The Argumentative Essay

By: Andrew Kiggundu

CAUSES OF BLACK INCOME and SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES

Since its inception and independence the United States as a country and its government
has undeniably grappled with social and income inequality, but more specifically grappled with
social and income inequality of the African American community as a race. It’s no doubt that
race relations in the United States are at an all time low fueled by the recent wave of alleged
increase of white police shootings of unarmed black people followed by subsequent gigantic
Protests and Riots, alleged Racism, black poverty and inequality hence creating a widely
polarized country. Identity politics could never be more vividly present in the American republic.
It’s been stated and written countless times that the underlying reason for black income and
social inequalities is primarily caused by systematic and institutional Racism. That racism and
implicit Bias has excluded black people from pursuing the American dream. This essay will
explore the causes of black income and social inequality in the United States with evidence and
interpretation and why Racism is a misguided scapegoat.

When examining the social and economic inequality of the African American community it is
imperative to look at cultural factors such as family structure and spending habits, structural
factors such as home ownership and business ownership, human capital or intellectual capital
which refers to knowledge, skills and experience possessed by an individual or group of people
which are valuable to an organization or country, for example educational achievement, market
skills, problem solving skills, investment skills and so on.

Many studies have indicated black cultural and behavioral attitudes as explanations for the
wealth gap. These include family arrangements, attitudes and values. Researchers in this line of
explanation cite conspicuous consumption, lavish consumption and unwillingness to delay self
gratification. According to Roussanov (2009) African Americans and Hispanics spend up to 30%
more than white people of comparable income on visible goods like clothing, cars and jewelry.
Roussanov further notes that black citizeans spend 16% less on education than whites of similar
income. According to Brimmer (1998) this kind of behavior and attitude does not foster wealth
accumulation as surplus incomes are spent on liabilities and not income generating assets.

The family structure is also greatly important to explaining the black income and social
inequality gap. It is worthy of note that family structure and family background are important
determinants of wealth. In 2019 there were about 4.15 million black families in the United States
with a single mother. The rise of female headed households has kept the poverty rate among
black communities considerably high. According to Keister (2004) female-headed households
are at a disadvantage compared to two-parent households because women continue to work in
sexist labor markets where they earn considerably less. It is worthy of note that two parent
homes have better chances of wealth accumulation especially where both partners earn an
income.
 Black income and social status continues to lag due to persistent violent crime or homicides.
More blacks were killed by other blacks in 1977 than died in the entire 9-year Vietnam War.
Such crime has driven businesses and jobs from the community. Property crimes alone have cost
blacks billions of dollars annually. Most important the young have been profoundly affected by
crime, as they are most often the perpetrators and the victims (Johnson1979). According to data
from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and Uniform Crime Reporting Program
(UCR), it’s indicated that While African Americans accounted for only 13% of the U.S.
population in 2005; they were victims in 15% of all nonfatal violent crimes and nearly half of all
homicides. According to Riley (2019) “blacks are committing more than half of all murders and
robberies while making up only 13% of the population. It should also be worthy of note that
according to renown prosecutor Barry Latzer in his book “the rise and fall of violent crime in
America” noted that the homicide rate for black men fell by 18% in the 1940s and another 22%
in the 1950s consequently leading to a sharp decline of black poverty by 40% within the same
period. For the first time in United States history black incomes were growing at faster rates that
white incomes. It is without doubt that safer neighborhoods attract businesses and economic
activity. High crime rate in black communities compared to predominately white communities
without question has driven away both existing and potential business consequently widening the
wealth gap.

Consequently black income inequality continues to lag behind that of their white and Asian
counterparts. Clearly pointing at systematic Racism and implicit Bias as the reason for black
wealth gap is just simply missing out on the real black upheavals that need to be corrected in
order to achieve the American dream. Many black successful entrepreneurs today from different
walks of life namely sports, television, music, finance, fashion started from the bottom of the
economic curve. Black people should naturally start to engineer a new culture that focuses on
developing human and intellectual capital which fosters skills development through practical
Education as focusing on political capital since 1960s has failed to solve black problems. Two
parent homes where fathers are involved in the social and economic wellbeing of their families.
Having a black president in the white house is important but not more important than having a
black father in a home (riley 2014). Fighting intensifying crime in black communities especially
black on black crime is also crucial to improving commerce in Negro communities, Baltimore
County in Maryland for example is regarded as the fourth most dangerous county in the united
states today and stating that fact should not just be mirrored in the eyes of Racism simply
because it is predominately black but focused on the real underlying problem of violent crime.
The American black community has the greatest opportunity of all global black communities,
situated in the most progressive, largest and wealthiest country in the world with a Gross
Domestic Product of approximately 21 trillion dollars.
 References

Riley, J.L. (2014). Please stop helping us: how liberals make it harder for blacks to
succeed. New York: encounter books.

Riley, J. L. (2017). False black power? West Conshohocken: Templeton Press

Shulman, S. (1990). The causes of black poverty: evidence and interpretation. Journal of
economic issues, XXIV (4th .Ed), 995-1015.

Herring, C., & Henderson, L. (2016). Wealth Inequality in Black and White: Cultural and
Structural Sources of the Racial Wealth Gap. Race Soc Probl, 8, 4-17.
Doi: 10.1007/s12552-016-9159-8.