Individuals that wanted to escape this type of living, had to either move to safer cities and streets, or claw their way out of poverty by going on welfare, which sometimes made the stereotype worse, or by seeking a higher education if possible. However, the low socioeconomic status of minorities makes it nearly impossible to escape poverty because of discrimination and false perception of the African American community. African American children are three times more likely to live in poverty than Caucasian children; unemployment rates for African Americans are typically double those of Caucasian Americans. Also, African American men working full time earn 72 percent of the average earnings of comparable Caucasian men and 85 percent of the earnings …show more content…
The children become excited because of how attractive the boat looks but gawk at the price of it. Sylvia begins to question why anyone would spend that much money on a toy when they could buy food or pay rent, even going as far as saying that she could use that money to buy a real yacht. After the children leave the store, they reflect on their day. Sugar, one of the children, tells Miss Moore, “I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.” When Miss Moore asks, Sugar is she believes that is fair, she responds, “I think that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?” Sylvia becomes upset by this answer and leaves the group on her own to reflect what she just learned. Sylvia does not want to think about her race and how society tells her she is inferior to white people. She especially does not want to give Miss Moore the satisfaction of admitting it. In the end, Sylvia has a greater understanding of the world she lives in and concludes her thoughts by exclaiming, “Ain’t nobody gonna beat me at