Ten Troubling Ways That America Has (Not?) Changed Since Selma
[image error] Fifty years since Selma. How have things changed? Quite a bit. And not enough. Let's look at some troubling numbers.
1. The Police State: From 1980 to 2008, the number of Americans in jail quadrupled. How is that possible? Did crime suddenly quadruple? We have 25% of the world's prisoners. And African-Americans are now incarcerated at a rate six times greater than whites. (The popular narrative is that this is because of Republicans, but this does not match the numbers.) At the end of 2013 there were over 525,000 black men in jail. About 42% are for nonviolent crimes. That's 525,000 dads that can't be there for their kids.
2. The Family: In the 1960's, only 10% of babies were born out of wedlock. Today that number is more than 40% (73% in the African-American community). In America, marriage drops the probability of child poverty by 82%.
3. Public Schools: More than 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education, 40% of Latino students and 30% of Black students are in schools where they are 90-100% of the student body with no school choice. Big government has tried throwing more money at the problem, but despite spending more per student than any other country in the world, we still score in the middle of the pack on international tests and continue to let the federal government and state government call most of the shots. (All of this, of course, would be a moot point if all parents got involved in their child's education.)
4. College Accessibility: Affirmative action has had mixed results, but college enrollment for African-Americans has doubled from 10% to 20%. Unfortunately, pouring government dollars into higher education to make it more accessible has helped triple the cost of college since 1974 in 2014 dollars. (The average student debt is now $30,000.)
5. "Women's Healthcare": Infant mortality rates for African-Americans have dropped from 41.7 deaths per 1000 live births in 1965 to only 11.22 deaths today...But Roe v. Wade has resulted in the legal termination of over 13 million African American pregnancies and over 28 million female babies.
6. Representation in Media: Hollywood still grossly under-represents all minorities.
7. White women still earn 77 on the dollar compared to white men. But black women earn 64 cents and Latina women earn 55 cents.
8. Voter ID laws may affect as many as 25% of African Americans...despite IDs being free and being necessary for things as essential as getting a library card.
9. Home ownership for African-Americans has only risen .3% from 42.6 to 42.9.
10. Black membership in Congress has increased eightfold from 6 members in 1965 to 48 today...unfortunately, Congress still has an approval rating of 16%...
DiaryOfAmerica@gmail.com
1. The Police State: From 1980 to 2008, the number of Americans in jail quadrupled. How is that possible? Did crime suddenly quadruple? We have 25% of the world's prisoners. And African-Americans are now incarcerated at a rate six times greater than whites. (The popular narrative is that this is because of Republicans, but this does not match the numbers.) At the end of 2013 there were over 525,000 black men in jail. About 42% are for nonviolent crimes. That's 525,000 dads that can't be there for their kids.
2. The Family: In the 1960's, only 10% of babies were born out of wedlock. Today that number is more than 40% (73% in the African-American community). In America, marriage drops the probability of child poverty by 82%.
3. Public Schools: More than 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education, 40% of Latino students and 30% of Black students are in schools where they are 90-100% of the student body with no school choice. Big government has tried throwing more money at the problem, but despite spending more per student than any other country in the world, we still score in the middle of the pack on international tests and continue to let the federal government and state government call most of the shots. (All of this, of course, would be a moot point if all parents got involved in their child's education.)
4. College Accessibility: Affirmative action has had mixed results, but college enrollment for African-Americans has doubled from 10% to 20%. Unfortunately, pouring government dollars into higher education to make it more accessible has helped triple the cost of college since 1974 in 2014 dollars. (The average student debt is now $30,000.)
5. "Women's Healthcare": Infant mortality rates for African-Americans have dropped from 41.7 deaths per 1000 live births in 1965 to only 11.22 deaths today...But Roe v. Wade has resulted in the legal termination of over 13 million African American pregnancies and over 28 million female babies.
6. Representation in Media: Hollywood still grossly under-represents all minorities.
7. White women still earn 77 on the dollar compared to white men. But black women earn 64 cents and Latina women earn 55 cents.
8. Voter ID laws may affect as many as 25% of African Americans...despite IDs being free and being necessary for things as essential as getting a library card.
9. Home ownership for African-Americans has only risen .3% from 42.6 to 42.9.
10. Black membership in Congress has increased eightfold from 6 members in 1965 to 48 today...unfortunately, Congress still has an approval rating of 16%...
DiaryOfAmerica@gmail.com
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