Educational Achievement Gap Between Minorities And The Black Community

The constant bombardment of negative associations of minorities affects how the public views those within these groups. Unconsciously people are affected by these images even those within the Black community. A study in 2006 showed that Blacks that watched a lot of television tended to have more distrust for their neighbors, be less likely to join groups and have a negative attitude toward their neighbors than their, White counter parts viewing the same things. (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2006). These types of problems are only furthering the divide between racial groups. Studies have also shown that those with less real world contact with people of other ethnic groups they are more likely to believe and be influenced by the images shown by the media

There are great educational achievement gaps between whites and blacks that can be traced back the bias they receive as children in the classroom. The high school graduation rate of Blacks to Whites though through the years it is shrinking is 69% of Blacks are graduating while 86% of their white counterparts are graduating. (Amos, 2014) This is a troubling static for an ethnic group that is already falling behind in academe and in social class. It may also be difficult for these young people do view a high powered career as something that is attainable because even our Congress there are just 44 Blacks to 361 Whites, and in the Senate ZERO Blacks and 100 possible positions (ThisNation.com,2014). These kinds of prospects even in our highest offices which should be an equal representation of the people in the United States is dominated by Whites. It may seem difficult for those that come from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve the dreams and goals that they set for themselves when they were young once they have come accustomed to the negativity that has engulfed the Black community. Overall, I believe that there is a need to change the way that media characterizes people in the Black community. The chronic negative associations of Blacks is negatively impacting their ability to achieve, gain upward mobility and to feel a sense of positive self-worth. I believe that this is a very important and profound part of social work. These negative associations likely also impact those that are working in the field and knowing about these occurrences can help to curb the knee jerk reaction to judge our clients on perceived