This memo is about the analysis of two articles- “We Are Living in the Era of Job Gentrification” and “Black Worker Really Do Need to Be Twice as Good.” These two articles will discuss about the unemployment of African American; the reason why it lead to the issues and especially how unfairly the African Americans were treated when seeking jobs in their company.
Summary
Many data are showing the growth of jobs in the labor market and the significant decrease of unemployment rate. This seems to be true for the overall rate but if we take a closer look at the unemployment rate for African Americans alone, there is not much improvement compared to the rate for white Americans. The article “We Are Living in the Era of job Gentrification,” by Brentin Mock mainly discusses about the issues of employment. Many employers nowadays are more likely to hire people with college degrees for job that don’t even need any. Furthermore, they only select people from the top-rank schools. This results in many students from low income family with a college degree owing huge debts. That is because the jobs that are offered to them tends to be the low paying job which could not even offer them a better life let alone be able to pay off their debt.
…show more content…
Since he does not talks much about this issue, I find another article called “Black Workers Really Do Need to be Twice as Good,” by Gillian B. White. This article gives more specific example of African Americans in the workforce and also the reasons why black workers should always do better at work if they want to remain at the job for a long time. With these two articles, we can see how the difficulty in applying for job and maintaining a position in the work place are correlated. Also, we can analyze how the two issues will affect the black unemployment
A majority of people believe that graduating from college will result in a well-paying job. Unfortunately, a degree will not secure a job for many graduates. In the U.S., the jobless rate for college graduates in 2012 was 7.7 percent, and has further increased in the past five years(Robinson). With such a large pool of unemployed citizens for employers to choose from, recent graduates are facing fewer opportunities for work due to little or no previous work experience(Robinson). Although many graduates are faced with unemployment, the majority do receive the opportunity to work. Sadly, many must work jobs they do not enjoy for salaries that make it difficult to make ends meet(Debate). Students are faced with mortgage-sized debts upon graduation, making it difficult for them to start businesses, buy cars or houses, or make other investments that would better the
According to the article, “Study: Even for college-educated blacks, road to full-time work is rocky,” many African Americans are unemployed, even if they have a college degree (Bowean). Some African Americans cannot pass the interview process because of racism, stereotypes, and prejudice (Bowean). A common perception of African Americans is that they are not smart enough to work at a job or own a business (Bowean). “Among recent black graduates ages 22 to 27, the jobless rate in 2013, the last year for which data are available, was 12.4 percent compared with 5.6 percent for whites (Bowean).” In fact, some of these African Americans do not have the finances to support their families’ needs. Eventually, many of these families become homeless with no money, food, clothing, or shelter (Bowean). Homelessness can then cause these poor people to feel desperate and hopeless about their
The institutional racism negatively affects the African American community. The aspect of institutional racism has resulted in the more than 15% of organized labor for organizations in America. Additionally, the African American community is not fairly represented in the leadership front. Herbert asserts that synergy is the only way of effecting change in Black America. The establishment of business and creation of money through other economic activities will help in the elimination of racism in America. Co-ordination and unity among the Black Americans will enhance change in America Herbert says, “…collective struggle and action… while many of the issues facing African Americans at the beginning of the twenty-first century are not novel, our strategies for self-determination, expression, and indeed, resistance, have had to be consistently inventive and resourceful to be effective…” (Herbert 47). The initiative will result in the attainment of enough wealth and reduction in dependency. Economic independence will guarantee the respect and recognition in the American society. The African American community is subjected to police
The policy of affirmative action was created to promote equal opportunity in the workfield, however the policy has its own issues as it has produced lots of controversies since its inception. In particular, opponents of Affirmative action argues against the real effects of affirmative action and skeptical whether societal disparities in employment opportunities and incomes were simply the outcome of socioeconomic labelling, hence the effectiveness of affirmative action to address the disparities was also brought into questioning. Moreover the policy is also controversial in that it does, to a certain extent, exert discriminatory racial tension because it discriminates against non-minority groups. Therefore this essay will discuss some of the issues related to the controversial policy as well as explore some of the underlying causes of the policy and assessment of some of its measured benefits.
These numbers bring to light how incredibly important education is for wealth building, especially among African Americans. Although the decrease in unemployment corresponding with increases in education levels is a great thing, the story doesn’t necessarily end on a completely positive note. Regardless of education level, black men earn only 74.5% (and black women 69.6%) of white men in the same position (Gilman). So, even African Americans that are raised in poverty, manage to break the cycle, and graduate from college still end up with less potential to build wealth than their white counterparts. The end result of these factors, combined with the fact that lower percentages of African Americans graduate from high school and college, is
The role of work, money, and the effect they have on individuals has changed throughout the past years due to social classes and racism. Social classes being based on by race is just the beginning of the differences. In the work force there are always people who feel the need to dominate in their field or profession solely because they think they are the dominant social class or race. People of any rank at the office will look down upon others, not because of their position, but skin color. People are not only treated differently at the work site based due to these issues, but also in some cases th...
Though many may not want to believe it, young black men are stereotyped in the business world. These stereotypes can subconsciously cause disadvantages at the collegiate level, in internships and even at the professional level when competing for advanced positions. Sometimes, it is difficult for black males to receive positions over males of other races due to these stereotypes. Regardless of the fact that both may meet the qualifications, it is likely that the black male will fall short. Therefor, young black males must work twice as hard and go above and beyond just to ensure that we recieve the same opportunities as other males. Appearance also plays a major factor, when competing for high-level professional positions a black male with piercings or tattoos; which many young men have, may not represent the company ...
Additionally, realizing the systemic and internalized nature of oppression informs how the nature of the problem would be alarming and painful to the targeted people. The racial inequality and oppression toward African American were one of the identities that stood out for me during the class discussions and readings. This is because the course helped me to answer some of the recurrent questions I had about the living realities of the African America communities. Chronic challenges related to poverty, unemployment, crime, psychological wellbeing which dominantly African American are affected appear to me emerged from intergenerational racial injustice in the country. I have also understood how almost the entire aspects of African American lives impacted by the age-old racism. The huge socio-economic differences between white and African American can be one of the manifestations of the inequalities which the readings provided answers as to how the inequality has been internalized and perpetuated until present. To mention few the impact of the GI bill, access to loan from the bank, urban renewable program, and job opportunities are some the factors I learned how racism was systematically used to deprive the economic right of the African American community. The impact of these injustices accompanied by several
Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job isn’t nearly as high as it used to be. Because students can no longer depend on getting a job fresh out of college, it has become harder to repay the loans. Without a steady income, these individuals have gone into debt and frequently default loans. If nothing is done to stop colleges and universities from increasing the cost of attending their school, the amount of time it takes for students to pay off their loans will become longer and longer. The extreme expenses to attend a college or university may leave a student in financial distress: which may ultimately lead to hardship in creating a living for them and affect the country’s economy.
Luo’s central argument in his OpEd piece is that there is a large disparity in racial inequality between blacks and whites when it comes to employment. But Luo says that this difference is even more pronounced for those with a college degree. According to Luo, the unemployment rate in 2009 for black male graduates, 25-years-old and up, was 8.4%, while for a white male of the same credentials, the rate was 4.4%. Luo points out that he does not think that this discrimination is intentional (which usually correlates to personal discrimination). Instead, he thinks employers are used to gravitating toward people who are similar to them, meaning that the discrimination blacks face in the workforce is due to cultural discrimination. There are laws that prohibit institutional discrimination, as well as legislation that encourages a diverse workspace, so there is nothing built into the system that is discriminatory. What Luo argues is that employers discriminate subconsciously because of the way the media has influenced their way
America was never a system intended to help the blacks in it prosper. America throughout history and even present day has aspired to keep white people on top. Denying blacks bank loans, putting them in certain neighborhoods that were not as well kept up or safe, giving blacks unequal education that is not as advanced as whites, being denied certain jobs based on the color of your skin, and more. Institutional racism is so common that you almost cannot catch the discrimination. As Hansberry depicted in her play, racism and discrimination can come from anywhere, and the barriers set in blacks paths denying them their American Dream can be very tiny to very colossal. Structural inequalities, lack of cultural awareness and institutional racism are just a few challenges that affect blacks in the workplace (Dade et al.). As Beneatha became more culturally aware of African heritage through the direct influence of Asagai, she became more culturally aware of the cultural assimilation from Africans to African Americans, “integration was not to be equated with accommodationist, paradigms or cultural assimilation” (Saber 452). Due to white fear
Affirmative action is important especially in the work force. Before affirmative action, minorities and women felt, and seemed to be, discriminated against being chosen for the job. Affirmative action was to help with the "increasing of opportunities for those that were previously discriminated against"(Lemann, 145). Affirmative action was created to not only help Black-Amer...
Since the 1950s, jobless poverty has been on the rise. In 1950, 69 percent of all black males aged fourteen and older living in the inner-city ghetto neighborhoods of Chicago were employed (Wilson 160). In 1960, 64 percent of all black males aged fourteen and older living in the inner-city ghetto neighborhoods of Chicago were employed (Wilson 160). However, by 1990 only 37 percent of all black males aged sixteen or over living in the inner-city ghetto neighbor-hoods of Chicago were employed (Wilson 160). These increases have led to disproportionately high rates of unemployment in inner-city g...
In reality there are so many obstacles which affect people depending on one’s economic level, education, race, gender, and area of residence to being successful. It is very appalling how some schools in some areas in US are equipped with all the resources to support high academic achievement and some schools in other low economic areas are just structured to give just the basic tool students need which perpetuate poverty and economic dependence of the people. When it comes to race, although it is considered wrong to discriminate because of race, racial discrimination still exists especially in job interviews. For example, a “non-colored” candidate could be picked over a “colored candidate”. Also the costs of colleges are increasing. In 1980 average tuition was $7,600, then in 2010 it was $27,300, and finally in 2014-2015 it became $30,094. Average American parent cannot afford the school tuition. David Sokol, from Fox News, said, “According to a recent research report from CNN/ORC International, 59 percent of adults believe the American dream has become impossible...poll goes on to state that 63 percent of those surveyed believe most children in this country will grow to be worse off than their
“Much has changed for African-Americans since the 1963 March on Washington (which, recall, was a march for “Jobs and Freedom”), but one thing hasn’t: The unemployment rate among blacks is about double that among whites, as it has been for most of the past six decades.” (1) African-American people have found the entire hiring process to be more skewed towards white people than themselves. This is due to racial views by certain hirers. A lot of it also has to do with the fact that a multitude of jobs are now mechanized: they require the employee to be adept at handling and using technology to complete the job and/or task at hand which some African-American people simply do not have the formal training for such jobs. Of course, a lot of