inequality is currently a hot topic in the United States. However, over the last fifty years, the world of sports has made some of the best progress of any institutions. In the National Football League, two thirds of the league players are racial minorities, most of them being African American. Close to 25% of the league management positions are occupied by people of color. There were six African American general managers in 2012, and eight of the last 12 Super Bowl participants have either had a black coach or General Manager. The National Basketball Association also has a very good diverse athlete population. More than three quarters of all NBA players are African-American and people...
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...N E Q U A L I T I E S IN T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF HEALTH INEQUALITIES IN THE UNITED STATES Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D. Darrell J. Gaskin, Ph.D. Patrick Richard, Ph.D. September 2009 foreward Not everyone in the United States enjoys the same health opportunities. Studies show that minority Americans experience poorer than average health outcomes from cradle to the grave. They are much more likely to die as infants, have higher rates of diseases and disabilities, and have shorter life spans. As the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration work toward enactment of legislation to reform America’s health care system, a central focus of the debate has been the projected cost of ensuring accessible and affordable health care to every citizen. While some have struggled with the premise that health care reform can actually reduce health-related spending, the experience of racial and ethnic minorities under our current health care system is a strong indication that improving opportunities for good health – and minimizing inequities in health care access and outcomes – may well be good for the nation’s fiscal health, as well. This study, commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and carried out by leading researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, provides important insight into how much of a financial burden racial disparities are putting on our health care system and society at large. The researchers...
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...teaching takes place from the viewpoint of whites. Moreover, educational materials have traditionally either excluded racial and ethnic minorities or presented them in an unflattering way (Farley, 2012). To remedy this, a true multicultural approach to learning is needed. This means the cultural bias that weaves its way through the entire educational institution needs to be addressed. Thus, the current stance on educational tracks, bilingual education, textbook development, and testing needs to be reevaluated (Farley, 2012). Likewise, the influence of teacher expectations in regards to learning ability and achievement must be dealt with. Addressing Inequities in Education As previously mentioned, America is undoubtedly a culturally diverse nation. People from all different walks of life make this country their home. However, society has been slow to...
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...American or Hispanic, we are all the same. Is it right to judge people by the color of their skin? Is treating people equally regardless of race somehow a paragon of inequality? Unfortunately, in today’s society we are judging people by the color of their skin, and not from their country of origin, ethnicity or biological. The American dream is based on the idea that; America where no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, no matter who you love, you can make it here if you try. While the United States was built on this idea, it is becoming harder and harder for people to move up in social status...
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...Racial & Ethnic Short-Answer Questions (15) Should reparations be paid to the descendants of victims of slavery? • Some reject the decision made in the Bakke case that providing a remedy for the effects of racial discrimination is unconstitutional. They argue that the idea of reparations is rooted in international law. • Affirmative Action is inadequate, the ‘Maafa’ (meaning disaster, i.e., slavery) is a crime against humanity, and therefore compensation is required. • In the past 50 years apologies and financial compensation has been given to a wide range of groups, including survivors of the Jewish holocaust (as well as descendants of the victims), Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned during the Second World War and native Americans who had their land illegally seized in the USA. • African Americans have been demanding compensation for slavery since the end of the American Civil War. Immediately after the abolition of slavery, the demand was for 40 acres and a mule to ensure they would not be dependent on their former slave-owners. Then, between 1890 and 1917, there was a movement to lobby the government for pensions to compensate for their unpaid labour under slavery. Since 1989, Congressman John Conyers Jnr (Michigan) has introduced a bill every year to study the case for reparations. Each of these initiatives has been largely ignored by the political establishment. • Reparations would ensure full recognition of the scale of the Maafa and, at the same time...
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...Social Issues Position Paper Racial and Ethnic Inequality Amongst Blacks : A Economic Problem of Society Tameekah Myers SOC 1000-Comtemporary Social Issues Thesis Statement In this essay one will come to a better understanding of racial and ethnic inequality and why it exists. It is evident that Inequality amongst certain races is evident however it also linked to a variety of perspectives that account for the continuation of racial, ethnic discrimination and inequality. Inequality amongst Races and Ethnicity ▪ What is race and ethnicity? ▪ Should race exist ▪ Inequality among races Racism against African Americans ▪ Slavery ▪ Racial Profiling ▪ Stereotypes ▪ Causes and Effects of Racism Social status and race inequality ▪ Social/Racial classification ▪ Education inequality ▪ Labor/income Inequality Laws and Policies ▪ Affirmative action policies ▪ Equal Opportunity Policy ▪ Civil Right Act The social stance of American Minorities Now ▪ African Americans Conclusion In this essay one will come to a better understanding of racial and ethnic inequality and why it exists. It is evident that inequality amongst certain races is evident; however, it also linked to a variety of perspectives that account for the continuation of racial, ethnic discrimination and inequality. The story of race is intricate and may challenge how we think about human differences and race as...
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...In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the author shows the racial struggle between blacks and whites in the 60s, during the Civil Right movement. The main black characters, Roseleen, August, May, June and Zach face a lot of difficulties as blacks; for instance, Roseleen was having a hard time to get the right to vote, June has a sense of intimidation towards white and May’s suicide is indirectly connected to the racial problem. Moreover, when Roseleen was just walking on the street, some Caucasian men pick a fight with her and then they beat her up until she almost dies. On the other hand, the main white characters, Lily and her father T. Ray, are racist. We can see how racism is influential when it comes to parents to child, and we...
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...neighborhood and state levels disconnected them from classrooms and restrooms, from theaters and train cars, from juries and assemblies. African Americans have been treated unequally for many years and equality is still elusive for blacks in today’s society. Economic gains African Americans have dealt with inequality for many years and still can’t seem to achieve equality. In the article “Equality still elusive 50 years after civil rights act,” Richard Wolf (2014) mentioned that African Americans have made a huge impact on society throughout the years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there are many achievements done by an African American, but they still seem to lack in catching up to the white race. African Americans has helped obtain many things in this world and has set marks and have made history, but can’t be able to surpass those of...
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