Monday, April 28, 2014

The Racialized Society

It is true people of color are more likely to be poor than white counterparts, but let us not forget that more than 31 million whites also live below the federal poverty line. 42 percent of those struggling financially in America are white while 35 percent are black and 31 percent are Hispanic. In truth, welfare recipient rates among whites and blacks are similar.
“Blacks are not the primary recipients of assistance through federal benefit programs, including SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid, two of the largest public benefit programs,” Brennan Center for Justice policy associate Sophia Kerby wrote.

Nevertheless, according to the American Psychological Society, African-American children are three times more likely to live in poverty than white children. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics are more than twice as likely to live in deep poverty. In 2012, 12.7 percent of blacks (almost 5.1 million), 10.1 percent of Hispanics (almost 5.4 million) and 4.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites (8.4 million) lived in deep poverty, defined as people with income 50 percent below the poverty line. (The poverty line is $11,670 for a single person, $23,850 for a family of four.)

Race still is a factor shaping poverty in the United States. According to new research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “The index scores for African-American children should be considered a national crisis. Although they vary across states, regions and domains, in nearly all states African-American children face some of the biggest barriers to success.” Children of color often grow up in blighted neighborhoods with higher levels of violence causing toxic stress and developmental delays. Result: glaring disparities in income, wealth, housing, education and health.

We still live in a “racialized” society which each of us views differently based on one’s race and background.

Abridged from here

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