Race In America

After reading two articles from CNN and one article from the Chicago Tribune, my feelings toward the racism in America have only gotten stronger. Before learning about this in issues, I had always felt that there was some racism still in America, but I now realize that that is a great understatement. The first article I read was from CNN called, "Behind the Scenes: Life after San Quentin." This article told the story of a ex-convict, who had sold crack-cocaine, but was now trying to change his life. He has tried to get a good job, however the only jobs that he has been receiving are ones that are not enough to pay the bills. He originally had only a 4th grade education, father had left him, and his mother was a crack addict. This is not the type of surrounding where someone is more likely to succeed. He is very tempted to go back to selling drugs as an easy way to get money because no other job will give him enough money to get buy. It is sad because this is a man trying to change his life around, get a proper education, and a good job, but all the odds are against him. The second article I read was very startling. Also from the CNN website titled, "Study: Black man and white felon-same chances for hire." An experiment took place where people sent out fake applications with equal education and experience, but different races (white and black) for real entry-level jobs. They found that white applicants were twice as likely to get the job as black applicants. Even worse was that white applicants with felonies had the same chance, if not a higher chance, than black applicants with equal records. This brings up the same things as Andrew Hacker was saying that black people are born into America with a disadvantage. The people hiring the applicants may not look at themselves as racists, but self-consciously they racially profiling these applicants, favoring whites over blacks. The most surprising article that I read was from the Chicago Tribune titled, "Blacks better off during slavery." This was a very extreme short article that baffled me. He felt that because blacks have been struggling in America, they were and would be better off as slaves because they will serve more value in America. This article in itself shows the problems of racism in America. The fact that this man thinks that blacks would be better off with no freedom shows that not only should this man not be in politics anymore, and that there are clear racial problems that people are afraid to address because they do not want to look like racists. There is a lot of hidden bias in America, and it is limiting black people to their full potential. People do not want to admit that it is there, but these hidden biases clearly exist in America, and I am not sure when they will ever stop.