by EndofMysteries 61 Replies latest jw friends
The US Department of Labor has a great page about the African American labor force. Some findings:
-Black men earn only 76.3% of white men's salary.
-Before the recession, the black unemployment rate was 7.9% while the white unemployment rate was 4.2%.
-By January 2009, the black unemployment rate was 12.7% compared to a white rate of 7.1%.
Findings indicate that blacks fare worse, overall, in the US labor market. Check out the following link:
Again, statistics on their own can paint an incomplete picture.
"Black men earn only 76.3% of white men's salary." is terrible but is it like-for-like? Is it the result of far fewer having college degrees?
If the statistic were written:
"Non-college degree holders earn only 75% of college degree holders salary" it could represent a big overlap but suddenly just seems like "du-huh" common sense.
The hard part with all this is determining which things are symptoms and which things are the cause.
I read most of that article/book Grreatteacher. I tried to look up many of the studies that the article said had came to certain conclusions. Almost every study and reference in that book is from 1998 and earlier, most seen to be early 90's and some of the studies used went on data as early as 1980. I couldn't access the actual studies so I could only read what the author claims they proved and again most of it is 20+ years old.
The article did claim higher rates and harsher penalites for blacks and latinos vs whites but it also said within those results, one claim was that a young black man is 5.7 times more likely to get a harsher sentence then an employed white. It also said that whites are more likely to hire private attorney. So black may have nothing to do with that, it could be based on the benefits of a private attorney and being able to afford one because of having a job, etc.
The article talked about studies relating to the death penalty. It said although it found that jury's were NOT more likely to sentence to death based on race, that it prosecutors were more likely to refer a case to death penalty if the victim of the black person was white. If the jury is not going based on race, then what could be the reasons the prosecutor would have to refer to the death penaly if he is not being racist? Are there any? I could think of one reason possibility (this is all speculation either way whether prosecutors are racist or not) but most murders seem to be among people that know eachother, family, friends, aquaintences, etc. My theory is that those murders may show more motive (less cold hearted) then a random person they dont' know and have no reason to hate,etc, and kill them.
Either way, even that article, being based on information 20+ years old, had said that things had majorly improved and atleast at the time of that data found things as I mentioned that to them indicate something still going on.
I liked the Washington Post article. Statistics can really bog you down, so I liked that they straight out stated that blacks are 31% more likely to be pulled over by police than whites. By the way, if you haven't taken one, I think you would really like a college class on statistics. They say, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics." So true! When Eisenhower heard that 50% of American students were below average, he "had a cow." But, that's how averages are derived and what they mean!
Anyhow, did you know that black parents explicitly teach their children to not wear coats while shopping? Because a coat is an excuse to think someone might be hiding something/shoplifting. Black folks have been eyed up/followed around/detained so often that they have to explicitly teach their children, especially boys how to look innocent. Wouldn't it just be more productive if Loss Prevention focused on universal signs of a crime being committed rather than use a racial shortcut?
Also, why wouldn't being unable to afford a lawyer be a racial reason since we know that blacks in aggregate have lower socioeconomic status? And, I would love if you could find data on private versus public defenders, though we would have to make sure that other variables were controlled for.
Would you mind telling me about your educational experiences? You have a sharp mind. I grew up JW and was discouraged from going to college. I finally got my degree at age 37 having worked through my Associates Degree part time and then, slowly, worked through my Bachelors. It was outrageously expensive in both money and the years it took which caused a lot of lost earning years, but it was incredibly liberating. If you haven't gone, go, go, go! It's worth it in personal enlightenment no matter how old you are.
BTW, I'm underemployed and I really just think that growing up as a JW is a culture where you don't learn how to advocate for yourself and get ahead at work, I dunno. Well, I feel like I didn't learn that.
Talk to you soon.
On that employment report you posted, here are 2 things I want to quote from it.
"the increase in the black unemployment rate during the recession was larger than that for other races partly because workers with less education are particularly hard hit during recessions. Moreover, the unemployment rate for Blacks was slower to fall after the official end of the recession. The slower recovery for African Americans in the labor market has been partly the result of government layoffs after the official end of the recession. Blacks have been more vulnerable to the drastic layoffs in government in the past two years because they make up a disproportionate share of public sector workers. Moreover, with the exception of health and education, Blacks are under-represented in the sectors that have experienced the greatest job growth during the recovery, including manufacturing and professional and business services."
AND
" More than a quarter of employed black workers aged 25 or older have earned a college degree, a share that exceeds that for Hispanics 5 but continues to trail that for Whites. While black workers continue to trail Whites in educational attainment, the number of African Americans with a college degree has been growing faster. In the past decade, the number of black workers with a college degree has increased by over a quarter, compared to a fifth among White workers."
I don't see any white privilege here either. I see that blacks are paid less because of less education but it seems that is changing and many are getting college education now. Also that report explained they were more employed in public sector jobs and not as many in the industries that experienced the job growth during the recovery. Do you know of employers who pay white men more than black men in the same workplace w/ same skills but different pay? They'd have a discrimination lawsuit on them. Another thing that can effect those numbers are the states they live in. States like NY and CA pay a lot more than states like FL, etc. I have no idea where the racial population is most concentrated but that would also have an effect.
Darn you, EOM, I was going to go to bed, but you posted again. Just kidding!
Yes, the study was published in 2005 and it did go back to 1980. That is a weakness. I literally have no more time to study tonight because it is getting late, but newer studies woukd be great to find. I did think it was interesting that it said that we seem to be moving away from some of the more overt racism of the past to more statistical discrepancies now.
It seems that a lot of this is unintentional as well. It's just embedded in our social fabric as an artifact of the ugly past. It has gotten better and I hope it continues to do so. Though I haven't read him in awhile, take a read of Malcolm Gladwell. One of his books described a test of some kind (it's been awhile) that determines if you have unconscious racial bias. He failed the test and discovered he was biased against black people and he is half black himself! Interesting stuff. I'll see if I can find the book reference...tomorrow!
Take care.
May I ask what your point is EoM?
I didnt see your last post before I posted, but I'll address it tomorrow. Goodnight.
I'm actually taking statistics next semester, a requirement for my business degree. I learned all about what blacks went through 1965 and prior in an American history class, my teacher went to school during that time and told all of us (born past those times) some very interesting and horrible history. I had never known about sundown towns or the jim crow laws until that class.
It is sad what you say about the shopping and kids but the real blame should go to all those who do those things causing the suspicion then. If you research Costa Rica or ever go there, you'll find that if you put your things down anywhere at anytime, they will probably dissappear. Theft is insanely huge in that country. So in that country, everybody, even the innocent I was leery of if I had anything valuable with me or around me. If a store is having a major problem with blacks stealing by stuffing things in their coats, then it's sad but they may be more suspicious of blacks wearing coats then. I pay a higher insurance rate because I am a male and statstically males get in wrecks more. I'm a good safe driver, but I'm discriminated against because of that. (I don't know how that is still legal btw). Also when traveling, I remember meeting an English person who said to me and my companion, "I can't believe how nice you both are, I never been around americans but I didn't even want to visit your country because of things I've heard about americans, etc."
I'll try to find data on private vs public defenders.
About educational experience, sure! I grew up a JW as well. I am currently seeking a degree in business. There is a community college that offers bachelor degrees so it will save a lot of $ vs a state university. I'm just about 1/2 way now. I got on track for that shortly after learning TTATT. I had worked as a programmer years ago even though I didn't have a degree in that. Thanks for the sharpness comment. I have taken a class on critical thinking aka 'applied ethics' which really taught about critical thinking and analysis. Some of the classes I've taken so far have helped and I am also very analytical by nature, I had a psychological evaluation/IQ test/etc, and my highest scores were in problem solving, pattern analysis, etc, and I am between an ENTJ and INTJ. (all of those things combined may explain how and why I think they way I do).
I'm fairly close to your situation and point in life. What kind of job/career has been your target and what did you get your degree in? Or you can PM me it.
Okay, I also have to go goodnight too. Take care!
