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Kelsey Roberts
English 1201
Vicki Stalbird
07/21/2015

Minorities Facing Disadvantages

Since the 1800's African Americans have experienced slavery, discrimination,

inequality, and many disadvantages in history. Although freedom has been obtained and many
liberties giving the fight still carries on. Are African Americans or minorities still at a
disadvantage in society? The answer is yes. Even though minorities are more accepted in society
today problems such as inequality, racism, poverty, education, and stereotyping still exists and
the stigma still remains placed on minorities. In this paper I will demonstrate how
minorities are not the majority and are at a disadvantage in society.The term "
minority" relates to more of one ethnic group which are Asians, African
Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and Alaskan Natives.
However, although they are all considered minorities there are four major ethnic
groups that are mostly recognized in America which are, African Americans, Asians, Pacific
Islanders, and Hispanics. Many minority groups have faded away while Hispanics and African
Americans have become the major ethnic groups in America today.

African Americans have been at a disadvantage since slavery and segregation. Most
ancestors were forced to work for slave owners and denied any resources to educate them and
not having freedom to speak or make a difference. African Americans were denied rights such as
voting, schooling, and only able to live in certain neighborhoods in the 1800s, and because of

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slavery society still continues put stigmas on African Americans and still not treated fairly. The
legal oppression of African Americans has been the most blatant and well documented. The
ancestors of most African Americans were brought to the United States as slaves. After slavery
was abolished in 1865, blacks could own land and vote, and some held public office. But their
social position deteriorated when post Civil War Reconstruction ended and the Southern states
began to pass Jim Crow laws, which required the segregation of blacks from whites in schools,
public transportation, restaurants, and other public places. Whites justified these laws with the
theory that intimate social contact between blacks and whites would harm both races (Pollard
and OHare) . This shows history of why America may look at minorities not equally and the
cycle has to be broken somewhere because as a society we cannot continue to let history
continue to be an excuse for racism and discrimination.
In todays society minorities are becoming more accepted and America is becoming more
diverse, but many Americans still think that discrimination is a thing in the past. According to
Pollard and Hare, Americans believe that racial discrimination no longer impedes the
advancement of minorities. Yet numerous studies document continued discrimination against
racial and ethnic minorities in employment, housing, criminal arrests and prosecutions, and many
other sectors of society. America's Hispanics will make up less than 75% of Americans and
Asians, Blacks, and Indians will only make up a small proportion of America. By the middle of
the 21st century, non-Hispanic whites will make up a slim and fading majority of Americans.
Hispanics will be nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population. Blacks, Asians, and American Indians
together will make up close to one-fourth of the population (Pollard and O'Hare).

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African Americans have been at a disadvantage in society for decades and these
disadvantages play a major part when it comes to education, poverty, jobs, and in our justice
system. Minorities are less successful in progressing in education due to multiple factors such as
poverty, environments, and being compared to those who are not minority. According to
Bainbridge, "Minority children are more likely to come from poverty than Caucasian students.
Minority children that come from poverty tend to come from bad neighborhoods." It is also
stated that a child should have a healthy breakfast before school and minorities do not have
nutritious breakfast due to poverty reasons. "Children that live in poverty don't have these
nutritious meals that are provided to them because their families can't afford them because they
are expensive (Bainbridge) ." In the African American community most children live in a single
parent household and as a result there is no support system for the children and no time to do
homework with children, and most men leave the house so that they can work and provide for
the family. According to NewsOne Staff " In the African American community, 72 percent of
Black children are raised in a single parent household." Minority students are also more likely
not to have a father present in the household when growing up. Black males have a high
percentage rate to drop out of school because they have grown up without a father. These males
either have to leave school to be the man of the house and get a job to help take care of some of
the bills. Or some males and females that drop out of school and go down the wrong path of
drugs, pregnancy, gangs and even incarceration. According to Here are some key statistics "Both
girls and boys are twice as likely to drop out of high school, twice as likely to end up in jail and
nearly four times as likely to need help for emotional or behavioral problems. Testing has been
done comparing minority test scores vs caucasians scores and caucasian students do excellent
compared to minority children and minorities don't have access to educational resources due to

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poverty. According to Bainbridge, the test score being compared obviously cause a gap, because
minority children are being compared to children that have resources to succeed in the
educational setting.
''Our results imply that we could eliminate at least half, and probably more, of the blackwhite test score gaps at the end of the 12th grade by eliminating the differences that exist before
children enter the first grade.Minority children that come from poverty are more likely to enter
school and have experienced or been witness to and traumatic event, compared to Caucasian
child that has no worries at all. This will affect how a child will do in school and testing because
they have already been pre exposed to an event that a child should experience( Bainbridge and
Phillips) . Poverty can not be prevented but children should not be be deprived of education due
to it, instead there should be programs to help parents and children. Minority students have
different reason to why they are not successful in school. I believe if these different factors are
known there should be interventions in school to help these children reach success instead of just
letting these children fail or drop out. Poverty cannot be prevented but I personally feel that there
is a solution to help minority children to do well ( Trapp).
Many people today seem to think that discrimination does not exist anymore and that
minorities are treated equally, however this is not true, minorities still struggle with
discrimination and discrimination is the workplace is a great example. Some people may
consider minorities equally because of seeing or hearing of some minority people who seem well
off and perceive that as all minorities are the same. According to Morsella, "CEO of AOL Time
Warner and other powerful minority
executives have most of Americans thinking that minorities no longer face discrimination in
the workplace. The reality is that these success stories are the exception and not the rule. They

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are more a result of the perseverance, talent, ambition, and determination of these executives
than anything else." When minorities are given a chance to enter the workforce they are more
likely to stay at a low paying rate or middle pay rate. Minorities have to work twice as hard in
the workplace to get a higher position. Even when minorities have credentials for a job title
they still are less likely to be picked for the position than a non-minority. Minorities face
several barriers when coming into the workplace and this often affects their ability to
advance. "The successes of minorities are more often attributed to affirmative action or luck,
and not skill and talent as with their white peers. To overcome these obstacles, minorities
often find they must perform above and beyond what is expected in order to get the same
treatment of others that have lower levels of performance, and still many continue to earn
significantly less than their white male peers.
A minority climbing the corporate ladder this way is able to do so because many
organizations seeking to increase diversity hire proven minority talent from the outside
instead of developing it from within. Those coming into these companies from the outside,
often find themselves faced with a hostile environment. A large number of minorities that
make it into management often find themselves the victims of role slotting - the practice
maneuvering minorities into positions that that are not directly related to business lines and
away from areas like finance, sales or marketing, where the top leaders are cultivated
( Morsella)." Even with a lot of barriers against minority there are things that can be done to
be successful in society, and one thing that might help is to reinvent yourself and learn to take
a look at your image and make yourself a marketing expert. Instead of playing the blame
game minorities should learn how to address or deal with racism in the workplace or society.
In society there is a heavy stigma on minorities and although minorities are in America

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doesnt mean that there recognized. Characteristically the minority is recognized, but it is not
necessarily accepted by the larger society in which its members live. The nature of the
relationship of the ethnic minority to the larger society will tend to determine whether the
minority group will move in the direction of assimilation in the larger society or toward selfsegregation ( Chaklin). Minorities make up 30 percent of Americans and Caucasian make up
the majority as a result being a minority is not the norm. According to Chaiklin, Ethnic
minorities tend to be at a disadvantage in most situations, most often because they are
stigmatized as different from the norm. Religion and, most significantly, skin color are more
apt than almost anything else to provoke prejudice, and the resistance to assimilation
encountered by persons of different skin color is pronounced and long-lasting. Minorities are
more accepted in society if they have access to resources and higher education and in the
United States economics play a major role in status or class. The most positive factor
affecting change and acceptance is the degree of similarity, especially of language and
religion, of the dominant and minority cultures. Moreover, if the immigrant group has
economic resources or the means, including education, to obtain them, its acceptance will be
correspondingly easier. This is especially so in the United States, where class is largely
defined by economic success ( Chaklin).

Although African Americans have many

disadvantages in society due to history and other factors, sometimes these minorities can be
their own problem. They sometimes have a tendency to let history and inequality issues
confine them and can be the reason for no progression in society. According to the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, One in three black men are expected to go to prison in their lifetime.
Knowing these statistics minorities should do better in changing their environment and
working to be productive citizen to the community especially when the odds are against you.

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This is a perfect example of confinement allowing statistics and society to determine your
future and the damage to your families. Even with minorities making up 30 percent of
America they make up more of a percentage in prison. While people of color make up about
30 percent of the United States population, they account for 60 percent of those imprisoned.
The prison population grew by 700 percent from 1970 to 2005, a rate that is outpacing crime
and population rates. The incarceration rates disproportionately impact men of color: 1 in
every 15 African American men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in
comparison to 1 in every 106 white men (Kerby). Racially disparities in the justice system
puts minorities in a big disadvantage and this alone can threaten many communities of color.
Police are more likely to profile a African Americans or Hispanics and receive longer prison
terms vs Caucasian Americans.
African American women are three times more likely than white women to be
incarcerated, while Hispanic women are 69 percent more likely than white women to be
incarcerated.black offenders receive sentences that are 10 percent longer than white offenders
for the same crimes ( Kerby). The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21
percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are
20 percent more like to be sentenced to prison. While incarcerated families suffer as well by
a parent raising the child alone as well as putting a burden on family finances. Offenders are
limited to voting rights and as a result of going to prison has an effect of denial of
employment. Mass imprisonment and the overrepresentation of individuals of color within
the criminal justice and prison system, people of color have experienced an adverse impact on
themselves and on their communities from barriers to reintegrating into society to engaging in
the democratic process. Voter laws that prohibit people with felony convictions to vote

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disproportionately impact men of color (Kerby) .

Poverty and loss of good paying jobs remain an increasing problem in America then and
now and as a result it not only affects minorities but is affecting non-minorities as well. USA
today says hardship is growing among whites and has climbed to the highest point since 1987.
When poverty and economic insecurities affect more than just minorities issues will become
of the most important. As nonwhites approach a numerical majority in the U.S., one question
is how public programs to lift the disadvantaged should be best focused on the affirmative
action that historically has tried to eliminate the racial barriers seen as the major impediment
to economic equality, or simply on improving socioeconomic status for all, regardless of
race.Poverty is no longer an issue of them, it's an issue of us. Only when poverty is thought of
as a mainstream event, rather than a fringe experience that just affects blacks and Hispanics,
can we really begin to build broader support for programs that lift people in need ( Rank)."
We need to come together in America so that poverty not only becomes something that is
attached only to minorities but is looked at as a problem for all. "It's time that America comes
to understand that many of the nation's biggest disparities, from education and life expectancy
to poverty, are increasingly due to economic class position (Wilson)." Society has had a
tremendous breakthrough in diversity and although discrimination and and racism still exist
minorities are successful in America today and continue to overcome barriers. Minority
numbers have continued to decrease in all areas today.Race disparities in health and
education have narrowed generally since the 1960s. While residential segregation remains
high, a typical black person now lives in a non majority black neighborhood for the first time
in America.The share of black children in high-poverty neighborhoods dropped from 43% to
37 ( Washington).

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In conclusion no matter how minorities try to overcome barriers and disadvantages they
are faced with will they never be looked at equally. It will never be equally due to history and
the huge stigma that has been placed on minority groups throughout history. However I do
think that there are steps and resources today that has helped minorities in America today
progress and be just as successful as any American can be. I have demonstrated how
minorities are at a disadvantage and history behind it. I have also demonstrated society
working harder to decrease these stigmas against minorities and help America become one.

Work cited
Washington, & Wilson. (2013, September 17). 4 in 5 in USA face near-poverty, no
work. USA Today.
Chaiklin, H. (2015). Ethnic Minorities. Retrieved 2015, from
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/ethnic-minorities
Kerby, S. (2012, March 17). Drugs 1 in 3 black men go to prison the most disturbing
facts about racial inequality in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Retrieved July 21, 20125,
from Alternet.org website: http://www.alternet.org/story/154587
O'Hare, W. (1999). Population Reference Bureau (PRB) (3rd ed., Vol. 54). Kelvin M.
Pollard.
Trapp, Shaylene J. "Minorities Disadvantage Top Education."

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www.personal.psu.edu/.../03/
minorities-disadvantages-to-education.html. Ed. Jaylene J. Trapp. Applied Social
Physchology, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 July 2015.
<http://www.personal.psu.edu/.../03/
minorities-disadvantages-to-education.html>.
Williamson, David. "Despite common beliefs, study shows young blacks have higher
self-esteem."
Carolina [North Carolina] 24 Jan. 2000, 34th ed.: n. pag. www.unc.edu. Web. 15
July
2015. <http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan00/graylit012400.htm>.
Morsella, Tracey De. "Getting To The Top: Strategies for Breaking Through The Glass
Ceiling."
Multicultural Advantage. Ed. Tracey De Morsella. Convergence Media, Inc, 2009.
Web. 15 July
2015. <http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/leader/workplace-leadership/
getting-to-the-top-strategies-for-breaking-through-the-glass-ceiling.asp>.

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