Final Sociology Paper

Throughout the history of the United States, African-Americans and Hispanic Americans have struggled to be successful. Due to both historical and current discrimination and prejudice, both minority groups have had fewer chances to improve their lives. The book Being Black, Living in the Red by Dalton Conley, as well as chapter 6 and 8 of the text book, discuss the trials and history of African-Americans and Hispanic Americans.
In Being Black, Living in the Red, Dalton Conley states his theory: Wealth is directly related to success. He gives the example of two fictional families, one (the Smiths) was white and the other (the Joneses) was black. He describes the history of both these families and compares their success. The Smiths were able to succeed because they received help from their parents, who had enough money (wealth) to give them. The Joneses received no help from their families, which contributed to their financial and emotional decline. In Figure 2.4 on page 49, Conley shows in graph form the effect of parental worth on the success of the offspring. Conley’s main purpose in this book is to prove that wealth, not race, is the most important factor in achievement. The aforementioned graph defends the idea that the more wealth your family amasses, the more you can achieve. To defend his basic theme Conley also uses Figure 2.3 which compares and considers the effects of many socioeconomic factors to gauge the impact of race and class on net worth, including parental net worth, parental education, and African American race. This graph illustrates that race has a significantly less impact (almost 0) on net worth, while parent net worth is has the most impact (.30).
I am a strong believer, however, of the fact that family st...

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...tise.” They were able to collect wealth without the help of Americans, and so much so that now in modern days, their companies and businesses can compete on a larger scale (outside of the enclave). They were negatively viewed by Americans however in the fact that they did not mingle with Americans (the earlier generations) and kept to themselves. They were also seen as “too ambitious”. Although, the general belief is that Cuban Americans are very successful, there is a large part of the population that is poor and unemployed.
Being Black, Living in the Red, and chapters 6 and 8 of the textbook all have one central theme in common. Anyone different from the dominant majority in the United States has to fight to succeed. Although there are many obstacles to success, a good work ethic, and self-motivation, as well as a strong family, can help overcome these hurdles.