One can only imagine the difficulty faced by African American veterans returning from war with service-connected injuries, attempting to regain their social lives and to move their families upward economically. The very nation they just served in war violently opposed them and robbed them of opportunities to advance in society.
It was these insurmountable barriers, built and enforced by the dominant majority, that led to impoverished communities also known as “black ghettos.” To this day, black communities are struggling to recover from the combination of much-needed government assistance along with the denial of higher paying jobs that only Caucasians were permitted to occupy. These systemic, racist acts wreaked havoc in black neighborhoods. Many of them went from poor to poorer resulting in higher crime rates, increased violence, and even greater dependency on government aid for basic living conditions, which remains visible today.
At the present, black neighborhoods have some of the highest social welfare utilization rates. Abortion clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, have the highest concentration of activity in black neighborhoods, and as mentioned earlier, incarceration rates for African Americans also remain disproportionally high.
Interestingly, some scholars argue that black people living abroad, in predominantly white nations, receive better treatment than those living in the United ←28 | 29→States. Dr. Brodkin’s research revealed that “native-born black Americans experience levels of urban neighborhood segregation nearly three times higher than native-born black British citizens (2).”
In any case, one can clearly see that the objective to dismantle the vigor and vitality of the black community post the World War II era was largely was successful. The denial of GI benefits and educational opportunities combined with biased employment and labor practices resulted in dismal neighborhood conditions for African Americans and also to greater disparity and tension between the white and black communities. Drs. Marsiglia and Kulis reported that “the legacy of slavery and oppression of African Americans can still be seen in persisting racial disparities in education, economic advancement, and in health care (5).”
It is not difficult to take a conscious or unconscious position of superiority for any racial group that dominates and controls the majority of a nation’s social and economic enterprises. Caucasians are the majority race in the United States. Still today, they dominate and control the country’s greatest industries from ownership of professional sports teams, to telecom companies , accounting firms, technology, shipping and manufacturing enterprises, and all major financial firms. The nation’s largest banking and financial institutions such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are largely controlled and governed by white leaders. The majority of America’s local, state, and federal governments positions are overwhelmingly filled by middle aged, white American, conservative males.
Caucasians dominate higher education in terms of holding the majority of senior level and the highest paid, salaried academic positions as well as representing the majority of the student body. They make up the majority of student bodies, and well-paid leadership positions such as university presidents, deans, and provosts. White Americans even rule the Internet, the world’s communication superhighway. The majority of commerce websites world-wide are U.S. based. Caucasian Americans also own the majority of small and large businesses and even lead the majority of churches in the country. Therefore, it is not difficult and is quite understandable for them to develop a sense of superiority over other races, especially minorities.
A major tenet of American history was the institution of slavery. It was a lucrative industry that propelled America economically and into becoming the superpower that it is today. The topic of slavery in the United States is quite vast and exhaustive. Volumes of books have been written on the subject.
At one-point African Americans were not considered fully human. They were viewed as three-fifths of a person. Fast forward a few hundred years to 2020, many argue that this subtle viewpoint remains alive and well today. Warning, ←29 | 30→the evidence presented in this book is both factual and compelling; read on with courage but keep in mind that the barriers to rebuilding the African American community can be both overwhelming and unpleasant to read.
It’s All Linked to Racism
The majority of the ailments that the black community suffers from today is linked to racism. In modern America, the research relating to outcomes of systemic racism and ACEs are exploding. Social scientists and other related researchers are sprinting to this groundbreaking research field as more patterns to human behaviors have been linked to ACEs and racism. Researchers Vanessa Sacks and Dr. David Murphey commented on a recent study regarding the issues. They reported that “along with many other researchers, the study authors believe that the experience of racism itself have toxic effects. It may be useful, as some researchers have done, to distinguish between catastrophic (acute) stressors and routine (chronic) ones, of which the experiences of racism is an example. ACEs (including racism) can make people physically and mentally ill (8).”
Racism has a colossal impact on the ability for the black community to recover from its brutal experience with slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other forms of oppression. In addition racism has been linked to mental illness, high unemployment rates, poor health outcomes, and low standardized test scores such as the SAT (scholastic aptitude test) and the GRE (graduate record examination) exams.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article regarding the subject of diversity and standardized test scores in American higher education. In August 2019, Douglas Belkin of the WSJ reported that “the College Board, the New York-based nonprofit that oversees the SAT, said it has worried about income inequality influencing test results for years. White students scored an average of 177 points higher than black students and 133 points higher than Hispanic students in 2018. Asian students scored 100 points higher than white students. The children of wealthy and college-educational parents outperformed their classmates (1).”
In the past few years, hate crimes in America have been on the rise. One would imagine that considering the Civil Rights era passing the nation over fifty years ago would have decreased the intensity and frequency of hate crimes and racial issues. Unfortunately, racism and racial tension have climaxed to epic levels.
University campus hate crimes and racially biased incidents have soared. Victoria Nelson of, American Progress, reported that “experiences of racism can cause racial trauma, especially for Black students. The theory of racial battle fatigue ←30 | 31→maintains that race-related stressors, such as exposure to racism and discrimination on campuses, and the time and energy African American students expend to battle these stereo types, can lead to detrimental psychological and physiological stress (6).”
By this point, you have been informed of some developing research, data, and information related to the ailments caused by racism. There is far more to come. Chapter Seven of this book dives thoroughly into ACEs, the nemesis of the black community. Ultimately, between the atrocious experience and the destructive factors of ACEs lies the chief barriers to the rebuilding of the black American community.
A major study was released in 2019 regarding the issues and effects of racism and ACEs primarily in the black community. Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison revealed some disturbing results. “ACEs are especially prevalent in low-income, minority patient populations. African Americans are disproportionally exposed to stressful and traumatic events particularly in urban areas, and the combination of traumatic, racial, and socioeconomic stressors contributes to reduced life expectancy. Racial and ethnic minority populations that
