Black Studies African-Americans Are African-Americans

Black Studies

African-Americans

Are African-Americans gaining ground or losing ground in the 21st century? In what areas do you see African-Americans struggling or succeeding? How do you see these issues affecting African-Americans in the future?

In some areas African-Americans are gaining ground in the 21st century but in the majority of areas there are losing grounds to the Latino's. While social scientists continue to question the effect of large-scale immigration on low-skilled Americans, these people believe that high levels of immigration are threatening their economic well-being. Recent research shows that these fears are present in both African-Americans and Caucasians. Conflict between African-Americans and Latino's for group position, status, and political power is steadily going up as most immigrants of Hispanic ancestry are settling in areas that are adjacent to African-American populations in the nation's largest cities (Morris and Gimpel, 2007).

African-Americans have gained in the area of office-holding with the election of Barack Obama to the office of President of the United States. In other high offices though, their leadership appears to have leveled off as Latino's gain ground. These gains are coming at the cost of non-Hispanic white office-holders and African-Americans. It is thought that African-Americans are more threatened given their smaller overall numbers. Because of this rising of immigrant populations it is thought that there will be a change in the racial complexion of the representation in the U.S. House in a number of California, Texas, and New York congressional districts. Some experts feel that after the 2010 census there will be redistricting that might result in as many as six seats currently held by members of the Congressional Black Caucus could be given up to Latino candidates (Morris and Gimpel, 2007).

Over the past 40 years as the immigrant population has increased, the idea that these new arrivals may compete with African-Americans for jobs, housing, positional status, and political representation has become a reality. Recent studies have found that a tension that has emerged between immigrant groups and lower-skilled African-American (Morris and Gimpel, 2007).

Up until very recently, it has been considered politically incorrect; to suggest that minority groups within American society may not get along well or actually wind up in not-so-friendly competition for scarce resources. The thoughts of those who imagine a happy coalition have begun to discuss the problems of interethnic relations. They have started talking about the overcrowding that is taking place on the lower rungs of the nation's socioeconomic ladder (Morris and Gimpel, 2007).

This disregard for public discussion of a now painfully evident reality seems odd given that interethnic conflict has had such a ubiquitous presence throughout U.S. history. A person need not have taken a college history course to recognize that immigration and immigrant-native conflict are not merely 21st century phenomena. A body of academic research has suggested that periods of peaceful interethnic relations in the United States may stand out as exceptions rather than the rule. The consequences of the ongoing demographic transformation cannot be ignored forever, and a mounting body of research has broken through the multicultural wall of silence to sound the alarm that the nation's new diversity is not being embraced all the way around (Morris and Gimpel, 2007).

There has always been ethnic unrest in this country and there seems that this trend is going to continue for many years to come. The difference is that the unrest has shifted from the Blacks and the Whites to the Blacks and the Latino's. Now not only are the African-Americans fighting with the Whites for jobs and status they have to struggle with the Latino's as well.

Discuss how representations of African-Americans influence public policy and public debate. How are race and class entangled in contemporary discussions of poverty, crime, access to education, health care and housing?

The legal circumstances of blacks in America have greatly improved since World War II. The size of the black middle class has increased considerably, and research reveals that there is a steady improvement in the attitudes of whites. And yet negative racial stereotypes continue to cause subtle discrimination which influences how people view and treat each other. It is thought that almost two-thirds of the U.S. population growth over the next 50 years will come from immigrant families which will make race and color once again come to the forefront of public policy (Building One Nation, n.d.).

For a majority of low-income blacks living in conditions of concentrated poverty, and for impoverished members of other minority groups, barriers to full inclusion in American society remain high. In remote communities of concentrated poverty, these individuals often lack access to education and job training opportunities and to networks of social mobility and the support that is necessary in order to advance. Examples of systematic hiring discrimination and problems in the area of job promotion continue to be seen. African-Americans remain poorly connected to essential networks that white Americans take for granted. So long as discrimination persists, affirmative action programs, properly structured, will remain necessary (Building One Nation, n.d.).

Having quality education that is available to all students, is vital to providing every American with the skills needed to work effectively. Public schools often play a central role in teaching common civic values, fostering tolerance, respect, and appreciation for diversity. The nation must begin to forcefully address the serious inadequacies in public schools, especially those in urban areas. Money if used properly can have a significant impact. Yet disparities continue in annual per pupil expenditure between the poorest and the wealthiest school districts (Building One Nation, n.d.).

Members of minority groups are often entangled in the criminal justice system in large numbers that are heavily disproportionate to the percentage of the general population. It is not always clear whether this is a sign of differential offending or selective law enforcement. While minority groups are disproportionately crime victims, they feel strongly that discrimination is common throughout the criminal justice system. It is very important to have sound relationships so that negative stereotypes can be overcome. Communities are beginning to create new coalitional models that are founded on concepts of equality and mutual respect, overcoming separateness by engaging on issues of local concern, working in the spirit not of charity but of justice (Building One Nation, n.d.).