Sociology

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Barack Hussein Obama, raised his right hand, took an oath of office and was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.  For some, this one moment in history magically erased any ethnic and racial inequities that exist in this country.  Indeed, the fact that America has come to a place where a Black man can be elected to its highest office is an indication of the huge strides we have made as a nation to repair racial injustices, and to live up to our promise of providing equal opportunities for all men and women.  But, to think that centuries of unequal access to employment, education and economic opportunity could be eradicated with one single moment in time, no matter how profound that moment may be, is nave at best.

The underlying factors contributing to racial inequity are so complex and interwoven that it is sometimes difficult to tease out the causes.  Take education, for example.  The numbers speak for themselves. University after university, many of which make concerted efforts to attract and retain minority students, still show disproportionately low numbers of some ethnic groups.  One could say that there arent enough qualified minority candidates applying to these schools and leave the argument right there. But, why arent they applying in greater numbers  Racial factors, social factors and economic factors all contrive to put some minorities at a disadvantage before they even get to the point of applying for college.  If you are born Black or Latino in country, like it or not, it is factually true that you are more likely to be born into poverty.  Those are just your odds.  And, if you are poor, like it or not, you are less likely to have access to the kind of preparatory educational materials and resources (human and otherwise) that makes you a competitive candidate for college.  Schools in poorer neighborhoods often have less our outdated text books and scholarly publications. Think about a young person who wants to make a career in software programming, yet doesnt even have access to a computer in his middle school. And, think about scholarships.  I wonder how many tennis scholarships are given out to student athletes of color   Venus and Serena Williams are an exception that proves the rule. Their father had to go out of his way to find a means to get them access to the learning tools they needed for the successes they now enjoy.  How many African American youth who would love to be star tennis players are raised in communities of poorer socio-economic means, and dont even have access to a tennis court

The professional world is full of equally complex considerations in relation to disparities in employment opportunities.  Civil rights and Equal Opportunity laws have opened many doors, but those laws just as one means to address the overt discriminatory practices. Laws cant regulate everything. A study in done in Chicago in the early 2000s, in which fictitious resumes were sent out in response to close to 1,500 real help-wanted ads, revealed the truth of a reality that many African American already felt in their gut. What happened Well, the resumes with names like Daron and LaShaunda, names that had a typically afro-centric connotation, did NOT get the call backs, in spite of the fact that all their qualifications were equal to or even better than the Heathers or Adams. With so many jobs coming from small businesses, where bosses make such decisions in the privacy of a locked office (shredding the resumes of candidates they think dont make the grade), how on earth do you monitor something like that

We have made great strides towards racial and ethnic parity, but we still have a long way to go.  We must stay vigilant and educate ourselves on the complex mosaic of factors that continue to make ethnic and racial inequality such an unjust and reality in todays society.