Why The Racial Divide Remains Large

November 18, 2008 by darrell.holmes
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Society & Culture

Even though most of us never thought it could be possible, here we are awaiting the inauguration of the first Black president in America. For many of us among all races, it’s almost unfathomable that America has progressed to such an encouraging feat where any natural born citizen can become the leader of our nation. Still, what is even more unfathomable is that there exists such stark contrasts depending on which side of the racial divide you fall on. As of 2003, Blacks earned 65% of the income earned by their White counterparts. The divide becomes even more disparaging when it becomes digitized. Only 11% of Black households with incomes below $15K reported using the Internet vs. 23% among Whites earning the same income. When you consider that an alarming 25% of Black families live at or near the poverty line compared to 17% of Whites you begin to understand why more outreach programs to bring resources to people outside of just internet access at their local library is necessary.

Interestingly, the was a topic for the thesis of first lady-elect Michelle Obama while she was at Princeton. She even quoted James Conyers and Walter Wallace who spoke of the “problems which face…black [elected] officials who must persuade the white community that they are above issues of race and that they are representing all people and not just black people,” as opposed to creating “two separate social structures.” This was part of the foundation Barack Obama would build his presidential platform on some 23 years later.

Within the constructs of defining race, MIT’s Committee on Campus Race Relations had a seminar that stated race is “a powerful idea. It makes many of us behave as if race exists.” In a respect, they’re more than correct. Over 99% of all our human DNA is the same regardless of race. When you combine that fact with attempting to define exactly WHO is “Black” or “White” or any other race for that matter…categorizing someone simply by the color of their skin is nearly impossible. Even on a cultural level, what’s considered intrinsic to one group or sub-culture can be very regional, extremely fluid, and often changes by the year.

Still, pervasive issues such as race and racial interactions are too complex to be whisked away by anthropology professors and pundits. Take, for example, a study by Juan Gonzalez posted on commondreams.org. He researched the divide within the ranks of the military and came up with some of what you might expect. Primarily, youth from low-income areas are far more likely to end up in the military. What is more surprising, however, is that the whole story is not solely based on economics. New York’s upper West Side, known to be a highly affluent section of Manhattan, had a total of 12 people enlist in any of the armed forces in 2004. Only 3 of those recruits were White. Alternatively, the working class community of Carnasie in Brooklyn had 56 recruits enlist. Of those, 96% were Black with the other 4% being Asian. Not a single white resident of Carnasie enlisted in all of 2004.

Until now, the key reason why the racial divide has remained a staple of our global community is that there hasn’t been a reason to change. We tolerate, particularly in America, a duality of thought that allows one to believe both: a) I am a Christian or someone who lives a life fueled by following Christian ideals, and b) anyone who is in poverty is just lazy and doesn’t deserve any charity or welfare from me. Our culture is one intolerant of patience or caring for anyone other than “me”. This intolerance of others’ needs is the reason hundreds of children are being abandoned in Nebraska, why no initiatives to recharge the economy so far have worked, and why the racial divide will continue to widen.