Racial inequality is a topic that has been discussed for decades. There are many different opinions on how to solve this issue, but there is no clear answer. In the United States, racial disparity exists between whites and blacks in almost every aspect of life. This includes education, employment rates, incarceration rates, health care access, and more.
The racial disparity exists around two main narratives. The first is the ‘bias narrative’ where we must reform white society. The second is the ‘development narrative,’ which focuses on how to help people of color become more successful in America.
Bias Narrative
Racial disparities exist because of implicit bias, which means that we all have unconscious biases about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other people’s choices. These biases don’t always align with our conscious values or beliefs.
People are biased against minorities and other races, which causes this racial disparity. This bias can be found in all areas of life, including education, employment, housing, and healthcare. Biasness can be seen across different communities, and they affect people of all races.
Developmental Narrative
The US Census Bureau has reported that African Americans make up 12% of the population but only account for 13% of physicians and surgeons. Even though a growing number of black people hold high-paying jobs, such as doctors or lawyers, they remain underrepresented in those professions.
This is because minorities cannot acquire the skills, traits, habits, and orientations that foster successful participation in American society. This developmental difference is causing a hurdle to acquire these skills and thus perpetuate this cycle of disadvantage.
What To Do?
While both narratives are important, they fail to solve the racial inequality and do not have a plan. We need a new framework that looks at race as an economic issue instead of a social one to truly understand why racial disparities exist today and look for solutions.
The solutions to eliminate racial disparity include talking about it, ending mass incarceration, providing universal healthcare, and raising the minimum wage. Another step is to avoid welfare programs because these create dependency rather than self-sufficiency among poor blacks, making them worse economically.
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