Why is there STILL such a cultural and economic gap between blacks and whites in America?
367220
One question that has been posed through research is that with the rapid rise of diffusion of information in the United States, shouldn't the knowledge gap between blacks and whites be closing?  The answer has generally been that knowledge is increasing for both groups at about the same rate.  So even though blacks now have more access to resources and knowledge, whites, who were already ahead in the race, are also acquiring new knowledge at a high rate, thus staying ahead.
87101
BECAUSE the dominant history of this country (I'm assuming you mean the U.S. when you say "America") is told from the perspective of white colonialists!  Institutionalized schooling in this country was established to enforce Protestant, Anglo-European values and I believe that, in some ways, that is still its purpose (look at No Child Left Behind!)
390340
Historically the big conflict has been between black and white people like someone else said. The big problem with other cultures like Native, Asian and so forth would be language, and that the community is tighter... it'd be harder for someone of another race to *pass.*
691013
Absolutely. Look at the segregation of class, first of all, then break it down again. I firmly believe that the people in power gain a lot by keeping segregation viable. When you have first class distinctions, then the poorer people feel bad about themselves, what they can or better yet can not provide for their families. Next they can not afford decent health care or schooling. This further segregates the people. Next you have race segregation in different neighborhoods. Not much has really changed in this area at all. a black family while having legal rights, will still be set apart from their white or Hispanic neighbors. The same holds true for a white family in a Barrio or predominately Black neighborhood. This keeps people from building each other up. When we are all kept down and separate, we don't have the strength or the resources to fight the power of the oppressors.
855508
Because historically colleges and businesses hired under qualified whites over blacks.\n\nPayback. Deal.
265091
p-cat-doll, you can't really say that "white people in general" have opporessed so many nationalities, and believe that, can you?  Give me a break!  The problem with many cultures, blacks included, is that they don't want to strive to live up to the American dream, or to conform to white american culture (no more slang? no way!) and so they continue to oppress THEMSELVES by using their culture as a fall back for the things they have done, do, and will do in the future.  It is only the non-white individuals that conform, get a great education, speak properly, act properly, and take responsibility for themselves that do well and are successful in America.  I know alot of non-whites who are well educated, well spoken, successful, middle class Americans, and you know why? Because they don't use their "culture" as an excuse (or blame whites) when they don't succeed.\n\nI totally disagree with you, and you are wrong.  Your kind of thinking is what keeps "other" nationalities behind in the United States.  It's not our fault, take responsibility!\n\n\nIn response to: p_cat_doll\n\n Hell No. White People in general have oppressed so many nationalities they should be banned from even having a calendar.
380324
Unfortunately we will always have inequalities...it is the way of the world....it the way capitalism works....we have different socioeconomic statuses the haves and the have nots...someone has to work to make people richer and someone has to lead to make the masses want more things to buy...we will always have poor and will always have rich...the most unfortunate part is the gap between the two classes is growing larger.
135356
Racism is too easy an answer, although it may be the case some of the time.  More likely, due to historical racism and many other factors, black men in the south generally do not have as good a credit rating, do not have as good personal or business references, and are not a part of the "old boy" (i.e., old white boy) network.  That's not the same as current racism, and I would bet that there are banks and other lenders that are smart enough to actively seek out black business, in order to expand their customer range.  After all, there are getting to be more well-educated, highly skilled blacks in the middle class and above in America, probably including Louisiana.  They have good jobs and want to keep them, and are at least as respectible and ambitious as their white counterparts.  More, often, because they are responding to quite a few years of affirmative action, emphasis on education, and the influence of leaders like MLK to have self-respect and pride in their heritage; all to the good for their economic well-being.  Then, too, there are probably at least a few good black-run banks and credit unions in every state, even in Louisiana.
1141042
They are still an economic minority.
438939
We owe our country's success as a producing nation to the sweat of our early laborers.  Today, we still out-produce every country on most every good and service.  And blacks are still broke, sick, and under-represented.  We still haven't made reparations for what we owe.  They aren't blaming whites, they just want (and deserve) their money.
55518
Well, in the grand scheme of history, we've barely batted an eyelid since Dr. King's time.  However, pointing out one statistic to prove your point is statistically flawed and border-line misleading.  Many more blacks are addending university and obtaining graduate degrees, starting businesses, earning comparable wages (to whites), voting and otherwise become active citizens than they were in the 1960's.  Further still, this particular problem is the result of many black families not having a strong lineage of educated, successful family members to build supportive communities.  Had the black college attendence rate been in 1966 what it is in 2006, then we would be talking about a very different story.  Give it time.  Why are Americans so impatient ;)
373804
Our culture has become one of consumption and materialism.  Americans feel entitled to material wealth, and we value money above almost everything else, although few would admit it!  It's disgusting, really, when you look at the gap between rich and poor in this country.
733714
Because the likes of Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson are poverty pimps that get rich by telling blacks that its all the white mans fault that they are poor.  \n\nThe bottom line, its easy to fail... its tough to succeed.
922523
Jeff A, take off your pointed hood and open your eyes.\nLet's look at it from a bigger picture and ask ourselves a couple of questions.\nWhat percentage of the Global population living under the poverty line is black, asian, colored?\nNo matter how you look at it, there is a corelation between the color of skin and prevalence of poverty.\nNow, slavery and colonialism have various debilitating effects. These effects take a lot of time to heal. Every civilization in the past has at one time or the other had slaves from other conquered cultures e.g Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Nevetheless, in none of these cases has the proportion of slaves to citizens come close to the prevalence of the United States. At the height of slavery in the US, there was 1 african slave for every 4 citizen.\nIn the case of previous civilizations, the negative effects of slavery have been greatly healed by the passage of time. It has been barely a century since slavery was abolished in the US, and just a copule of decades since civil right reforms were implemented in the south. It is over optimistic, to the point of naivette, to assume that societal and racial relations in the US would be normalized after only a copule of decades.\nThis brings to mind a skit in an episode of "Family Guy" where a colonial white man removes the shackles from his african slave and says "Okay, its over now. We're cool, right?".\nIt is understandable that minorities unconsciously feel slighted about the past and wish to strike back. In roman history, an army of escaped and former slaves led the Thracean Spartacus led a bloody revolt against the Roman populace.\nIn modern US society, It is sometimes taken as a subconscious mental victory that it is politically incorrect for a white person to say "Ni99er" while black people can refer to each other that way. These irrelevant mental victories help to heal racial problems in the society.\nBeing born and raised for the first 20 years of my life in a West African country, I have the advantage of being able to look at the US society from an outsiders perspective.\nFor anyone who says that the current US society is racially fair, I ask them to research the average family income for a black, hispanic, asian then caucasian family. Numbers dont lie, but ultimately, time heals all wounds (hopefully).
440219
Sure, America is rich, but the money is not distributed evenly. There is a small number of Americans that possesses a large percentage of the money that the nation currently has...
464013
It's not so much racism as it is cultural differences.  When people assimilate into the mainstream there doesn't seem to be as many problems.  I am white and live in Chicago.  I have many Mexican and Chinese neighbors and we all get along.  There aren't very many black people in my neighborhood.  Why is that?  I think it is because of culture clash more than it is color clash.  Do you think there is a black culture in the US?  I do.
737380
The US isn't maintaining its past lifestyle now.  There are more homeless than ever, with the rising cost of housing fewer people are able to own their own homes, more young adults are having to move back in with their parents because they can't afford their own homes or apartments. People are working more than ever but are still falling farther & farther behind.  Spiraling costs in healthcare are putting it more and more out of reach. Between less money being available for primary and secondary education, school closings, and larger class sizes, a decent education is getting further out of reach. Manufacturing and production jobs have been exported to other countries where the labor costs are cheaper, so there are fewer jobs in these areas for all of those people who can only get that limited american public education. The only sure place where there is anticipated growth is the prison industry.  It ain't just for black folks any more. \n\nThe american standard of living is quickly going straight to hell NOW. It's not going to take 100 years.  And all you teens & 20 somethings...you should care, this is the world you're inheriting, and you have a long time to be stuck with it.