Examining Racial and Ethnic Reality Part 2: Employment, Politics, Crime, Poverty, Home Ownership, Conclusion and Future

 

In part two of our look at race and ethnic reality, we'll take a look at employment and unemployment, Affirmative Action and quotas, racial equality in politics, crime  and prison sentencing, poverty, welfare, housing, and who really benefits the most? Finally, we’ll address the issues of reparations, the future of race relations, and what does all this mean, if anything?

Employment

When it comes to labor force participation, 63.1% of Blacks are in the work force. 65% of Asians are actively involved as are 62.3% of White and 66.9% of Hispanics. Meanwhile, 65.3% of those who claim to be mixed race participate in the work force.

Whites and Asians occupy the majority of professional and managerial jobs with Asians holding most of the STEM and healthcare professions while Blacks fill most of the community and social services occupations (Black males work the majority of transportation and utility jobs while Hispanics dominate the construction and hospitality industries per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).  

Examining income levels by race (based on 2023 data), we find that the median household income for Whites nationally is $89,050. For Hispanics, it’s $65,450. The median income for Black households is $56,490. Native Americans earn $57,270.  The highest household income belongs to Asians which averages $108,700.

The national unemployment rate is 4%. Among Whites, it’s 3.6% and 3.5% for Asians. In the Hispanic community, the unemployment rate is 4.6% (4.9% for Mexicans and 5.9% for Puerto Ricans). However, the highest percentage of unemployment belongs to Black Americans with an average of 6%.

Affirmative Action and Quotas

Affirmative Action came into being through two separate measures. First in 1961 when President John Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 which required government contractors ensured equal employment opportunities  for all applicants. Second was in 1965 when President Lyndon Johson signed into law Executive Order 11246 prohibiting employment discrimination by federal contractors and requiring them to adopt a plan to employ minorities. By the 1980’s, this had been expanded to include gender and religion. It was also expanded to include education and other areas. Basically, it federal dollars touched it, there had to be an affirmative action plan in place.

Some institutions used this as a de facto “quota” system, rather than as intended. Thus, individuals were hired or accepted based not on their skills, experience, or test scores, but on skin color and gender. The overall result was a drop in performance which affected productivity and employability. Fortunately, that was done away with by the Supreme Court  in a 2023 ruling against Harvard College. At long last, ability returned to the forefront.    

Politics

What about politics? Whites make up about 59.3% of the population. Hispanics are 18.9%. Blacks comprise 12.6%, and Asians are about 5.9%. When we look at the make up of Congress, of the 431 members, 301 identify as White. 61 are Black, 46 are Hispanic, 18 are Asian, and 5 say they are racially mixed.

 Of the 99 Senate members, 83 are White. 7 are Hispanic, while 5 are Black and 3 are Asian with 1 Native American (not including Elizabeth Warren), and of course, there was Barack Obama who was bi-racial although popularly identified as Black.

When it comes to federal judges, the majority (65.80%) are white. 14.44% are black. 9.11% are Hispanics. 6.63% are Asian, 2.84% are mixed race, and an embarrassing 0.47% are Native American. Additionally, 52.7% of federal judges are male. Currently, there is one Black governor, one Native American, and one Hispanic.

Crime and Punishment

When it comes to crimes, Black Americans were 50% more likely to be victims of non-lethal violent crimes than Whites according to a report by the Council for Criminal Justice (CCJ). In both instances, the assailant was more likely to be a black male than not. In comparing Hispanics and Blacks, Blacks were 40% more likely to be the victim than Hispanics.

There was no difference in non-lethal victimization between Hispanics and whites although Hispanics were 2x more likely to be robbed than Whites whereas Black females were twice as likely as Hispanic females to be the victim of rape or sexual assault. In short, Blacks were more likely than other races or ethic groups to be a victim of crime while at the same time, most likely to have been the perpetrator of the crime.

An FBI Uniform Crime Report from 2019 seemed to back up the CCJ data. According the UCR, Black Americans accounted for 55.9% of all murders committed. Whites accounted for 44.1%. When it came to the race of the victim, 54.7% were Black while 42.3% were White, and roughly 3% were “other”. The pre-capita “offending rate” was eight times that of whites as were their victim rate meaning that statistically, Blacks (especially males) were more likely to commit violent crime than any other race and that Blacks in general were more often than not to be the victim of a violent crime.

According to a victimization report conducted in 2004, blacks were 56% more likely to be the offenders when it came to carjackings compared to 21% for Whites and 16% for Asians. Blacks were 12% more likely than any other races to commit an armed robbery. Hispanics, on the other hand, comprised 40% of those sentenced for federal crimes.

Per a report by The Sentencing Project, Blacks are the most incarcerated group in America. Black offenders are 5 times more likely than Whites to be sentenced to prison. Hispanics will go to prison almost 2.5 times more often than White offenders. Native Americans will be incarcerated more often than Whites but less than Hispanics.

Blacks are also more likely to be jailed on misdemeanor charges than any other group, but they are also more likely to violate probation. Hispanics are more likely than not to serve time in a federal prison. Asians are least likely to be jailed for any reason.

Black women are more likely than White or Hispanic women to do time. Asian women behind bars are virtually a statistically null category. The Sentencing Project also reports that while there has been a decline in incarceration rates overall, the Black prison population has declined the most.

Echoing the above, the Prison Policy Initiative pointed out that while Blacks are roughly 13% of the U.S. population, they make up 37% of those behind bars. However, based on percentage of population, a discorporate number of Native Americans are incarcerated compared to any other race or ethnic group. Lastly, it should be noted that the U.S. imprisons more of its population than any other country on the planet bar none.

So, with legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Affirmative Action, federal incentives for Historical Black colleges, and various federal and state programs, not to mention academic courses and majors, why isn’t the situation better?

Black, Hispanic, and Asian enterprises have been extremely successful. The Federal Office of Advocacy reported in 2022 that there were 5 million Hispanic owned businesses employing some 3 million individuals. Latinos are also the largest entrepreneurial demographic in the U.S.. There are 3.4 million Asian and Pacific Islander owned businesses in America, employing 5.3 million, and generating earnings of $1.2 trillion dollars annually.

Native American owned businesses, of which there are over 340,000, have earnings of some $46 billion annually despite representing roughly 7% of the total population.  As for Blacks businesses, there are approximately 3.12 million according to the Census Bureau. They provide 3.56 million jobs while producing $206 billion in annual revenue.  Of course that doesn’t include cable channels, print media, radio stations, music and movie genres, events, pageants, business associations, advocacy groups, and so forth which are dedicated to a specific racial or ethnic group.

Lastly, White owned businesses. Currently about 82% of all businesses in the United States are White owned, including 85% of all small businesses. Together, they generate about $1.3 trillion dollars while employing around 21.9 million workers. Given that Whites are by far still the largest demographic, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Poverty

The highest poverty rate in the U.S. belongs to Native Americans with 22% living at or below the poverty line. Black Americans are next with 17.9% in poverty. Hispanics have a poverty rate of 16.9%. The poverty rate for Asian Americans was 9.1%.  Whites had the lowest poverty rate at 7.7%.

When we look at those who receive the most government assistance such as Welfare, WIC, energy or rent assistance, or SNAP, Whites are the greatest beneficiaries at 43% (this is also due to their largest percentage of the population). They are also the group mostly likely to leave the poverty rolls and drop government assistance programs.

In terms of SNAP or “food stamps” alone, White make up 62.7% of recipients. Hispanics are 39.8%. Black Americans make up 27% while just 3.8% are of Asian origin. 6.6% are of other races including Native American. It’s bears mentioning that 87.8% are native born.

Hispanics are the second largest users of government assistance at 26%. They are followed by Black Americans at 23%. Finally, Asian Americans. They are just 8% users of taxpayer based services.

Home Ownership

Lastly, let’s look at home ownership. According to the National Association of Home Builders, 65.7% of Americans owned their own home as of 2023. When broken down by race, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans were 73.8% of all homeowners. Asian Americans were 63%. Hispanics were 49.8% while Black Americans were slightly behind at 45.9%.

Hispanics also saw the greatest increase of homeownership or any group. Black home ownership has also increased while slowing for Whites and Asians (one explanation it that the aging White population is shifting to low maintenance residences like apartments, condominiums, or assisted living facilities).  

Conclusion

According to the numbers, Whites remain the largest racial demographic, and as such, dominate in most of the categories, including use of government services and prison population, as one would expect based on the population size (note too that there are large pockets White communities, such as in Appalachia or the Ozarks, which resemble more of a third world nation than a top tier one).

In looking at education, Asian Americans, the smallest demographic, outperforms every other racial group relative their size in terms of education, labor market participation, income, own a home, or hold a managerial or professional position.  At the same time, they are least likely to be a criminal offender, got to jail/prison, or use government assistance.  

Hispanics, the second largest demographic, is most likely to use some form of taxpayer based serves, hold service or construction jobs. They are growing most rapidly of any other group in terms of home ownership. They also make up the majority of the labor market while having the third highest unemployment rate.  They have the third highest graduation rates behind Asian Americans and Whites. In terms of politics, they hold the second most number of seats in Congress.

On the downside, Hispanics (especially males) are more likely than other groups to be convicted of a felony and sentenced to a federal prison (usually on immigration or drug related charges). They are ranked third in terms of poverty. Lastly, they are the second highest racial minority  over all to be a victim of a non-lethal crime.

From being  statistically insignificant just 50 years ago, Hispanics have become a powerful force in American culture. Within the next 50 years, they will be on par with Whites in terms of population and likely a powerful player in politics, perhaps having the largest racially based caucus.  There’s no question they’ll regularly hold the Oval Office.

Black Americans, for various reasons, haven’t been able to gain any significant traction socially. They do well when if comes to the number of live births but also lead in terms of illegitimate children. They also have the highest divorce rates while, despite the myth to the contrary, Black fathers are the most active in the lives of their children.

They have an impressive graduation rate yet hold the least number of top level jobs. Black females are also most likely to outperform Black males, but also most likely to be harassed by them as well. They also have the third largest number of individuals in the labor market with the lowest income level or any group. When it comes to poverty, they’re the second highest. However, they are not the “Welfare Queens” they are portrayed as.

In terms of politics, they’ve had decent success, though it’s come in waves, with success in Congress, judgeships, mayoral offices, and even the presidency.  However, these gains are often negated by charges of corruption, drug and alcohol abuse.

When it comes to crimes, Blacks (particularly males) lead the pack, most notably when the victims are also black. They are also most likely to be sentenced to prison, skip bail, or violate probation. Thus, they don’t seem to get the break other groups get.

However, Blacks aren’t the worse off. That goes to Native Americans. They have some of the lowest birth rates, the poorest schools, least number of job opportunities, highest poverty and homeless levels of any racial or ethnic demographic. They also experience the highest school drop out rates. Their overall income levels have improved (thanks largely to legalized gaming). Nevertheless, their representation in politics is and has been negligible.

In the end, each race can boost of a certain measure of success and bemoan its failures. Is there any justification for “reparations”? If we mean as a result of self-inflicted failure, then no. That’s on them, not society. The opportunities are there.  The problem is not taking responsibilities for outcomes. It’s not demanding quality and rewarding success, be it in education, job ownership, or self-care.

They must self-police neighborhoods and create acceptable role models. If they don’t care, why should society? Case in point, look at Asian neighborhoods and schools.  If, on the other hand,  we mean reparations because of governmental abuse or apathy, then yes, and Native Americans would be that group.

They’ve been the subject of land theft, blatant lies, attempted genocide through starvation and disease, and enforced poverty.  They’ve had their culture stripped away. They’ve been denied the opportunities others have taken for granted. Where they’ve succeeded, it’s where they’ve stepped up and took charge…and responsibility…for their situation, handling their own affairs, and keeping the government at arm’s length as much as possible.  

If we continue along the same path, America will slowly, but assuredly, balkanize. For Whites, most everything will remain largely the same despite a slow decline into pockets here and there. Hispanics will settle into their position of co-parity with Whites. Their language and culture will be common place. Parts of the U.S. will be de facto “El Norte” (or “Aztlan” as it’s called”). Asians will dominate the West Coast while a shrinking Black population will occupy some of the larger cities, especially in the Rust belt, looking like they belong more to some dystopian movie or third world country than to the United States. 

Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Louisiana Law Review: Race Quotas as a Form of AffirmativeAction

Race and crime in the United States

A Brief History of Affirmative Action

U.S. Poverty Statistics

Fact Check: Are Black people the majority of those onwelfare?

What the data says about food stamps in the U.S.

Homeownership by race and ethnicity

 

'Try Acting Less White' : Diversity Training Webinar Gone Awry

 

We've all heard the advertising slogan, "Things go better with Coke". Well, they may want to update that. Apparently not everything goes better with Coke. I'm talking about a online training webinar entitled "Confronting Racism: Understanding What It Means to Be White, Challenging What It Means To Be Racist" which was promoted by the popular soft drink manufacturer and hosted by LinkedIn.

The online training webinar, allegedly a project of Robin D'Angelo, author of "White Fragility" and was being hosted by LinkedIn, has been removed because of the immediate blowback and negative publicity it caused.  The story about the webinar was broke by Karlyn Borysenko, a psychologist and activist against critical race theory, which is the basis behind "white privilege" and institutional racism.  

According to Borysenko, she was sent the screen shots from an anonymous whistleblower at Coca-Cola who claimed that the webinar was part of the company's mandatory diversity program, "Better Together", and had been acquired through the business oriented website, LinkedIn, for their use.  

The webinar implied that all whites were naturally born racist, which was reinforced by societal norms. The course encourages white employees to "act less white" and adopt certain undefined behaviors such as being "less oppressive", "less certain", "be less arrogant, and to "break with apathy" in dealing with blacks in general according to some of the webinar's slides (you can read the slides through the links below).

 It also encourages employees to "break with white solidarity" which seems to imply that whites act as some monolithic front when it comes to dealing with racism. Another one of the slides evidently told employees to be "less white" in their daily dealings.

The webinar also appears to imply that racism is a one way street; that only whites are capable of racism. If the term "white" was replaced with "black", "Hispanic", or "Asian", we'd be seeing 24 hour news coverage complete with faux outraged politicians, celebrities, sports figures, and all the empty talking heads on the various news channels condemning the webinar. Lawyers would be lining up around the block to go after Coca-Cola, LinkedIn, and no doubt, the content writer. 

LinkedIn has removed the webinar. Ms. D'Angelo has stated through her representative, Caitlin Meyer, that she was not aware that she had been included in the webinar or that the slides had been "re-edited" in the manner presented (particularly as a training course on anti-racism). She also stated that the content presented in the webinar did not properly reflect her work.

As for Coca-Cola, they acknowledge having a diversity training program entitled "Better Together" which was linked with LinkedIn's educational products, but it denies that the courses are "mandatory" (according to Ms. Borysenko, several employees she spoke with said the programs were, in fact, mandatory).  The soft drink conglomerate promised that it would continue to "refine their curriculum".  

So, what happened? Ms. D'Angelo denies that either the webinar nor its content was the result of her efforts. In fact, she seemed to be a bit put off by the content of the slides mentioned. LinkedIn, which hosted the webinar, yanked it and thus far hasn't commented. Coca-Cola appears to have got caught with its pants down and minimized any responsibility of the content judging by their brief statement.

There's nothing unusual about companies offering courses on race relations or diversity. I took diversity classes in graduate school and again when I was an adjunct professor. Even when I was enrolled in community organizing training, diversity training was part of the curriculum.

I never had any issue with diversity training. When I was growing up in the deep South during the 1960's and the Civil Rights movement, our classes were already highly diverse. They included Native Americans, Hispanics, Greeks, Irish, Italians, Asians, and had quite a number of black students too.

We had Hindus, Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhists, rich kids and the children of migrant workers. None of us cared. We learned together, got in trouble together, played together, occasionally fought with and beside each other. We accepted our differences as well as our similarities as just a part of life. That's just the way it was, and that's the way it's always been for me.

I've known people from across the spectrum. Most were just acquaintances; people I encountered throughout my comings and goings. A tiny few were close friends, and others I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire. If you treat people the way you want to be treated, you shouldn't have any problems. I believe that's all most anyone really wants.

As for diversity training, it's to help expose people to different races, cultures, religions, and values. Anything which can help us get along together I'm all for. However, I do have an issue with trying to blame any race or singular group for our problems. Usually it takes two to tango.

Racism is not a solo sport. It works both ways. Yes, there are white racists, but there are black, Asian, and Hispanic racists too. Hatred is, sadly, open to all. Racism and discrimination have always existed, and to some degree, will likely continue to exist for some time to come.

Racism and discrimination have been a part of the human condition since the beginning. Both developed out of our tribal beginnings. It was likely due to our sense of competition, be it for shelter, resources, or reproduction. We are hardwired to seek out the familiar and reject what's different. We also seek out approval and reaffirmation of our beliefs and values, which became, over time, our traditions and eventually, part of culture and self-identity. 

We've never stopped being, in some way, tribal. We've never stopped being competitive, be it in school,  the workplace or the playground. Over time we've learned to suppress our suspicions and cooperate. It proved to be mutually beneficial for our survival. We've adapted. We've changed. Be it our values, traditions, or even cultures.

Adaptability has been our secret power. It's what has enabled us to survive everything from wooly mammoths, cave bears, and saber tooth tigers, to plagues, wars, and climate change.  Experiencing and accepting diversity is part of that adaptability. However, trying to claim that racism or discrimination is a one way street isn't. It's an attempt to project our successes or failures onto someone else.

The barriers of the past are for the most part gone. Yes, it's taken time; far too much time. There are still barriers out there. Women are still not treated the way they should in the workplace for instance, yet they make up almost 58% of the workforce. They are too often denied supervisory or senior management positions. They still aren't paid the same as men for doing the same job.

People who are LGBT are still frowned on. Personally, I don't care what your sexual orientation is. In fact, it's none of my business any more than mine is theirs. I certainly don't think it has any part to play in academia or the business world. The only thing that matters is their personal conduct and their professional performance.

The same goes when it comes to race, religion, or ethnic heritage. If you can practice your faith without disrupting business or being anything less than professional with another employee or customer, so be it. If, because of your ethnic heritage, religion, or culture, you can't (or won't) work with someone else of a different heritage, religion, culture or gender, you might consider your other employment options.

If you believe you are "entitled" to a job or promotion because of the color of your skin or gender, then I don't think you're the right person for the job. I'm not a fan of quotas. You should be hired or promoted because you're the right person for that position.

People should be hired or promoted because they have proven experience as well as the right education and skill set. Most of all, because they have the right attitude to get the job done and can be counted on.  By the same token, companies should never hire or promote anyone just because it looks like a good PR opportunity. Ultimately, they do both the individual and the company a disservice.

Finally, this. We all belong to one race---the Human race. We are the lone survivors of millions of years of evolution. Just 300,000 years ago, nine humanoid species walked this earth.  We're all that's left, and we have the wherewithal to wipe out every living thing on this planet (with the possible exception of cockroaches) within a matter of minutes.

Though we're just a single race, we belong to different branches on the same family tree. We have our differences, just like they are differences between cousins within the same family. Some of us have darker skin or lighter hair. Some have blue eyes, and others have green eyes or hazel eyes, while the majority have brown eyes.

 Some are taller, shorter, or carry an extra layer of fat to protect us from the cold. We are male or female. We have different shaped skulls or shaped eyes. And yes, there are subtle differences in intelligence just like there are subtle differences in athletic ability or immunity.

We have different cultures, traditions, values, and religions. That doesn't mean one is worse or better than the other. It just means we developed these civilizing factors based on differing environments and experiences.

However, we also have much more in common than not, such as our love for our children, appreciation for our elders, a need to protect things and individuals which we value, as well as a distain for certain types of behavior such as theft, murder, or lying. 

Diversity training is suppose to expose us not just to dissimilarities, but also to our similarities. It's meant to teach us as much as about what we have in common than not. I don't know who was responsible for this webinar (which, it would seem, were altered to enhance our differences and encourage racism rather than consign it to junk heap of the past).

I'm a little disappointed of the relatively few whites who objected to the webinar and lack of coverage by the media. Had some other race been used, I have no doubt that there would have been just as many (if not more) whites objecting as the race in question and it would have been all over the news.

Yet, it appears that few minorities objected to the webinar's message that white employees needed to be more subservient and to act "less white" or that whites only should be required to take diversity training. If diversity training is about anything, it's learning to get along. Thus, shouldn't everyone participate?

When it comes to racism, or discrimination in general, we need to have each other's back. This is especially true when you realize that America is no longer a single race dominated society.

America is becoming a nation of minorities with no single group having a singular dominance. Whites and Hispanics will hold a near parity, followed by blacks and then Asians. However, within a few decades, Asians may dominate in some areas; blacks in other areas.

We will either survive together or we will perish together. We don't have to like each other. We don't have to associate or live with each other in our private lives. But, if we want to survive, then we had better start treating each other how we want to be treated. That begins by accepting that racism goes two ways, and neither are acceptable.

 

Critical race theory

'Try to be less white': Coca-Cola hit with backlash over 'confronting racism' training course

Whistleblower: Coca-Cola Uses Antiracist Training That Tells Employees  'Try To Be Less White'

Coca-Cola Facing Backlash, Say 'Be Less White' Learning Plan Was About Workplace Inclusion

Coca-Cola slammed for diversity training that urged workers to be 'less white'