I wrote this in 2017, during the rise of #BlackLivesMatter, and it remains true today.
====
I keep hearing people say, “What do Black people have to protest about? We’ve all been equal ever since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
So I put together a list (off the top of my head) of some ways in which African Americans are still treated unequally in the US compared to other groups, such as white people.
This list is NOT exhaustive, is in no particular order, and these are all with “Controlling for…” factors taken into account.
- More likely to be pulled over by the police for a minor infraction.
- More likely to have force used against them by the police.
- More likely to be found guilty by a jury.
- More likely to be imprisoned for committing the same crime as others.
- More likely to have past convictions used against them.
- More likely to be born into a high-poverty / high-crime area.
- More likely to attend a segregated / poorly-performing / underfunded school.
- More likely to be suspended from school for committing an infraction.
- More likely to be refused service in stores, on Airbnb, on buses, in Uber, etc.
- More likely to be discriminated against in a housing application
- More likely to be pursued by debt collectors, even accounting for income.
- More likely to receive scrutiny at work for the same behaviors as others.
- Less likely to be able to afford tutoring.
- Less likely to be approved for a home loan.
- Less likely to have friends and family who can financially help them out.
- Less likely to be helped out of homelessness.
- Less likely to be given treatment for drugs or mental illness.
- Less likely to be called in (or called back) for a job interview, even with the same qualifications.
- More likely to be reported suspicious for walking or driving in a “non-black” area.
Things I Find Interesting [aka, the stuff rattling around inside the brain of Torr Leonard] 