Glenn L. Starks - African Americans at Risk: Issues in Education, Health, Community, and Justice

African Americans at Risk

African Americans at Risk

Issues in Education, Health, Community, and Justice

Volume 1 & 2

Glenn L. Starks

Contents

African Americans have had a dynamic history in the United States. In less than a hundred years, they have seen the abolition of slavery, gained educations in both historically black and white universities, fought to defendand seen recognizedtheir civil rights, begun entering into middle-class America, and become pioneers in music, politics, science, and the arts. And when the United States entered into the twenty-first century, the American people elected the first African American U.S. president to not only a first, but then a second, term in office. In light of all the obstacles that have been faced by African Americans over the years, no other group seems to have progressed so swiftly while overcoming so many legal and institutionalized challenges.

But even with all of the progress African Americans have made, they still face many risks that threaten the entire race or place segments in jeopardy. Some of these risks are generational, vestiges of slavery and the institutionalized discrimination that followed slaverys abolition. For example, blacks in general are at greater risks of contracting ailments such as diabetes and hypertensionand after blacks have contracted these diseases, they are then more likely to experience complications to those conditions that lead to disabilities and even death. These ailments are the result of generations of blacks eating diets high in fats, sugars, and fried foods, a culture of eating that existed during and after slavery. Much of African American culture is based on soul food and other unhealthy eating habits that are often worsened by an inability to access fresh fruits and vegetables among those living in areas high in poverty. Hypertension has also become a generational disorder, partly resulting from centuries of discrimination and resultant stressors, including lack of equal employment, housing, and educational opportunities. Coupling hypertension with poor nutrition, it is no wonder that African Americans face such severe health issues, including increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

Other risks arise from socioeconomic disparities that still exist for many African Americans. Poverty has become such an issue for African Americans that for many it has become an institutionalized condition. The centuries being denied fair employment opportunities, closed off from shared educational opportunities, given disparate access to adequate housing, and generally oppressed are a leading cause of the differences in income and wealth experienced by blacks in the United States when compared to nonblacks. Although African Americans have made some progress, overall, in entering the middle class, more than 27 percent still live in poverty, compared with 15 percent of the general population, according to U.S. Census figures from 2011 and 2012. Since the abolition of slavery, laws and public strategies have been introduced to combat this situation, but political compromises and the reversal of those programs that do show progress often reverse gains even as they are made. Take affirmative action in education, for example: Predominantly white colleges and universities introduced affirmative action admissions programs to help African Americans take advantage of educational opportunities long afforded to whites. Such programs also aimed to reverse centuries of discrimination during which blacks had been legally and systematically excluded from the nations best higher education institutions. Affirmative action programs, however, faced national attack for causing reverse discrimination against white students. Some white students and parents began bringing court challenges to affirmative action when they were denied entrance into colleges and graduate schools of their choice. They argued that black students had been accepted under easier standards simply to fill quotas of black students.

Furthermore, incidents of racial discrimination are still prevalent against African Americans, particularly in the American justice system. Blacks are convicted more often for crimes equivalent to those committed by whites and with much longer prison sentences (Quigley, 2012). This is especially true when it comes to crimes such as drug and weapon possession. Criminal research shows that blacks are given longer prison sentences than nonblacks for the possession of even small amounts of drugswhile whites are given much lighter sentences or even placed on probation for possessing the same amount. Young black males are given such harsh sentences that the United States justice system is seen as one of the primary remaining vestiges of racial discrimination, the result of a combination of racial profiling among some police officers, unfair sentencing by some judges, and lack of adequate representation by some attorneys. Ultimately, although African Americans commit fewer crimes overall than whites, they make up the majority of American prisoners.

Other socioeconomic disparities include a greater proportion of black youth being raised in single-parent homes, as well as their lacking the same educational preparation and advancement opportunities as their white counterparts. Teenage pregnancy continues to be widespread among black youths and families, as do domestic violence, drug abuse, and mental illness. Although some may argue that these risks arise from individual preferences or behaviors, data alternatively show these issues arising from or exacerbated by housing segregation, job discrimination, health care disparity, and lack of social support networks in the areas where many blacks live.

Still other risks come from the widening gap between the rich and middle class versus the poor, putting those who are in the greatest economic hardship at greatest risk for health and social disparities. This gap no longer exists only between blacks and whites, but also exists between middle- and upper-class blacks and poor blacks. Political, social, and civil justice systems and institutions in the United States too often favor those who are wealthier than most others: Although those in the most economic despair are the ones who most rely on these systems, they are those who are most discriminated againstand thus the poor are at greatest risk for drug abuse and are most likely to commit crimes, be sentenced to longer jail terms, and be ignored by the political process.

The African American community is affected by its culture, including its strong religious background. Although other races are generally more accepting of homosexuality, mixed-race marriages, and diverging male and female roles, blacks, especially older blacks, are less so. For this reason, those blacks in these situations may be shunned or ridiculedfor example, the children of mixed-race couples may find themselves struggling to find a cultural identity. As the United States becomes more accepting of homosexuality, even to the point of legalizing same-sex marriages in some states, homosexuality is still a taboo topic in the black community, often because of religious belief. Black males are taught to suppress their emotions, and black females are often discouraged from taking masculine school courses such as science and vocational courses.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

African Americans at Risk: Issues in Education, Health, Community, and Justice is a two-volume set that explores some of the primary areas in which African Americans are at the greatest risk of falling behind and, in some sense, failing. Risk in this sense has a two-pronged definition: First, it refers to conditions in which African Americans are disadvantaged in comparison with the majority population (in this case, whites). As a result, blacks are treated differently, react differently to the same or similar conditions, or have more negative outcomes in the same situations than do other people of other races. For example, whites commit the majority of crimes committed each year, yet more than half of inmates in American prisons are black. Why? Research shows that blacks are sentenced to prison terms more frequently than whites are and are given longer sentences even for committing equivalent crimes. Second, African Americans are at risk because of issues inherent in their collective past and their current social and economic conditions. For example, blacks face such health issues as diabetes and heart disease disproportionately because of the stress and poor diets that have plagued generations of blacks in the United States.