Racism And Inequality In America

Racism has always been a popular topic throughout the course of American history. It may be arguable that African Americans have gained the equality they have fought for, and in more extreme cases, died for. Richard Wright was born after the Civil War, but before the Civil Rights Movement. If he were writing an autobiography today, in 2016, about a black boy growing up in the United States, he would write about the mass incarceration of black men, the discrepancy faced by African Americans with a college degree compared to the whites without, and the difference in wage distribution between white Americans and African Americans.

If Richard were to write his autobiography today, he would mention the harsher penalties given to black people compared

According to Aaron Morrison’s article titled, “Black Unemployment Rate 2015: In Better Economy African Americans See Minimal Gains,” African Americans with a college degree receive job opportunities equal to a white high school dropout. This is important because it shows that no matter the success or the education level of a person, when applying for a job, it is the color of their skin that matters most. This unequal standard for obtaining a job has led to an increase of unemployment within the black community. According to “The Black and White Labor Gap in America” by Christian E. Weller, in the year 2011, the unemployment rate of African Americans averages 16.1% while the unemployment rate of white people averages 7.9%. Furthermore, the rate for African Americans without a job is about twice as much compared to white Americans. If Richard were writing about the unfair job opportunities given to African Americans, he would not be pleased by the way black people are being deprived. In addition, he would be disappointed at the way educated black people are treated in comparison with a white high school

According to the graph shown with the article, the income gap between blacks and whites in the 1960s was about $20,000 with the white income as the greater of the two. Fifty years later, the gap between the two races rose up to about a $27,000 difference. Nevertheless, it is fair to question how far society has gotten trying to achieve financial equality. The Washington Post article written by Brad Plumer ,“These ten charts show the black-white economic gap hasn’t budged in 50 years”, provide the readers ten charts to compare the economic gap between blacks and whites. Overall, these charts prove that there had have not been improvements between the incomes of whites and blacks, but it has actually worsened. If Richard were to write about this topic, he would also question why the black population remains to be inferior and the