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African American Education Inequality Analysis

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I met Elias G, a black student who lives in my neighborhood and is learning about Anesthesia, at the Foothill College Cafeteria. In this personal interview, he emphasized that none of his close African American friends in his high school have entered universities. As for why, he argues that inequality still remains in college admissions and scholarship systems. Today, higher education seems to be considered the only way in which one can move his social status up in the nation. As a result, many politicians and leaders in the country have emphasized the importance of education. A number of policies regarding education have been published, executed, and planned by those already highly educated in the nation. These policies have been truly successful …show more content…

Poverty leads to insufficient opportunities, especially in college education. For instance, according to U.S. Department of Education, students who do not enter college or drop out of their classes are “predominantly persons from low-income families.” In support of this argument, the article states that “only 21 percent of those with family income of less than $25,000 were highly qualified for admission at a four-year institution” compared to the 56 percent of students with family income above $75,000. Therefore, students with bad economic conditions struggle with attending university even after entering it. The problem is that the African Americans race gets the harshest disadvantage from their poor economic conditions. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services publishes that almost 40 percent of African Americans under 18 are below the national poverty line, which is three-times higher than their white counterparts. This explicitly proves that unequal economic conditions are the main reason for inequality in education; African Americans are the most disadvantaged. Furthermore, the correlation between poor economic conditions and a lack of education among African Americans creates a chain of inequality. The poor economic backgrounds of African Americans obstruct their children from attending colleges and subsequently, the lack of higher education makes

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