Really they aren’t so sneaky if you’re looking for them, but most of us don’t want to see what’s there.
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Growing up in lower middle class white America for the longest time I didn’t think there was much difference between myself and the minorities of this country. I admit it. It took a sociology class in college of open my eyes to the ways that our culture still oppresses minorities in ways that are indirect and illegal.
There are laws on the books that prevent discrimination, if they are enforced. Sadly, many of these are ignored or circumvented in indirect ways.
Economics is one place where racism is blatantly in the culture. During studies on employment it was discovered that applicants with African American names were less likely to be called for a job, where the same applicant with all the information being the same, except for the name, had calls returned and appointments for interviews made. During the studies, there were several reasons brought up for this behavior on the behalf of the employers. One of them being, employers wants people who will fit in with their employees, even by name. Whether this is direct or indirect it’s interesting to see what kind of a difference a name can make.
How this works, or doesn’t, is to adjust the interest rate higher for African American applicants on the same loan that a white applicant would be applying for.
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Sticking with economics, the banking industry has been practicing their own brand of racism since, well, forever. In the world of interest rates, the banking industry has taken the liberty of adjusting rates by skin color. While this sounds illegal keep in mind this is the same industry that has deregulated their business to the point of holding the country hostage in 2009. How this works, or doesn’t, is to adjust the interest rate higher for African American applicants on the same loan that a white applicant would be applying for. They will state that the black applicant is a higher risk than the white one. However, what they leave out is that the black applicant will be paying higher interest rates his entire life regardless of credit score and income. Most people don’t figure this out because loans are rarely discussed, since they are viewed as taboo.
Ever since the end of segregation, the defunding of public schools had been one of the top priorities for the GOP. I witnessed this first hand in my own state of Michigan when our governor cut the education budget at the beginning of his first term. In the meantime, his children were attending private schools he could afford. The odds of minorities to attend private schools, after being turned down for jobs and refused loans to start businesses, are not likely under these circumstances. As a person who went to private Catholic schools, I can only remember two African American students in thirteen years that attended.
The selection of places to eat for fast food are minimal and when they are available the prices are, to put it bluntly, insane.
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Last, I would like to address the dietary element of racism. I live in a lower class neighborhood with a large African American population. While some businesses come and go, the main supermarket lacks the basics for a healthy diet. The produce section has a minimal selection of older fruits and vegetables with higher prices than the larger chains. Canned and boxed goods are the majority of the store with noticeably higher prices and less nutrition value. The higher prices are what sociologists call “the poor tax.” One would think that in a poor neighborhood the prices would be adjusted for the local residence, but the opposite is true. The selection of places to eat for fast food are minimal and when they are available the prices are, to put it bluntly, insane. The Jersey Subs down the street now charges over $11 for a sub sandwich, a price minimum wages employees can’t afford.
Lower class, minority neighborhoods are regarded as “food deserts” all over the United States. The type of nutrition that is available in these neighborhoods cause: heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and the list goes on and on. With the poor education and lack of employment comes a higher rate of alcoholism and cigarette usage. In middle to higher class neighborhoods if would be difficult to find a liquor store or church on every other corner.
To drive through a lower class neighborhood is to witness the racism of America. It’s not sneaky if you know it is there. What hides it is the willingness to ignore the fact that it is there. These days we now have politicians who are bringing it to the forefront in a way we have not seen since the 1950s and 1960s. while we have taken down the signs by public pools that read No Dogs, No Negroes, No Jews We have not rid our country of the mental illness that caused those signs to be put up in the first place. Politicians are great at placing the blame of a groups economic situation in the hands of those who are enduring it, while also creating the policies that put them there in the first place.
If the current system really wanted minorities to succeed in this country, the laws against racial discrimination would be enforced. Banks would not be able to charge higher interest rates based on skin color, employer wouldn’t be able to see the names or ethnic backgrounds on applications while reviewing them, education in public schools would be a top priority in our society, and libraries would replace liquor stores in poor neighborhoods. The ways that racism persist in our society isn’t sneaky. It’s right out in the open in our everyday lives and we choose to ignore it.
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