29 February 2020
A recent study suggests that higher education in the United States helps white people more financially than it does other groups.
The finding makes some education experts question the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to fight racial injustice. At the same time, other experts note that systemic inequality and racial discrimination are not limited to the United States.
Last October, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce published a study on U.S. college graduates. Researchers looked at the earnings of white, black and Latino Americans who had earned a bachelor's degree between 1991 and 2016.
Over that period, blacks and Latinos with a bachelor's degree increased their likelihood of getting and keeping a good-paying job. The Georgetown researchers defined such a position as one paying at least $35,000 a year. But in 2016, white college graduates held 77 percent of the good-paying jobs. These men and women represented 69 percent of available job holders nationwide.
The study also showed that whites holding a bachelor's degree and working in a good job earned about $10,000 more a year than blacks and Latinos with the same education.
Anthony Carnavale is the director of the Georgetown center. He describes the findings as just another example of America's long history of treating minorities unequally.
The first blacks to arrive in North America came as slaves. Even after the United States banned slavery, many southern states created Jim Crow laws. These rules barred African Americans from many schools and fields of employment. Carnavale told VOA that conditions for black Americans improved somewhat over the years. But following World War II, many Whites moved out of major U.S. cities thanks, in part, to the financial aid they received for their military service.
This made it possible for majority white communities to build large tax bases, which helped finance strong public school systems, he said. This then made it possible for more whites to attend colleges and universities.
Carnavale added that Latinos did not become a major part of the U.S. economy until the late 1980s. He said they faced much the same discrimination as blacks. In more recent times, there have been efforts to reduce barriers to higher education, especially for minorities. For the most part, however, this has meant sending black, Latino and poor students to two and four-year public colleges and universities.
State governments give far less financial support to these schools than they used to, noted Carnavale. This means many of the schools struggle to support students as best they can.
"So we've created more access to higher education in America, but we have not created much more success," he said. "The success, the graduation rates are highest, by far, for affluent white kids."
Victor Goode argues that the inequality issue goes beyond education and extends into many other areas of American life. Goode is the education director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, a U.S.-based civil rights group.
To date, the U.S. government continues to face problems in dealing with inequality in many areas, says Goode. In 2019, the U.S. Commis
Goode adds that a little over 65 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states could not prevent Black students from attending the same schools as whites. But this year, a New Jersey judge agreed to consider a court case against the state's public school system. The NAACP and other groups have accused the state of segregation based on race and earnings.
The NAACP is has also taken legal action to demand greater financial support for public schools from state governments in Maryland, Delaware and Minnesota.
"States...need to see how they can do a better job of providing an adequate, equitable education to all students," noted Goode.
While every country is different, this kind of inequality exists in many majority-white nations, says Kyriaki Topidi. She is a researcher with the European Centre for Minority Issues.
Topidi notes that, in Germany, many recent African and Middle Eastern immigrants lack access to high schools with advanced study programs. And studies showed that employers in Britain were 60 percent more likely to consider White candidates for employment than Blacks or South Asians.
Topidi suggests one way to deal with this is by working with local governments to create anti-discrimination policies. Also, she said, leaders should try to get members of different races and economic levels to understand each other better through community-building events and training.
"This process should be based on the acceptance that people do not simply represent ‘ethnicities' or ‘races,' but rather are complex beings that also differ according to social status, interests, profession, beliefs," she said.
Yet Anthony Carnavale is not hopeful that conditions for blacks and Latinos will improve in the United States any time soon. He says that unless wealthy White Americans are willing to spend much more in taxes to support public education, things will likely remain the same for the next 30 years.
I'm Dorothy Gundy.
And I'm Pete Musto.
Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM.
Words in This Story
graduate(s) – n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university
bachelor's degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study
access – n. a way of being able to use or get something
affluent – adj. having a large amount of money and owning many expensive things
segregation – n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races or religions separate from each other
adequate – adj. of a quality that is good or acceptable
equitable – adj. dealing fairly and equally with everyone
advanced – adj. beyond the basic level
according to – prep. as stated, reported, or recorded by someone or something
status – n. the position or rank of someone or something when compared to others in a society, organization or group
Utafiti wa hivi karibuni unaonyesha kwamba elimu ya juu nchini Marekani inawasaidia wazungu zaidi kifedha kuliko vikundi vingine. Utafiti huo unawafanya wataalamu wa elimu baadhi yawatoe shaka ufanisi wa juhudi za Marekani za kupambana na ukosefu wa haki wa rangi. Wakati huohuo, wataalamu wengine wanasema kwamba ukosefu wa usawa wa mfumo na ubaguzi wa rangi si jambo la Marekani tu. Kituo cha Chuo Kikuu cha Georgetown cha Elimu na Wafanyakazi kilitoa utafiti wa hivi karibuni kuhusu wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu nchini Marekani. Watafiti hao walijaribu kuhesabu mapato ya wazungu, weusi na Wamarekani wa asili ya Latino ambao walikuwa na shahada ya kwanza ya chuo kikuu kati ya mwaka wa 1991 na 2016. Katika kipindi hicho, weusi na Walatino wenye digrii ya shahada ya kwanza waliongeza uwezekano wao wa kupata na kudumisha kazi yenye mshahara mzuri. Watafiti wa Georgetown walifafanua nafasi kama hiyo kuwa moja inayolipa angalau $ 35,000 kwa mwaka. Mwaka 2016, wazungu waliohitimu chuo kikuu walipata asilimia 77 ya kazi zilizolipwa vizuri. Wanaume na wanawake hao waliwakilisha asilimia 69 ya wafanyakazi wa nchi nzima. Utafiti huo pia ulionyesha kwamba wazungu wenye digrii ya shahada ya kwanza na wanaofanya kazi nzuri walipata karibu dola 10,000 zaidi kwa mwaka kuliko weusi na Watalintino wenye elimu ileile. Anthony Carnavale ni mkurugenzi wa kituo cha Georgetown. "Ameelezea matokeo hayo kama ""mfano mwingine wa historia ndefu ya Marekani ya kuwatendea watu wachache kwa njia isiyo sawa.""" Watu weusi wa kwanza kufika Amerika Kaskazini walikuwa watumwa. Hata baada ya Marekani kupiga marufuku utumwa, majimbo mengi ya kusini yalianzisha sheria za Jim Crow. Sheria hizo ziliwazuia Waafrika Wamarekani wasiende shule nyingi na kufanya kazi. Carnevale aliwaambia VOA kwamba hali kwa Wamarekani weusi imeboresha kwa kiasi fulani kwa miaka mingi. Baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Ulimwengu, Wazungu wengi walihama kutoka miji mikubwa ya Marekani, kwa sababu ya msaada wa kifedha waliopokea kwa ajili ya utumishi wao wa kijeshi. Hii ilifanya iwezekane kwa jamii nyingi za wazungu kujenga misingi mikubwa ya kodi, ambayo ilisaidia kufadhili mifumo thabiti ya shule za umma, alisema. Hilo lilifanya iwezekane kwa wazungu wengi zaidi kuhudhuria vyuo vikuu na vyuo vikuu. "Carnival alisema: ""Watalatini hawakuwa sehemu kubwa ya uchumi wa Marekani hadi mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1980." Alisema kwamba walikabili ubaguzi sawa na ule wa weusi. Katika nyakati za karibuni zaidi, kumekuwa na jitihada za kupunguza vizuizi vya kupata elimu ya juu, hasa kwa ajili ya wachache. Hata hivyo, kwa sehemu kubwa, hii imemaanisha kupeleka wanafunzi weusi, Latinos na maskini kwenye vyuo vikuu vya umma vya miaka miwili na minne. Serikali za majimbo hutoa msaada mdogo sana wa kifedha kwa shule hizi kuliko zilivyokuwa, alisema Carnavale. Hii inamaanisha shule nyingi zinapambana kusaidia wanafunzi kadiri wanavyoweza. """Tumeongeza upatikanaji wa elimu ya juu nchini Marekani, lakini hatujaongeza mafanikio,"" alisema." "Mafanikio, viwango vya kuhitimu ni vya juu zaidi, kwa mbali, kwa watoto weupe matajiri". Victor Goode anasema kwamba suala la ukosefu wa usawa linaendelea zaidi ya elimu na linaenea katika maeneo mengine mengi ya maisha ya Marekani. Goode ni mkurugenzi wa elimu wa Chama cha Kitaifa cha Maendeleo ya Watu wa Rangi, au NAACP, kikundi cha haki za kiraia kilicho na makao yake makuu nchini Marekani. "Hata hivyo, serikali ya Marekani inaendelea kukabiliwa na matatizo katika kukabiliana na ukosefu wa usawa katika maeneo mengi, ""alisema Goode." "Mwanzoni mwa mwaka wa 2019, Kamishna Goode aliongeza kwamba ""kwa zaidi ya miaka 65 iliyopita, Mahakama Kuu ya Marekani iliamua kwamba majimbo hayawezi kuzuia wanafunzi weusi kuhudhuria shule sawa na wazungu.""" Hata hivyo, mwaka huu, hakimu wa New Jersey alikubali kusikiliza kesi dhidi ya mfumo wa shule za umma. NAACP na vikundi vingine vimeishutumu serikali ya kutenganisha kulingana na jamii na mapato. NAACP pia imechukua hatua za kisheria kudai msaada mkubwa wa kifedha kwa shule za umma kutoka kwa serikali za jimbo la Maryland, Delaware na Minnesota. "Jimbo... linahitaji kuona jinsi wanavyoweza kufanya kazi bora ya kutoa elimu ya kutosha, ya usawa kwa wanafunzi wote", akasema Goode. Ingawa kila nchi ni tofauti, aina hii ya ukosefu wa usawa ipo katika mataifa mengi yenye wazungu wengi, anasema Kyriaki Topidi. Yeye ni mtafiti na Kituo cha Ulaya cha Masuala ya Wachache. Topidi anasema kwamba, nchini Ujerumani, wahamiaji wengi wa hivi karibuni kutoka Afrika na Mashariki ya Kati hawana fursa ya kwenda shule za sekondari zenye programu za masomo ya juu. Utafiti unaonyesha kuwa waajiri wa Uingereza wana uwezekano mkubwa wa 60% wa kuzingatia wagombea weupe kwa kazi kuliko weusi au Asia Kusini. Topidi anapendekeza njia moja ya kukabiliana na hili ni kwa kufanya kazi na serikali za mitaa kuunda sera za kupambana na ubaguzi. Pia, alisema, viongozi wanapaswa kujaribu kuwafanya wanachama wa jamii tofauti na ngazi za kiuchumi waelewe vizuri zaidi kupitia matukio ya kujenga jamii na mafunzo. "Mchakato huu unapaswa kutegemea kukubali kwamba watu si tu kuwakilisha 'kabila' au'mbio,' lakini badala yake ni viumbe tata ambayo pia hutofautiana kulingana na hadhi ya kijamii, maslahi, taaluma, imani, "alisema. Hata hivyo, Anthony Carnavalet anasema kuwa hali ya watu weusi na Walitino nchini Marekani haitaendelea kuwa nzuri. "Anasema kwamba isipokuwa Wamarekani wazungu matajiri wawe tayari kutumia kodi zaidi ili kusaidia elimu ya umma, mambo yatabaki sawa kwa miaka 30 ijayo.""" Mimi ni Dorothy Gundy. Mimi ni Pete Musto. Pete Musto aliripoti hadithi hii kwa VOA Kujifunza Kiingereza. George Grow ndiye aliyekuwa mhariri. Tuma barua pepe kwa ajili ya maelezo ya maoni au kwa ajili ya maelezo ya maoni kwenye tovuti ya 51VOA.com. "Kama ""mshindi"" (mshindi) ni mtu ambaye amepata shahada au diploma kutoka shule, chuo kikuu, au chuo kikuu, shahada ya shahada ya kwanza ni shahada ambayo hutolewa kwa mwanafunzi na chuo kikuu au chuo kikuu, kwa kawaida baada ya miaka minne ya masomo ya upatikanaji, njia ya kuwa na uwezo wa kutumia au kupata kitu cha utajiri." kuwa na kiasi kikubwa cha fedha na kumiliki vitu vingi vya bei ghali kutenganisha <unk> n. mazoea au sera ya kuweka watu wa jamii tofauti au dini tofauti kutoka kwa kila mmoja <unk> adj. ya ubora ambao ni mzuri au kukubalika haki <unk> adj. kushughulika kwa haki na usawa na kila mtu advanced  adj. zaidi ya ngazi ya msingi kulingana na <unk> prep. Kama ilivyoelezwa, kuripotiwa, au kumbukumbu na mtu au kitu hadhi <unk> n. nafasi au cheo cha mtu au kitu wakati ikilinganishwa na wengine katika jamii, shirika au kundi