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This original article aims to highlight how racial unfairness has a detrimental impact, specifically on individuals who are trapped in poverty. While capitalism and entrepreneurship in America flourishes in democracy, the same system keeps poor and non-majority people from being full participants in wealth building. Although this is a highly opinionated hypothesis, it comes from years of lived experiences in a variety of communities and in certain circumstances.
For instance, redlining, a discriminatory practice prevalent in the mid-20th century, systematically denied access to housing loans and mortgage insurance to minority communities, particularly African Americans. This resulted in the concentration of poverty and limited economic opportunities in these neighborhoods, perpetuating a cycle of disadvantage. Additionally, disparities in educational funding based on property taxes further exacerbate the wealth gap, as impoverished communities often receive inadequate resources and quality education compared to their wealthier counterparts. These systemic barriers restrict the ability of impoverished and non-majority individuals to accumulate wealth and hinder their overall progress in life, reinforcing the need for addressing racism and promoting equality in America’s capitalist system.
Racism embedded in society’s systems creates a mean barrier for people who are poor, hindering their progress in life. We mainly witness this affecting individuals who frequently face marginalization from the beginning.
Racism infiltrates schools, workplaces, and even the offices where our laws are made, present everywhere. Marginalized individuals, such as those in areas with diverse populations who struggle to access education, healthcare, and employment, face limited opportunities. These areas also experience higher crime rates, leading to excessive policing and incarceration, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
It’s easy for one to imagine how being treated badly again and again because of race tinker with someone’s head and their dreams: this ugly cycle of stress and feeling down makes it extremely hard for people to keep a steady job or do well in school trapping them in the same spot in life. What makes a whole racism thing extra sneaky is how it gets inside people’s minds, stealing their peace and hope. It is absolutely undeniable that racism does more than tinker with people’s money — it leaves deep scars inside that can damage how they feel inside and their communities, too. And when people are always up against it, they end up facing a serious stress, which is no good for anyone’s mental health.
We need to understand that an important problem where some people are very much poorer than other people keeps going because of racism that has built into the system. When people are poor, they do not get to go to schools; they live in not-successful places, and finding a job is really hard: this is not only a one-and-done issue--but it has as a repeated pattern where being poor and facing unfair racial phenomena gets passed down to the next batch of children: wrapping this up, racism that is woven into society is a large problem because it stops people from doing better for themselves, it tinkers with their minds, and keeps communities stuck in this loop of always being poor. We must get on this and make serious changes, inherently, in substance updating the rules to make things fair, making sure everyone has the same chances, and really discussing how deep racism can damage everyone.
References:
Clark, R., Anderson, N. B., Clark, V. R., & Williams, D. R. (1999). Racism as a stressor for African Americans. American psychologist, 54(10), 805.
Gee, G. C., & Ford, C. L. (2011). Structural racism and health inequities: Old Issues, New Directions. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 8(1), 115-132.
Sharkey, P. (2008). The intergenerational transmission of context. American Journal of Sociology, 113(4), 931-969.
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