Homelessness In African America Essay

America is called the home of the free and land of the brave, so why does there continue to be so many people that live in poverty here in the United States with African Americans continuing to lead the poverty and hunger rates. African Americans have come such a long way and have accomplished so much since the days of slavery, although they still have such a long way to go, if they are going to be able to keep up with their white non-Hispanic counter parts. African Americans are still twice as likely than their white non-Hispanic counter parts to be hungry and to live in poverty. African American households have a significantly lower household income than white, non-Hispanic households and this being one of the reasons that African Americans remain in poverty and why many go to bed hungry at night. The hunger and poverty rates can be explained by the status and level of income from African American families. African Americans are more likely to

Some research suggests that the cause for homelessness differ between races and social discrimination and disadvantage plays a major role in way so many African Americans are homeless. The court system imprisons the youth by discrimination of sentencing and then many times when they are exiting jail or prison, they have no place to go and no support system, this leaving them homeless. Now that they have a record, they cannot find work and have no way of paying for housing. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, the disparities between ethnicities in the United States population and the homeless population are striking. In 2007, the homeless population was 47 percent African American, though African Americans only made up 12 percent of the population. The homeless population for the whites were 35 percent, although white people made up 76 percent of the population (National Coalition for the