Social Problems In The African-American Community

There are many open wounds in the African-American community that have not healed what so ever. Disintegration of family structures in the African-American community has been a persistent problem for far too long. High out of wedlock birth rates, absent fathers, and the lack of a family support network for many young African-Americans have led to serious problems in America's urban areas. The persistence of serious social problems in inner-city areas has led to a tragic perpetuation of racial prejudice as well. African Americans still face a litany of problems in the 21st century today. Some of those problems consist of, unemployment, education, police brutality, single parent households, drugs, gang violence, and the high rate of incarceration

Nevertheless, millions of African Americans still live mired in poverty, susceptible to poor living conditions in underserved inner cities. The War on Drugs, which began in the 1980s, is a leading cause of the high rate of incarceration among African Americans, especially males. Today, criminal gangs have spread throughout the country and into the prisons. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with over 1.6 million dwelling in prisons. Of this number, a fairly large amount are African Americans. They are so prevalent in this prison population that on any day, a male with no degree is more likely in jail than working. Many legal scholars refer to this high incarceration rate among African Americans as a new form of Jim Crow segregation, in which minorities head from high school straight to

However, research demonstrates that often times men of color are treated harshly which leads to negative perceptions of police officers. Police brutality is a crime that is has been surfacing in the news recently. Some people are just starting to realize that these injustices against the black community really occur, while others are well aware. The recent shootings, different run-ins with officers being filmed while doing such harmful actions against African American men is an example of police brutality and, that reminds us that as a society work needs to be done to improve police and community relations. A black male cannot even walk down the street on a cold night because he might be a suspect from something or he may be of danger to the people around. One example was a young man by the name of Trayvon Benjamin Martin was an African American from Miami Gardens Florida, who, at 17 years old was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch