CRE Inequality Quiz

CelithaEdwards

388 words

Inequality Quiz

 

In the article, "African American, Hispanic and White Beliefs about Black/ White Inequality, 1977-2004", researchers set out to gauge the relationship between a respondents race and their explanation of division between blacks and whites, with a concentration on socioeconomic inequality (Hunt 2007). The researchers were also interested in the effect that time may have in changing one's opinion on the inequality in America.  The method used to gather the data was extracted from a national General Social Survey spanning between 1977 and 2004 (Hunt 2007)

Their findings were; time does appear to have an association with the respondent's opinion changing (Hunt 2007). Nonwhite Hispanics no longer follow the trend of biased thinking, such as; attributing socioeconomic inequality to the inferiority of Blacks.  Instead the research shows promising data. Non-Hispanic Whites now explain the inequality as a result of lack of motivation or education, but not genetics (Hunt 2007).

Despite the optimistic data, there are still some key points that the researchers have yet to discover. These research does not directly address why blacks are disenfranchised. This data also shows a distinct difference in opinion on the matter of discrimination. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to blame the socioeconomic inequality on discrimination in the structural level, in America (Hunt 2007). Between Blacks and Hispanics, Blacks are always more likely to blame discrimination for inequality(Hunt 2007). Non-Hispanic Whites do not draw this same conclusion as readily as blacks and Hispanic minorities.

 

The second article, "Race Ethnicity and the Quality of Life in America, 1972-2008", made good use of the rich data gathered through the national General Social Survey. The general social survey gathers information on a respondent's overall happiness in 4 areas, marriage, health and trust, finances and overall happiness (Coverdill, Lopez, Petrie, 2011). Most data on the issue has focused on the differences present between blacks and white's subjective happiness. This research is similar to the first article because it explores the effect race has on the respondent's answers. However, in contrast this article places special attention on the Latino community.

            This research yielded results that confirm, Latinos have an overall poor life of quality in comparison to non-Latinos (Coverdill et al., 2011). This research goes beyond the surface by further separating the Latino group based on place of origin. This research suggests that Latinos that hail from Mexico and those from other Latin Countries have differences in their overall happiness and finances (Coverdill et al., 2011). Not only does race appear to directly manipulate a person's life quality, their specific country of origin swings the pendulum of success 1 way or the other.