Growing Inequality for Blacks

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Recommended: Early 20th century racism experience

Growing Inequality for Blacks

Inequality, a growing situation for most blacks, is not only influenced by racism, but is primarily caused by structural and economic forces as a result of class. Today's inequality, chiefly the result of structural and economic forces, has been paved through a history of racial discrimination creating badly paid and poorly educated blacks. The steady decline of racism during the de-industrialization period, led to a growing success of the black middle class and an increase of poverty in the black lower classes. The growing success of the black middle class resulted in relocation from the inner cities to the suburbs unintentionally resulting in worse living conditions for the black lower classes. In order to understand the changing patterns of racism, it is imperative to look at past black living conditions in America.

During the Pre-Industrial period, the economics directly caused a paternal type of racial exclusion. Between 1659 and 1890, most blacks worked on farms. Even after slavery, during the reconstruction period between 1870 and 1890, black people were still needed in the south for agricultural labor. According to Wilson, the white south made sure that the black worker during this time had no option but agricultural work. By creating racial exclusion, work options for blacks became limited. This Marxist view proved that capitalism promoted racism in interest of profit. Despite the large amount of segregation, the racism towards the blacks was mostly paternalistic, or non-hostile. The whites believed that blacks lacked intelligence and thus their racial exclusion seemed to be justified. In the white's minds, hostility towards blacks was unnecessary because the blacks were non...

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...ement to the fact that racism is not getting worse is that the black middle class is growing and becoming more secure. If racism were worse, these people would not have a chance in white America. There is a growing inequality between whites and blacks, but however, there is a greater inequality difference between black classes. The working class is declining while the middle class is growing towards success. Inequality, whether you want to call it racial or class, is growing in America and can only be reduced if more significant job openings and education are available to the working classes.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Stokes, Randall. "Racial Inequality in American Society." Sociology 103. 10/30 -- 11/13

Wilson, William J. "The Political Economy and Urban Racial Tensions." Crisis in American

Institutions 11th edition. (2000): 301-314.

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