Racial Issues of Education in the Community Research Paper

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Introduction

The problems and issues centering the topics of race have been engendered in society since times immemorial. People have traditionally been disturbed by matters relating to race and community. In the rapidly changing and ever-evolving global scenario, these petty issues have now begun to be overlooked by most individuals. Further, with the advancement of technology and an increased emphasis on education, racial issues are receding and giving space to primary issues of progress, health and social living. The doctrine of living and let live has never been so well accepted and practiced now than ever.

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There is a greater stress on acceptance and tolerance of multi-racism and multi-cultural societies and the practice of racist and religious tolerance has shown great signs of success and advancement. People have now begun to accept that racism will do more good than harm and it is important to treat all people as descending from one single human race, discarding the prejudices of race and color from our perceptions. Nevertheless, there do exist, some problems and inequalities in society with regard to racism, posing some problems in the various communities in which people reside.

Body

I am an African American male, residing in the city of Lanett located in Chambers County, Eastern Alabama. According to the 2000 census, the city has a population of about seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven with the majority population comprising of Blacks or African Americans accounting for 53.8% of the total population. Cotton milling is one of the prime industries of Lanett. Lanett comprises of people of numerous races and colors including Americans, Hispanics Irish Scots among the many.

The mean household income for a single household in the city of Lanett is twenty-six thousand, one hundred ninety-seven dollars and seventeen percent of the families of the city live below the poverty line. Issues related to low-quality education among the color groups including African Americans and Hispanics, have been a constant issue not only in the history of Lanett but across the entire nation. Poverty brings about with it numerous problems and issues, impacting not only the health of individuals but also their basic access to a better and enhanced lifestyle. Besides, poverty is one of the major deterrents of education. Obviously, when there are not enough resources to feed hungry stomachs, it is but natural that education will never be a priority in life.

Research has indicated that race and ethnicity of students play a crucial role in defining their educational access and that there are numerous structural barriers to education among the ethnic community groups (Clark, 1960). In another study by Williams (1990), it was reported that African American students do not aspire to pursue higher education due to several factors, one of which is the absence of “role models”. Education is a powerful knowledge-based tools in the hands of those who achieve it successfully and the Black community must be empowered with this tool to overcome the problems of poverty in the city.

The paper seeks to address the problem of education among the Black African Americans which would ultimately lead to the uplifting of the entire community and indirectly serve in solving the issues of poverty.

Belonging to the African American race, I was born and brought up in the quiet and peaceful city of Lanett in the state of Alabama. The members of my community are typically mixed, and the African American group constitutes for the largest population in the state. The African American population in the state of Alabama is reported to be twenty-six percent followed by the American populace which ranks second with seventeen percent of the total populace. The English, Irish, Germans and the Scots Irish tribes constitute the rest of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007).

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Like any other race or community in the world, my community too has a variety of people, with respect to physical attributes and appearances. The basic features of my community people are different and variant, jut like any other community. The high cheekbones, excellently textured skin, deep brown eyes, thick tight curly hair, full luscious lips, broad- sometimes curvy, sometimes thin noses, and shapely figures are some of the high points of the African American community. The skin tone of the people of the race is almost always excellent and the color may vary from very dark to caramel or light brown. There are people in the community belonging to my race but have green eyes and light hair with a freckled skin. Every individual will look different and have something unique about the appearance.

However, with more and more multi-cultural societies and marriages across different races have resulted in the evolution of the many features of their race like any other in the world. Members of the community are similar in their basic broad nose and thick hair features, besides the fine-textured healthy skin. Differences range typically like all the other human beings in the world, eyes, nose, lips and all the features being distinct from one another.

Community leaders have an unbiased stance in their attitudes towards the locals residing here. There is communal and racial harmony along with cultural sensitivity and tolerance. There are no instances of racial discrimination and therefore the treatment and the attitudes of the people towards one another are moderate and civilized. Since there are no ethnic differences in the community and all the residents, irrespective of which caste or race they belong to, are treated equally with no preferences of one over the other. Leaders of the community are actively involved in local politics and work hard to make the community a better place to dwell.

Although Alabama has stayed in news for being a racist state, whether it was the arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955 or Bobby Frank being declared a convict in 2002 for bombing the ‘Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church’ on the 15th of 1963 in which four girls of black descent were killed, the Lanett populace has traditionally been a quiet and peaceful one with no incidents of racial violence of ethnic intolerance but more needs to be done and accomplished in the areas of poverty and education among the African American community of Lanett and all across America.

Proctor and Dalaker (2002) have established that the Blacks are more vulnerable to being poor than the white Americans as there is a vicious cycle that prevents the American African groups to advance substantially. This is the poverty, educational and employment cycle in which all the components are interrelated and the occurrence of one leads to another.

With the ongoing recession in the united states of America, the situation of the situation is likely to worsen as in the current scenario, the economy of the U.S. is has resulted in the production of fewer jobs, which will automatically result in the employment of lesser people, thereby reducing their chances to lift themselves out of poverty (Wilson 1996). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002) has also affirmed that while the Whites may a greater likely hood of being employed in service low paying jobs rather than better job options, it is the Blacks who have a greater likelihood of losing their employment, further augmenting the poverty among the color groups.

Several other studies and researches have also pointed that the racial aspects of the color communities also limit their access to other resources which are crucial in their progress. Due to the fact that very often the color or the ethnic groups are sidelined owing to their different languages or cultures, the trend is very often visible even in educational settings such as schools and colleges (Nieto 1992). This marginalization further prevents them from gaining privileges and positions of power within the community in which they reside and thus the ethnic communities suffer due to the racism occurring even at the grass root levels of society.

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Thus the vicious cycle manifests once again bringing us back to the same issue. Poverty leads to lack of education, lack of education minimizes the prospects of jobs and careers and this in turn leads back to unemployment and consequently poverty. Simply underlining the reasons for poverty and lack of educational access are not the traits of a fine citizen. In order that issues are highlighted and brought to the notice of the government, substantial work needs to be done. Being a responsible member of the community, I would like to press for enhanced educational accessibility to my fellow group members. My prime goal and wish are to ensure that each and every member be lifted out of the shackles of poverty.

To imagine one person undertake and successfully accomplish such a goal would be foolish. As such I would like to stress on the role of the local media bodies in coming forward and helping in the accomplishment of this goal. The role of the media is not to simply report news and stories in today’s world the media has adopted an extensive functions greater responsibility in bringing about positive changes in society.

It is the responsibility of the media to report news factually and without any alterations. In most cases it has been noted that the media is greatly responsible in the spreading of certain desirable myths, while facts reveal otherwise. Contrary to popular media notions, the maximum recipients of welfare from the government of the United States are not Blacks, even though they are high in percentage numbers with the white counterparts with regard to poverty. It has also been established that poverty and paucity exist due to loss of jobs, reduction in the wages of the workers, unemployment, lack of education and health problems to name a few.

Thus the media must accurately and appropriately disclose the facts as they occur, failing which the role of the media in the elevation of society is highly unfulfilled. In most cases the media simply functions as a reporting agency rather than a responsible resource to bring about changes and enhancements for the betterment of society.

There are numerous manuals and transcripts in the form of reports which contain invaluable information regarding the Black community all across America. Several types of research have also been conducted and the government is constantly in the process of developing newer strategies to bring about productive changes in the black community. The helping hand of the media will definitely go a long way in the progress of the African Americans in Lanett.

These are some of the changes which I would like to initiate and accomplish in my community. Access to education and the appropriate measures for reducing and eventually totally eradicating poverty from the community and city of Lanett is my prime desire. This could be attained with the active help of the local media and the political support which is not difficult to find in Lanett.

In the current age of globalization, people who dream prosper provided they believe in their dreams and in themselves. The power to achieve lies in the hands of an individual and given the right tools and opportunities success is never far away. I would like to provide the people of my community with this opportunity so that they too can dream and carry the mission further.

Summary

Life presents innumerable prospects for those who work hard and aspire to achieve. The fewer numbers or the color of the skin of the people of a community should not be the determining factor of their capabilities and potential. Each and every person in this world, irrespective of caste, creed, color or gender should be given a fair chance to succeed and progress. For it is only in the presence of fair chances that true talent can be recognized. Being Black or White or any other color does not indicate the individual’s ability or talent.

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It is this chance that I wish to be granted to every person from my community, the chance to dream, the chance to strive, the chance to succeed and “never to yield”.

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007. A Profile of the Working Poor. Report 957. Web.

Clark, B.R. “The Cooling-Out Function in Higher Education.” The American Journal of Sociology, 1960, 65(6), 569-576.

Nieto S., 1992. Affirming Diversity. New York: Longman.

Proctor, B. D., and Dalaker J., 2001. Poverty in the United States.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2007. Population Estimates. Population Division.

Williams, C. “Broadening Access for Black Students.” Community, Technical and Junior College Journal, 1990, 60(2), 14-17.

Wilson, W. J., 1996. When Work Disappears. New York: Vintage Books.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "Racial Issues of Education in the Community." October 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/racial-issues-of-education-in-the-community/.

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