‘Instructor’s Name’
‘Subject’
African Americans
Martin N. Marger, in the chapter titled ‘Race and Ethnic Relations’, delineates the unique position occupied by the African Americans in the American society in terms of cultural, economic and demographic characteristics. He observes that there was a substantial increase in economic status of the Blacks post WWII. The decade of the 1960s saw a remarkable progress in the income levels and education among the Blacks. However, throughout the past few decades the income gap between the White and the Black population has shown little improvement. Though the modern economic growth has resulted in a large middle-income Black population, there is little improvement in the economic status of the poor Blacks. The article examines whether this disparity can be attributed to the inherent racism prevailing in the society or something unique to the Black experience.
Some experts argue that the growing disparities between the destitute and the middle/high income population of the Blacks are the main reason for the halt in economic progress rather than racism. The poverty in the Black ghetto population has denied them access to quality education and thus, deprived them of good job opportunities, creating a vicious cycle of poverty. So, programs to create better trained workforce are more important than the ones aimed at alleviating racism. However, some social scientists argue that race cannot be completely dismissed as a non-determinant factor. They point out that while individual racism has declined considerably, institutional racism still persists in many areas. They further argue that even the middle class black families reach economic safety, only after negating much more strenuous challenges than their white counterparts.
Marger further argues that while the civil rights movement had put an end to legalized form of discrimination, covert discrimination still exists, which can be seen in residential patterns, demographic trends and institutional arrangements. Among these three aspects, housing patterns and the discrimination seen in them is given more importance by the author. This is because it affects the life chances of the Blacks by restricting their access to health, education and jobs. But more importantly, it affects the social interaction between the Whites and blacks, and thus, reinforces racial attitudes.
While one has to agree with Marger when he says that covert racism still persists in the society, we cannot ignore the rapid strides made by the Blacks. When this article was published President Obama was not elected yet for the office. He is an example of the Whites’ acceptance of Blacks into the mainstream, and their willingness to view past the racial stereotypes. Yes, the society is not completely devoid of racial divide, but class differences are more to be blamed for the Black poverty rather than race. American society is no longer dominated by these two ethnic groups alone, and it is becoming increasingly multi-cultural due to globalization. Thus, race and the myth of the ‘White privilege’ would become a non-issue in the coming decades.
Works Cited
Marger, Martin N. Race and Ethnic Relations. New York: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
