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African American Income Inequality Essay

452 Words2 Pages

It is a bigger challenge to advance up the social ladder as an African American. Wealth inequality is real and has grown over the past few years. Pew Research studies show that median white net worth is thirteen times that of black net worth (up from six times in 2001). How can African Americans believe in the American Dream?

I. Introduction
Why can’t African Americans seem to get ahead in this country? Why is there a prominent and growing wealth gap between white Americans and black Americans? The answers to these questions are multifaceted, complex, and culturally ingrained. In this paper, I will attempt to identify the primary causes of the current economic equality disaster.

II. Body paragraphs
Lack of access to high-quality primary education: since funding for the public school system is dependent on …show more content…

Additionally, shifts in the global job market have made gainful employment more difficult to secure. Outsourcing, advancements in technology, and the decline in unions have created a gaping hole in the living-wage job market for less educated workers. Without the ability to advance in the workplace, the potential to build wealth is greatly reduced.
According to blackcareerzone.com, black people hold only 8.3% of “of all management, professional and related occupations” versus 78.3% of upper-level positions held by whites. And, they only hold 2.6% of C-suite jobs. Why?
Discrimination during hiring process: A recent economic study, as summarized in the Tampa Bay Times, lays bare the fact that resumes with white sounding names get many more call backs than those with identical qualifications and black sounding names.
Cultural need for display of perceived wealth
The “Breathing While Black” phenomenon is outright discrimination and harassment by law

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