Part A
Financial literacy is influenced by various elements among different races. Select structural reasons cause these inequities that cause economic disparities. Oppression, discrimination and inequality play a critical role in how various races are financially literate. Blacks, Spanish and whites do not have the equal distribution of literacy in finance. The factors are significantly influenced by several social-economic variables in the outcomes (Ciment, 2006). These variables include; education access, income levels, empowerment of individuals and prevailing social-cultural perspectives. These factors are under the structural elements discussed above, and as addressed by community invention project. The community intervention project in this investigation targeted organizations for donations. The donations received came from entities such as WOW (Working out World) a gymnastic entity, and groceries stores. From such investigations, a critical analysis of financial reality influencing factors is carried out. A macro lens based historical roots analytical look and contemporary realities in discrimination/oppression come out as key determinants of financial literacy.
Cross-sectional variations in financial knowledge have been in place for a considerable time. The variations have been in linked with the history of minority and racial oppression. Since the times of African American forced migration in 1555, the black community has faced a lot of oppression (Gollier, 2010). Up to 1865, the black community has faced the oppressive hard labor slavery. The implication of these phenomena was a historical disadvantage of missing out on a lot of social amenities. One of this was the chance to get formal education and schooling. Fearing education would cause economic independence; enslavers maintained a strong leash on the Africa and Caribbean descent slaves. The community then went through the phase of segregation. This period saw them receive sub-standard services as the distribution of goods and services was discriminatory.
There was also sustained denial of access to (quality) formal education, training, and business and property restrictions. The result of this has been African American and Hispanic communities being less exposed and consequently less competent in financial matters. The issue of low financial literacy among the minority groups has also spread in the macroeconomics of employment and personal businesses. When people lack financial knowledge and education, they cannot compete with the available job opportunities with others. Low education and financial literacy also cost economic opportunities. Such have continued to interfere with maximization of financial resources in black communities.
The Dred Scott vs. Sanford marks one of the most significant turning points in the discrimination and oppression of blacks. On March 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that Blacks were not American citizens (Konnov, 2007). They also could not attain that status. The interpretation was that black slaves were property; thus, could not sue for rights. Being classified as personal property by the state meant that economically, the slaves were at the lowest level of the ladder. The disenfranchised state meant that the minority group of blacks lived with a background of ‘late’ economic literacy. The result has been a long time of exclusion from engaging in income generation, and property and business ownership.
Part B
The black community has struggled to overcome the oppression and is now playing financial catch-up. Lacking education, most of the freed slaves and their children, and grandchildren had limited options in employment. Most went into informal sectors of employment engaging in blue collar jobs (Sluby, 2011). Those who managed to secure formal jobs still faced structural oppression. The abuse was manifested in lower wages and salaries than their equally skilled white colleagues. In schools, black, Spanish and Hispanic students struggled under a social order of segregation and discrimination. The dropouts’ rates were obviously high, as most chose to engage in crime and prostitution rings. Their financial literacy of this group has continued to suffer from these historical outcomes of oppression.
The contemporary instances of oppression are a continuum of the history of African American oppression. One of these cases is in employment and job opportunities. The other instance is in the existence of higher debt delinquency among blacks than whites. Research has also shown that the black community has comparatively lower savings than other ethnic groups. Weir (2007) states that a large percentage of the blacks lacks adequate formal schooling and literacy in general. Consequently, African Americans are victims of high cost (auto) consumer loans. Additionally, the community has recorded higher incidences of predatory (lending) services than other ethnic groups.
Institutional oppression has seen African Americans receiving services and treatment that has furthered their economic oppression. Research by various bodies has shown that black community holds the lowest taxable investments and banks accounts than any other group. The results have led to financial institutions classifying blacks as low financial credibility group. Businesses have also treated black customers in a discriminatory manner. The perception has been due to pre-conceived ideas of African Americans having low consumer/purchasing power. Structural discrimination has also seen the depiction of blacks as financial illiterate and mismanagement prone in pop culture. Contemporary realities are that there is a shift in the phenomena, as more African Americans access education. Policies such as ‘no child left behind’ and inclusive acts of employment, oppression has significantly reduced. Economic empowerment leading to financial literacy and freedom can then be positively predicted to improve.
References
Ciment, J. (2006). Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. Routledge.
Gollier, C. (2010). Discounting, inequalities and economic convergence. Munich: CESifo.
Konnov, I. (2007). Equilibrium models and variational inequalities. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Sluby, P. (2011). The entrepreneurial spirit of African American inventors. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.
Weir, R. (2007). Class in America. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press.
