When questioning the achievements of Blacks in areas of career, education, or health as compared to whites, many researchers and scholars avoid the fundamental variable of race discrimination and instead attribute the problems of Blacks to Blacks themselves. In one example, the study below suggests that career and educational deficits among Blacks are defacto the fault of Blacks, with strong implications toward some form of social/mental deficiency.

The scholars conducted research and a poll on a represented portion of Blacks and whites equally and found that Blacks lag in educational degree attainment and actual upward mobility in career goals. Though Blacks were found to place high value on career choice and education, they were not accomplishing these goals as compared to whites. The numbers they pulled are below.

A gap exists in the number of Black/African American and White students completing high school and college (Bauman & Graf, 2003; Stoops, 2004). According to the 2000 U.S. census, an estimated 14.3% of the Black/African American population 25 years and older has a baccalaureate degree, 42.5% has some college education, and 72.3% completed high school. In contrast, 26.1% of the White population 25 years and older has a baccalaureate degree, 54.1% has some college education, and 83.6% completed high school (Bauman & Graf, 2003). Additionally, the percentage of Black/African American persons and White persons in the resident population who have graduated from high school has remained unchanged within the last decade (Stoops, 2004).

At first glance, one would accept the numbers as standard because in study after study Blacks always lag behind whites, at least according to that study. And after every study, one would suppose that Blacks are incapable of achieving anything higher than whites and are thus in need of help or are simply unmotivated. To the contrary, the researchers also found that Blacks do expect more and strive to achieve it, but their findings have a hidden motive.

Now after they prove by their research that the motivational factor is not necessarily a hindrance for Black achievement, they refer back to the former possible cause of Black underachievement, which is individual deficit. Obviously, because whites have higher numbers than Blacks in the poll, whites cannot possibly have any deficits, this is the implication. Below is their explanation in academic terms.

Studies suggest that Black/African American students value the importance of earning high incomes and contributing to society (Hwang, Echols, & Vrongistinos, 2002). A study of Black/African American community college students by Teng, Morgan, and Anderson (2001) suggested that job security, a good starting income, autonomy, and an important position are more important to Black/African American students than to White students. The desire to serve others and the community is also a prominent theme in Black/African American culture.

Additionally, Black/African American persons continue to experience high rates of educational deficits, employment stagnation, and poverty in the United States (Pope-Davis & Hargrove, 2001). We hope that investigating the influence of future income, future status, and making a difference in society will lead to implications beneficial in assisting Black/African American students in completing high school, attending college, and making a career choice.

The ideal that "investigating the influence of future income, future status, and making a difference in society will lead to implications beneficial in assisting Black/African American students in completing high school, attending college, and making a career choice," is necessary for increasing Black achievement is insulting at the least. Blacks do not need assistance in achievement any more than whites need assistance in defeating racist attitudes and discriminatory practices toward Blacks.

The problem is not Black deficit or lack of or social incompetence on the part of Blacks, it is racism in the educational and corporate world against Blacks. The researchers and all researchers of this practice attribute the exact same formula toward Blacks in all their research, polls, and studies. The problem is that Blacks do not look deeper into the research motives as they should.

The reaction from Blacks after reading studies like this is premature and afterward the actions they take toward "assisting Blacks" is unjustified and unneeded. What is needed is an approach toward eradicating racism, not improving the Black state. Black people are normal people but we live in a society that wants to see our failure more than our victories so they pre-determine our failures by publishing them, thereby destroying self esteem and determination, all the while giving themselves a boost of both.

Blacks who accept these false studies and resolve to address them are being led astray simply because they do not know the truth about what the study suggest. In other words, if they accepted the truth for what it really is, which is social/racial discrimination is what holds Blacks down and not Black deficiencies; they would design a strategy to combat the falsehoods instead of accommodating them.

Source from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JAX/is_3_55/ai_n18791411/pg_1

© July 2007 by Afromerica