Description

African Americans and Hispanics are Making Progress, but Disparities Remain

African and Hispanic Americans have made substantial progress on social, economic and political fronts. However, their progress still does not match that of White Americans. African and Hispanic American incomes, both median and per capita, have reached record levels and there are also a record number of them completing secondary and post-secondary education as of 2000. Nevertheless, more and more African and Hispanic Americans are in prison and remain in poverty. In the first and second chapters of this publication, Arekere assesses the substantial gaps in educational attainment between Africans and whites, first, and then between African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Whites at all education levels. Also, he examines the income the earnings of African and Hispanic Americans vis-à-vis Whites. Findings reveal that earnings of the former two races are substantially lower than that of Whites. While lower education attainment could be one of the reasons, it does not explain the large differences in earnings. There is clear evidence to suggest that socio-economic advancement is significantly correlated with educational attainment for both the general population and for African Americans and Hispanic Americans. While education attainment has increased in the recent past among African Americans even more so than Hispanic Americans, socio-economic gaps continue to persist between racial and ethnic minorities and Whites and are more pronounced among those pursuing college after high school. In the last chapter of this book, Arekere examines the admissions at a large public university in Texas (ALPUIT) in the aftermath of race-based admissions being ruled unconstitutional by the 5th Circuit Court. Herein are the factors influencing non-enrollment among minority students admitted to ALPUIT during the Fall semester of 1999, 2000, and 2001. All nonenrolled minority students were contacted to participate in the surveys: focus groups, mail or online. The results show that minority students have a positive image of ALPUIT and were not deterred by the lack of diversity at the university when seeking admission. Nonenrolling minority students were equally influenced by a combination of academic attributes, like better ranking of major or school and smaller class sizes, at the destination college and financial reasons, like cheaper overall tuition and better financial incentives.