5.1.2
The Status of Black People 1968-2009
Economic and Social Status of Black People 1968-2009
Economic and Social Status of Black People 1968-2009
Between 1980 and 2000 one third of black people lived below the poverty line. Half of all children also lived below the poverty line.
Economic inequality
Economic inequality
- One-third of black people during this period had low status, low skilled jobs which paid very little.
- In fact, on average white people earned twice as much as black people.
- Black people also suffered the greatest level of unemployment, almost double that of white people.
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action
- This caused the government to promote affirmative action.
- This meant that companies and businesses had to positively discriminate in favour of African Americans.
- This led to black people getting better jobs. The number of black people who could be considered 'middle class' had increased significantly by 2002.
- Affirmative action did not eradicate the problems of systemic racism in society though, which continued to affect black people in the workplace and beyond.
Education
Education
- Education continued to improve after 1971 when The Supreme Court ruled in favour of full desegregation (Swann v Charlotte-Meckleburg) and schools were forced to desegregate.
- One way that this occurred was by schools organising buses to ship white and black children around the neighbourhoods in order to integrate them with each other.
De-facto segregation of schools
De-facto segregation of schools
- The North, however, disliked this idea. In the 1980s, de facto segregation started to be brought back into schools.
- This happened by white schools becoming ‘private’, fee-paying schools which, due to economic inequality created by systemic racism, excluded black people.
- Despite this, the standard of education, in general, did improve for black children and adults.
- Between 1970-1990 the number of black men who graduated college rose to 4% and the number for black females increased to 7%.
Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods
- Neighbourhoods became increasingly racially mixed, with equal numbers of black and white people living in some areas.
- Unfortunately, those who lived in the poorest areas such as inner-city ghettos didn’t see racial integration, nor did their economic prospects increase.
- Ghettos remained the poorest areas of American neighbourhoods.
- This was reflected in the fact that the average life expectancy of black people was 10 years lower than that of white people in 1990.
Political & Legal Status
Political & Legal Status
In the late 20th Century, black people continued to experience police brutality and discrimination at the hands of the legal system. The number of black people in mainstream politics increased.
Police brutality
Police brutality
- By 1992, racism in the legal system was still prevalent, despite there being more black people in the police.
- Police brutality over black people continued. Police even filmed themselves beating up black men.
- One example of this was the beating of Rodney King in 1991 which was the cause of a large-scale riot in LA after the police were found innocent of the crime by an all-white jury.
- The news of the case spread as did rioting against the injustice faced by black communities at the hands of law enforces; riots occurred in Chicago, Atlanta and Birmingham.
Discrimination in the legal system
Discrimination in the legal system
- Statistics showed that the police still negatively discriminated against black people.
- Black people were pulled over by police more frequently white Americans, despite the fact that black people did not make up the majority of drivers on the road.
- There were also more black people in prison than white people; almost half of the prison population of America was black.
- These statistics did little to stop right-wing conservatives from stereotyping black people.
Black people in politics
Black people in politics
- There were many more black officials elected after 1970.
- This included the election of a number of black mayors during the 1970s and 1980s in places such as Detroit (1973), LA (1973), Washington DC (1974) and Chicago (1984).
- There was also a rise in the number of black people voted into the House of Representatives (American Government).
- Between 1990-1992 the number of black congressmen rose by 25.
Senators
Senators
- Black people getting the role of Senator which was a state-wide position was rarer. The sole black US Senator was Barack Obama.
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Jump to other topics
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered