The Social Conditions of African Americans

The Social Conditions of African Americans Today =How have the social conditions of African Americans changed in the past 50 years? Are there still similarities from back then? = 

=In general = The social conditions of African Americans have greatly increased, by that I mean that they have gotten way better treatment over the past decades, and to this date it’s still improving. With that said, it’s not perfect yet, nowhere near it in fact. =Imprisonment Rates= African Americans have a much higher chance of getting arrested than the Caucasian group of the American population. As we can see on the bar chart [1]  black males have a much higher imprisonment rate than any other group of people. The second highest is Hispanic males which isn’t even half the rate of the Black males, and as we



can see,   there’s no sign of change, unless something dramatic happens (which is most unlikely) the black males will probably continue to have a higher risk of becoming imprisoned. That will continue to reinforce the stereotype that black males are always up to no good, and that could give police officers a tendency to arrest more black males, and thus the circle continues.

While people of color make up 30 percent of the USA’s population, they make up 60 percent of the imprisoned population, and according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,  one in three black men  can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. [2] =Barack Obama= President Barack Obama has made another push for African American’s equality. 50 years ago they tried hard to get African Americans the respect they deserve as fellow human beings, but they only made it to African Americans being treated better. Obama is trying to get everybody on equal foot once and for all. The fact that he became the president of the United States of America in 2008 made an impact in the way people thought of African Americans. Here’s a quote from the official white house website that states what he has done and what he hopes to achieve:

“''Since his first day in office, President Obama has been working to secure the future prosperity of the African American Community through efforts such as increasing access to health care, creating jobs, revitalizing schools, and the development of targeted job creating investments in underserved communities. While much more needs to be done, we are making progresss.”[3] 

As for how successful he will be seen as when he’s out of the office, we don’t know yet. =A movie’s depiction = <p class="MsoNormal">If you have seen the movie ‘The Butler’ black people have been treated horribly for as long as we can remember. In the movie   they displayed two different point of views by the African American people. One side (such as the main character himself, Cecil Gaines) looked at it this way. ‘We’re being treated nicer than ever before and making riots and committing crimes is just wrong’. His has the complete opposite point of view, he’s not fine with how things are/were, and he wanted to be on equal footing with the Caucasian group. In the movie he talks with Martin Luther King Jr. and he joined the freedom riders, and then he joined the black panthers. One side of the African American community was just neutral and happy that it weren’t getting slaughtered by KKK and other similar groups, while the other half was rebellious and wanted just as much freedom as anybody else, and would die trying to achieve it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Even though the movie is based on a true story, we have to be wary about it because it is a movie ; it’s made to make money so it’ll probably have a tendency to be more dramatic and invoking feelings that maybe weren’t there in real life. =Forced immigration and jobs= <p class="MsoNormal">African Americans have lower quality jobs on average, with most of their jobs being in transportation, production and material-moving jobs. <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[4]  After being forced into the United States of America and being put down to the lowest quality of lives as slaves, it’s been hard for them to rise up through the job ranks. That’s why there are more African American people in lower paying job positions or even unemployed than there are Caucasians. There are a lot of successful African Americans though; we see a lot of sport stars that are African American, in basketball an American football mainly. We also see a lot of actors rise to the top of fame, but that’s only a select few, when we look at the majority, there’s still an inequality issue to be solved. =Racism still exists = <p class="MsoNormal">First hand witness Jordie Jordan from South Carolina has watched an African American family being turned down by a Christian church because of their color. <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[5]  Jordan describes the church as “rich”, which would normally let you think that they would be open to anybody, but apparently not. It’s a shame that in this day and age we live in a world where the color of your skin can determine which public services you can and cannot use. Although one example can’t paint the whole picture, it’s still shocking that some areas in the south still treat African Americans this way. On one hand it’s good that this is shocking, because that’s saying something about how we think the standard is, and on the other hand this shouldn’t be happening at all. It’s highly unlikely that this is the only time something like this has happened, it’s probably an uncommon occurrence but there’s no doubt its going on never the less. =An interview with Quincy= <p class="MsoNormal">Afamefuna Quincy Okolie is a 25 year old African American basketball player; he grew up in the middle class in a City/Country area in Florida. Despite it being a southern state with the reputation it has, he hasn’t personally experienced a lot of racism. He had been called a nigger when he was younger (around age 10), but he said the following: “I can count the amount of times I’ve been called nigger on one hand, and the kids that called me that only did it to get a reaction out of me”. He does believe that the African Americans are being treated right nowadays, however, he thinks that African Americans have lost their roots/culture; “Some don’t know their own/true culture, they see themselves as Americans without thinking more about it”. Furthermore he says that the majority of the high class consists of Caucasian people and that should not be the case. =The answer= <p class="MsoNormal">So how does this answer the questions; how have the social conditions of African Americans changed in the past 50 years? Are there still similarities from back then?

<p class="MsoNormal">It’s changed a lot; segregation is no longer an issue despite the example that Jordan made. That is not representative of the majority of how African Americans are being treated. When we compare the African Americans jobs to the Caucasians they’re still falling behind, but they’re catching up as far as we can tell. The imprisonment rate is a huge issue, the fact that so many African Americans are being imprisoned is making the police suspicious, and that is a quite nasty Catch 22 <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[6]  that shouldn’t exist. There’s really doubt about whether it’s become better or not, however there’s still a huge debate going on about equality when it comes to race and lack of good treatment thereof.

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal"> =Sources:= <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Center for American Progess: The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States. <span style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black">Udgivet af Sophia Kerby. Sidst opdateret: 13.3.2013. Internetadresse: <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:blue">http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/  <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black">  <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black">- Besøgt d. 14.10.2013 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Minority Rights Group International (MRGI): African Americans. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black">Udgivet af MRGI. Sidst opdateret: 9.4.2009. <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Internetadresse:  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:blue;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=2607  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language: EN-US">  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">- Besøgt d. 14.10.2013 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">President Obama and the African American Community. <span style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black">Udgivet af whitehouse.gov. Sidst opdateret: 2013. <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Internetadresse:  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:blue;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">http://www.whitehouse.gov/africanamericans  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language: EN-US">  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">- Besøgt d. 14.10.2013 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Prison Population by Race. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black">Udgivet af Project America. Sidst opdateret: 9.2.2009. Internetadresse: <span style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:blue">http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=174  <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black">  <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black">- Besøgt d. 14.10.2013 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The Butler. 2013. Director: Lee Daniels. Writers: Danny Strong, Wil Haygood (article). (Movie)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">YouTube: Painkiller Already 146 Sex, Girls, Syria, God, and more. Udgivet af WoodysGamertag. Sidst opdateret: 31.8.2013. Internetadresse:  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:blue;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJwMQ-MfGXo&list=PL0979520796B02D2C&index=5  <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">- Besøgt d. 1.9.2012 (Internet) (It may have been episode 147) It’s a really small quote hiding somewhere within 7 hours of footage.

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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:DA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[1] ]Picture taken from http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=174 <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:DA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[2] ] http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/

<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:DA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[3] ] http://www.whitehouse.gov/africanamericans

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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:DA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[4] ] http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=2607

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<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:DA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[5] ] <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJwMQ-MfGXo&list=PL0979520796B02D2C&index=5<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> NSFW – Inappropriate. It may not have been that episode but it’s the one prior or after this one at least. <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:DA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">[6] ] A Catch 22 is a situation in which a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain because of a set of inherently illogical rules or conditions. Example; you need experience to get a job, but in order to gain experience you must have a job.