African-Americans Social Progress Since 1976
In this paper I assert that African-Americans have actually gained a lot At least in comparison to the pre-Jim Craw era. Their health standards have improved considerably their education levels such as the number of those joining institution of higher learning have increased and they have literally taken over the entertainment industry in the US. Of course, there is a flipside to these good tidings. Their progress has not elevated them to a higher pedestal as where the Whites are there is still a huge social disparity between the Blacks and the Whites. African-Americans also seem to have a stake where it doesnt really matter They still cant make major decisions in the United States. Not when they havent had much success in politics and in sciences. But there is some progress and with it comes the attainment of all the other benefits.
Introduction
African-Americans came to the US through very turbulent times. They went through long years of slavery. During these times they were treated as though they were lesser human beings. They were denied of their freedom of movement, freedom of expression, they could not own property, they could not vote their social conditions were essentially wanting. After the formal abolition of slavery came the Jim Craw laws that racially segregated the blacks from the whites. According to these laws African- Americans were not allowed to attend the same classes as the whites. But soon all these came to a close, particularly with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. As a result, African-Americans have seen considerable social progress since 1976. This is more so in the entertainment, health and education sectors.
Progress in the Entertainment sphere
It is highly debatable whether African-Americans have finally found the equality and equity they have for long been fighting for. This is more so with regard to employment. It is apparent that compared to some few decades ago, an average African-American has well-paying job. More of them have found themselves nice jobs. This is especially the case in the entertainment sector. A good number of African Americans have got into well-paying jobs-jobs through the entertainment.
African-Americans have made some considerable gains in the entertainment sector. These include the industries of music, movie, and in sports. In all these areas there are household names with an African-American descent. It is maybe in music and the movies that African-Americans have arguably made the most gains. Who knows not the popularity of such African-American musicians as the late Michael Jackson whose fame can only be compared to that of Elvis Presley Not only have they produced names, they have also been responsible for the inception of various musical genres that have come to form the core of American culture. They have been responsible for the conception of such genres of music as Jazz that has been instrumental in shaping Americas culture and Hip-hop music whose spread worldwide has been profound. Yet their contributions have gone beyond the music industry. African-Americans have literally taken over Hollywood.
There have been African-American figures in Hollywood that are worth our respect. Such names as comedian Bill Cosby, movie actor cum musician Will Smith, and the TV presenter Winfrey Oprah and other make African-Americans in particular and Americans in general proud. Oprah Winfrey, in particular has been instrumental. Winfrey has been an emotional, earthy, likable woman that has become to be regarded as the undisputed champ of daytime television (Glennon, 2005).
In fact a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that most Americans are really proud of Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey. African-Americans rated highly various blacks in newdmaking. Blacks and even Whites are nearly unanimous in seeing mainstreamconservative personalities Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby as good influences on the American culture.
African-Americans have also created a niche in the sporting arena. The ones who have entertained us in the NBA have predominantly been players of African-American descent. One is particularly reminded of the famous star-studded dream team that had such remarkable names as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Michael Jordan in particular has been sporting icon. He is not only known for his passion in basketball but also as a role model who emphasized on discipline and team work as the fundamental ingredient for success.
There are few times ever since the US began participating in the Olympics that it emerged second. We have been a force to reckon with in the Olympics thanks in large part to the big number of African-American players in our entourage.
Progress in the Health sphere
Racial segregation has been associated with health problems. Therefore, Afriacn-Americans health problems could to some extent be traced to racial segregation. There is interrelationships among segregation and other psychosocial variables (such as stress, racism, coping, human capital, social support, religiosity, and the social or material environment) (LaVeist, 2003). There may also be joint or interaction effects between segregation and other determinants of health (La Veist, 2003). The cessation of segregation policies has therefore been instrumental in improved health standards of the African-Americans.
African-Americans health standards have also improved considerably since 1976. They have been able to access better health services and as a result infant mortality and death as a result of some incurable diseases have declined in a big way. A good number of African-Americans have also smoke less as compared to the other races in the United States of America. For instance, African American middle school students also smoke at lower rates than their White and Hispanic peers, although the differences in smoking between the groups are not that large. 5.5 percent of African American, 6.8 percent of Hispanic and 6.5 percent of White middle school students smoke (No smoking campaign).
Progress in Education
African-Americans had been segregated into the so-called separate but equal schools until the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. High Court had endorsed segregation in its 1896 Plessys v. Fergusson in which the Constitution justified separate but equal accommodations (Glennon, 1995). The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling changed all that. In this year, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional (Glennon, 1995).
In 1970, an estimated 378,000 African Americans were enrolled in higher education institutions (Kaba , 2005). By the mid-1970s, more black females had enrolled in colleges and universities in almost all levels than black males ( Kaba , 2005). In 1976, of the 1,033,000 black students enrolled in higher education institutions, 563,100 (54.5) were women and 469,900 (45.9) were men ( Kaba , 2005). In 1995, out of the 1,473,700 black students enrolled in higher education institutions, the enrollment figure for women increased to 917,800 (62.3) and black male students enrollment was 555,900 (37.7) ( Kaba , 2005). In 1999, there were 1,640,000 black students enrolled in degree-granting institutions, with black women accounting for 1,037,700 (63.2) and black men accounting for 603,000 (36.8) (National Center for Education Statistics NCES, 2002 ( Kaba , 2005).
The enrollment of blacks in graduate and professional schools has increased significantly in the past quarter century( Kaba , 2005). For example, according to a 2003 NCES report, in 1976, a total of 78,000 blacks (or 5.85 of all enrollments) were enrolled in graduate schools across the United States. By 2000, that number had climbed to 158,000 (8.5). In 1976, there were 11,000 (4.5) blacks enrolled in first-professional degree programs in the United States( Kaba , 2005). By 2000, that figure increased to 24,000 or 7.8 (NCES, 2003, p.060). As of 2002, 1,189 black students were enrolled in Americas 26 highest-ranking medical schools, comprising 8 of all enrollments in these institutions( Kaba , 2005). This number is said to be more than ten times the number of black students enrolled in these medical schools three decades ago( Kaba , 2005). In 2000, over 9,300 African Americans were enrolled in law schools, 50 percent more than the number of blacks enrolled in 1990 ( Kaba , 2005).
This is not to say that African-Americans are currently having it right and smooth. They still lag behind other minority groups in the United States in terms of social development. In fact there has been a declining optimism among the blacks (it may have resurged with the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States but that is yet to be fully established). In fact, three-quarters of blacks (76) say that Obama is a good influence on the black community (Pew Research Center). Even greater numbers say the same thing about Oprah Winfrey (87) and Bill Cosby (85), who are the most highly regarded by blacks from among 14 black newsmakers tested in this survey. By contrast, just 17 of blacks say that rap artist 50 Cent is a good influence (Pew Research Center).
A survey found that blacks were less upbeat about the state of black progress now than at any time since 1983 (Pew Research Center). Looking backward, just one-in-five blacks say things are better for blacks now than they were five years ago (Pew Research Center). Looking ahead, fewer than half of all blacks (44) say they think life for blacks will get better in the future, down from the 57 who said so in a 1986 survey(Pew Research Center).
Whites have a different perspective for while they, too, have grown less sanguine about black progress, they are nearly twice as likely as blacks to see black gains in the past five years (Pew Research Center). Also, a majority of whites (56) say life for blacks in this country will get better in the future (Pew Research Center).
This is especially the case in scientific cases. For instance, although more than a quarter of the American school-age population in the United States is made up of minority students, the working population of U.S. engineers is predominately white non-Hispanic, with a fair representation of Asians, but only a sprinkling of African American, Hispanic and Native American participants (Babco, 2001). Despite a greater awareness of the need for diversity in engineering that occurred over the past decade, the historic pattern of under-representation for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans has changed very little (Babco, 2001).
The same applies to the political domain. There are very few African-Americans in the political field. They are few both in Congress and in Washington as secretary of state. Though the current president of the United States of America is of African-American descent, there is not much that African-Americans can boast of in terms of their representation.
Conclusion
True, African Americans progress has not been that huge as to match that of other races. Nevertheless, this group of people has made exceptional progress in the health, education and entertainment sectors. In these areas, African-Americans have demonstrated have gained a lot so that the issues of slavery and the Jim Crow laws seem so distant. African-Americans need to capitalize on these developments as well as capturing others.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment