America's Hidden Disease: The Wealth Race Gap

The Civil Rights movement happened nearly sixty years ago, yet minorities are still suffering from the evil practices they once tried to escape. During that time African Americans were denied basic rights, and were treated inhumanely. Although we believed to have ended this oppression in the Civil Rights Movement, the ghost of discrimination still haunts minorities to this day. This discrimination fuels what we know today as the racial wealth gap. The wealth gap is the outcome of unfair and discriminatory systems drilled into our society. The outcome has been very bad for minorities, as is has been a never-ending cycle of oppression and discrimination. These acts of discrimination occur in the workplace, the education system, and in the incarceration system.  The wealth gap is consequently a result of these factors. It is evident that this gap needs to be fixed, but we as a country need to take the right steps so that we can achieve equality for all.
Education is often seen as the key to success, so how can we expect minorities to become successful when the education system is not equal?  We need the education system to be equal for minorities so that they have the same chance of success. It is obvious that the education system treats minorities unfairly, as one source said “A 10 percentage-point increase in the share of nonwhite students in a school is associated with a $75 decrease in per-student spending,” a 2012 analysis of Department Education data by the Center For American Progress found” (Goyette). This quote shows that school funding decreases with fewer amount of white students. This means that schools with a high African American and/or Hispanic population do not get as much funding as schools with a higher white population. African American students also face problems with the teaching staff, as another source found “teachers expect 58 percent of white high-school students to obtain a four-year college degree (or more), but anticipate the same for only 37 percent of black students.” (“The Power of Teachers Expectations”). This quote displays some of the reasons that the gap remains in schools. Non-black teachers, which make up a majority of teachers, have lower expectations of African American students. This means that teachers will not push African American students as hard, as their expectations are low. This is a large factor to the difference in graduation rates, as African Americans graduate at a far lower rate than whites.
It is vital that we fix the education problem within our country. It plays a huge role in the gap, as education is needed to succeed in America. There are a variety of ways that we could do this. Firstly, teachers can play a huge role in fixing the inequalities in the education system, as they are the ones who lead the classroom. Another source, Educationworld, said “in order to eradicate the racial predictability of the achievement gaps, leaders must have the skill, will, and knowledge to uproot the underlying factors that contribute to them – qualities that are often overlooked. Educators need to examine the structural practices that perpetuate the isolation of students of color in an educational system that historically was not created for them” (“Racial Inequities”).  Teachers need to be the ones at the forefront of this issue, as they have the most ability to deal with such a large issue. Teachers are the ones that need to recognize the inequalities for a system that was not built for minorities and take on these inequalities head on. Teachers also need to form a better relationship with African American students, as this will also help both of them to succeed. For this to happen though, we need to pay our teachers better, as they are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the success of the next generation. We also need to fix funding, as schools are funded from property tax, and have requirements for integrated schools. Schools with a majority African American population do more poorly tend to pay less money per pupil, so a requirement to incorporate minorities in schools will end the problem of modern-day segregation in schools, and help decrease the funding gap.
The workplace is where almost all Americans find their source of income, but it is also a place that minorities also find discrimination.  The workplace plays a huge role in the gap, as salaries often show these inequalities in the workplace. In a study conducted, they said that “Racial discrimination may account for up to 33% of the factors that contribute to black workers receiving lower wages than whites” (Gaile). This quote shows the severity of the gap, and shows the broader outcome of how big of a role that racial discrimination can play in the gap. The same opportunity is not fair for minorities either, as another source said “For new entrants, a large wage gap existed for men with no more than a high school diploma in 1980, and it expanded by 2014. Also troubling is the finding that black male college graduates started the 1980s with less than a 10 percent disadvantage relative to white male college graduates but by 2014 similarly educated new entrants were at a roughly 20 percent disadvantage” (Wilson and Rodgers III). This quote shows the unfairness in the workplace, as African Americans with the same education do not receive the same salary. When talking about the wealth gap, another organization said “It has left a yawning gulf that separates whites from blacks and Hispanics. And it persists across income and educational levels in ways that have left whites who are high school dropouts with a higher median net worth greater than blacks and Hispanics who are college graduates” (Fletcher). This quote shows a very big part in the gap, as it illustrates how blacks who work hard and get a college degree, earn less than white highschool-dropouts. This information shows very evident acts of discrimination, because companies are choosing less qualified whites over qualified blacks, which ultimately contributes to the wage gap.
Discrimination in the workplace plays a big role in the gap, and certain steps need to be taken to minimize the effects that it has on our country. Salaries are determined in the workplace, and lower wages for blacks mean lower overall wealth, which often leads to poverty. When talking about solutions to the problem, another source said that “Consistently enforce anti-discrimination laws in the hiring, promotion, and pay of women and minority workers” (Wilson and Rodgers III). This could greatly help lessen the gap, as it uses the law to take action. If anti-discrimination laws are enforced, companies would be less likely to be discriminatory. Companies need to be more aware of the role they play in the wealth gap and do what they can to prevent racism in the workplace.
Incarceration also plays a role in the wealth gap. The higher incarceration rates for African Americans, and other related factors such as police brutality hurt the African American community.  High incarceration rates also prevent African Americans from even entering the workplace, preventing them from earning any salary. The prison system in the United States doesn't make sure that convicts are integrated properly into society, so they may come back from jail even more violent, where they endanger others and influence much black youth. When speaking about the incarceration rates in the country, another source said “Black men receive prison sentences 19.5 percent longer than those of white men who committed similar crimes, a 2013 report by the United States Sentencing Commission found” (Goyette). These statistics show the inequality in our prison system today. The longer prison sentences for blacks than whites means that those convicts stay in jail significantly longer, which is more time away from the workplace. This can also have unmeasurable factors, such as the convict's absence in their children's lives, which can negatively affect the child. Another source said that “Previous studies of racial wage gaps only examined those in work. That understates the problem because a staggering number of prime-age black men are not—35% compared in 2014 with 17% of whites. Much of this difference is due to mass incarceration. Nearly 8% of prime-age black men did not work because they were institutionalized—the vast majority in prison—compared with 1.5% of whites” (“The Wage Gap between White and Black”). This quote shows the severity of the gap, as it is the reason that nearly eight percent of prime-age black men don't work. It also shows the differences in prison, as blacks are the vast majority of the prison population. African Americans have longer sentences and are incarcerated at higher rates than whites, which excludes them from the workplace, and heavily damages their chances of getting a job.
The prison systems and unfair incarceration rates are a problem in our society that needs to be fixed, as it also plays a role in the wealth gap. To fix this system, our government needs to rehabilitate those in prison, so that they don't end up back in their communities harming others or influencing others, as this will send them and others to jail. An expert on the subject said “The high rate of recidivism suggests that prisons fail to rehabilitate those who are locked up. Yet if two-thirds of parolees return to prison, perhaps it is because the economy offers them no jobs and the welfare state excludes them as ex-felons. Their return to the social services provided by incarceration, from this angle, makes a degree of sense” (Lichtenstein). This quote shows the severity of the country's failure to rehabilitate the incarcerated, and the reason as to why. Most ex-convicts are also very unlikely to get hired.  African Americans go to jail at a higher rate, get punished more severely for similar crimes, and are not properly rehabilitated to find work after their release, and can't find jobs as an ex-convict. We will only see the gap grow larger and larger if these factors are not addressed properly.
Since the first African American stepped foot in the United States, African Americans have always faced oppression. We removed open and severe racism and oppression from our government, but it's lingering effects still last to this day. The Civil Rights Movement was thought to have made blacks and white equal. It was an attempt for both races, as well as other minority groups, to live in equal harmony. Our ideal country without discrimination is a dream, as blacks still face oppression and unfair treatment to this day. Regardless of their background, every single person in the United States deserves a chance of being successful, but the gap in opportunity makes success merely a wish for many minorities. The improper schooling, discrimination in the workplace, and incarceration rates all play a  role in the wealth gap that we know well today.