Blacks and Whites Still Unequal

Clayton Geerlings

Mrs. Strayer

English 2B

19 December 2016

Blacks and Whites Still Unequal

“A great nation is one in which justice, equality, and dignity prevails for all”- Bernie Sanders. In today's American world this is not the case. The majority of blacks have achieved significantly less in life than whites and this is not because of the laziness or work ethic of blacks. It is the inequality and disadantages for them in everyday life. In order for a black man to accomplish the same as a white man he has to overcome many more obstacles and sometimes it's out of the picture because it's not even available for them. There are many disadvantages for blacks but three main ones that all tie in together wealth, job opportunities and education. Blacks can't get ahead in life because of disadvantages in almost all aspects associated with moving up.

Wealth inequality has widened between race because of the disadvantages in many areas like education and jobs. Whites earn a lot more money than blacks and this isn't just because they have different jobs. Blacks that have had the same jobs as whites often get paid less than their white coworkers. Also many companies won't hire People because of the color of their skin and this causes the whites to earn a much higher income than blacks. In the article “The Work Force is Even More Divided Than You Think” it says “The numbers reveal a workforce stratified, if not calcified, by race, with whites seeing higher wages and lower unemployment, while blacks and Hispanics constantly stuck behind them” (Thompson 1). Whites are higher employed and have better job than blacks and in those jobs make higher wages. This difference in money is high and increasing the wage gap between whites and blacks. This gap is getting so high that it is one of the greatest gaps of all time. In the article “Wealth Inequality Has Widened Along Racial, Ethnic Lines Since End of Great Recession” it says “The current gap between blacks and whites has reached its highest point since 1989, when whites had 17 times the wealth of black households” (Kochhar and Fry 1). Back in 1989 racism was fairly common and after the recession the gap is getting bigger and bigger and getting close to when racism was common. This is happening for many reasons and has everything to do with race. Because of the reasons like jobs, education and more this gap is getting so high and is showing how unequal americas society really is. Another reason why blacks are at a disadvantage is because how much more likely whites are to own things that will make them money like houses and stocks. In the article it says “White households are much more likely than minority households to own stocks directly or indirectly through retirement accounts”(Kochhar and Fry 1). The wage gap is so high because of the benefits to whites. Whites are more likely to own stocks and households and stuff like that makes them money and increases the wage gap. This is a major disadvantage and blacks can not close this gap or overcome this disadvantage unless something changes. As the wage difference is so high and unequal so is the division of the work force.

The work force is divided by race because of the biases of whites. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck it shows a lot how the divided the work force is. In the novel it says how crooks, a black ranch worker, is treated very poorly and everything he says isn't taking seriously because by what they think “why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it” (Steinbeck 70). Nothing he says has any value and he is seen as less of a man because of how whites see him. Whites have more jobs all together but a major factor is how whites control the high paying jobs. In the article “The Workforce is Even More Divided By Race Than You Think” it gives these statistics on whites percentages in certain jobs. It says “Whites, on the other hand, make up more than 80 percent of the country's workers. But they account for nearly all farm managers and ranchers (96 percent) construction managers (92 percent), carpenters (91 percent), and CEOs (90 percent)”(Thompson 1). Whites may have more of a population but they still control the major and high paying jobs by an alarming margin. They are more likely to be hired because they are white and because they have more advantages in everyday life. Sense whites have so many jobs and take all of the good ones the blacks are left either unemployed or with low paying jobs.In the article ”The Workforce is Even More Divided By Race Than You Think” it says “Blacks, who make up just 11 percent of the workforce, account for more than a third of home health aides and about 25 percent of both security guards and bus drivers—rather low paying jobs”(Thompson 1). Most jobs black people take up are low paying jobs and this is because white people get all of the high paying jobs. Blacks need a job to support themselves and if they do not take the low paying jobs they will not be able to live. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there is a character named Crooks and he is an African American worker on a ranch. He is treated unequal from the other workers and has to sleep in the barn. In the novel it shows how Crooks is miserable and lonely because in his job he doesn't have the same advantages as everyone