Afirmative Action and Black America - Essay Example

Affirmative Action and Black America Background During the American Revolution the difference between Northern and Southern s were put on the backburner by their common interest in establishing a new nation and adopting a common Constitution. But the differences steadily widened between the economically prosperous northern states and the less privileged southern states that depended primarily on an agricultural economy and a social order based on slavery to support it. Abolition of slavery became the bone of contention between the North and South. This resulted in the Civil War (1861-65) between the northern states termed the 'Union' and the seceded southern states forming the 'Confederacy'. Ultimately the resistance was overcome by the Union and the era of Reconstruction started to put back the ravaged economy of the southern states. The rebelled 11 Confederate states had to be restored to their positions in the Union and provided with loyal governments. The role of the emancipated slaves in southern society had to be defined and settled. With the end of Civil War slavery assumed a new form, viz segregation (Columbia, 2007) 1. New Black Codes that restricted the rights of the newly freed slaves were enacted in the South. White dominance was methodically resurrected through secret terror organizations like "Ku Klux Klan". The southern whites found it very difficult to adopt a social order devoid of slavery. This led to what is popularly known as "Jim Crow Laws" in the U.S. history. Enacted in the beginning of 1880s these statutes legalized segregation of blacks. The name of the enactments leads one to assume that a person named 'Jim Crow' was the architect of these laws where as it stems from a popular minstrel song 'Jump Jim Crow', a dance performed with blackface by the white comedian Thomas Dartmouth. Black codes enacted during 1865-66 restricted the fundamental rights of African Americans. They were prevented from voting by ridiculous 'poll tax' and unfair 'literacy tests' and intimidation. Blacks were required to attend separate schools and colleges, railway cars and buses had separate sections earmarked for them. They were not even allowed to sit with the whites for public amusements and entertainments thus denied participation in mainstream community life. Even places of employment were segregated. Protagonists of these savage laws got a shot in the arm when the U S Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the so-called separate but equal accommodation in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). During 1900 to 1920 segregation extended to hospitals, jails and even churches entrenching a full-fledged apartheid regime. The Civil Rights Act 1964 The crusader of civil rights movement in the U S Dr. Martin Luther King said "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". Before we delve into 1964 Civil Rights Act we must remember that it had a predecessor in "The Civil Rights Act of 1957", which was introduced during Eisenhower's presidency but never saw the light of the day. Eisenhower was not known for his support of the civil rights. He believed that one could not force people to change their beliefs; such changes had to come from the heart of the people involved and not as the result of legislation from Washington. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the brainchild of John F Kennedy who became President in 1960 (National, 1964) 2. He wanted to redress the discrimination that had persisted in spite of civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees. The new president was faced with some indisputable facts about the African Americans such as: 57 percent of African American housing settlements was categorized to be of unacceptable standard. Life expectancy of African American was 7 years less than that of whites. Their infant mortality was twice compared to that of whites. Blacks found it very difficult to get mortgages from mortgage lenders. Property values dropped whenever an African American family moved into a neighborhood that was not a ghetto. Those were the heydays of cold war and Kennedy found it very difficult to criticize the Russian treatment of East European nations when unpardonable human rights violations were taking place in his own country. After Kennedy's assassination his vice-president, Lyndon Johnson, suddenly found himself sworn in as President. Johnson wanted to preempt the advocates of militant approach to civil rights movement that was menacingly gaining ground. Being from the southern state Texas, Johnson found it easier to win over the Southern hard-liners, who always categorized blacks as 'lazy lot and not interested in self-improvement'. An opinion poll in January 1964 showed that 68 percent supported a meaningful Civil Rights Act and President Johnson using the emotional card of Kennedy's murder signed the Civil Rights Act 1964 though he was not an elected President. Regardless of several hurdles from various quarters of the society, many historians maintain that the 1964 Act was a defining moment in America's political and social progression. Affirmative Action Addressing the graduating class at Howard University, President Johnson underlined the concept of Affirmative Action and asserted that Civil Rights laws alone are not enough to remedy centuries of discrimination: "You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: 'now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.' You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, 'you are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe you have been completely fair . . . This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity-not just legal equity but human ability-not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result." Affirmative action was part of the legislations that came out of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It was designed by federal lawmakers to ensure that a certain percentage of African Americans, which was later expanded to include women and other minorities, were adequately represented in business, higher education, and government jobs (Columbia, 2007) 3. Recovering from the Jim Crow hangover, Affirmative Action was a welcome sigh to the liberal American society. Many citizens at the time felt that Affirmative Action was needed to address the grim conditions that plagued the black community and open the doors of opportunity, which had been shutout on them. Accordingly, in 1972 the federal government brought out two Executive Orders viz "The Equal Employment Opportunities Act (1972)" and "Contractors Act". These executive orders required that government contractors and educational institutions receiving federal funds to develop programs to overcome discrimination. A Commission was setup to oversee its implementation. In the late 1970s racial quotas in the name of Affirmative Action brought charges of what was called "reverse discrimination", which the U.S. Supreme Court accepted in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case (1978). By the 1980s, the federal government's role in affirmative action programs was considerably diluted. In three cases in 1989, the Supreme Court upturned lower court-approved Affirmative Action plans by giving importance to claims of reverse discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 reaffirmed federal government's commitment to Affirmative Action. But a 1995 Supreme Court decision placed limits on the use of race in awarding government contracts, which the government circumvented coining a new terminology called "socially disadvantaged." In the late 1990s, in a public backlash against perceived reverse discrimination, California and other states banned the use of race and sex-based preferences in state and local programs. Whereas a 2003 Supreme Court decision concerning Affirmative Action in universities allowed educational institutions to consider race as a factor in admitting students as long as it was not applied in a mechanical and formulaic manner. America is a heterogeneous country made-up of all denominations from European, Hispania, African and Asian origins. In spite of that today no American is known as a Jewish American, Spanish American and Irish American or for that matter a Latino or Pole. Even the large Asian community does not flaunt their moorings. Whatever their individual heritages and lingua franca may be, collectively they weave the larger fabric called American nationhood. It is only the descendants of Africa that prides in a suffix to announce their origin and speak Ebonics, a naive English without any slants to his primordial tribal dialect lost in history. This leads us to the origin of race syndrome. The general grievance is that the whites keep the race issue alive; howsoever the blacks may try to extinguish it. To a large extent centuries of slavery and decades of Jim Crow are at the root of this problem (Whorter, 2004) 4. The psychosis resulting from centuries of slavery and decades of segregation has created a mental barrier for the blacks to be seen along with the whites as partners in progress. Centuries of this rub off have made blacks feel more hopeless about their dream of an egalitarian society. How such recluse mindset works against the grains of community integration is beautifully portrayed in The Hughleys sitcom where a black man moves along with his family to a suburb and leads a fearful life of losing their cultural blackness due to daily contact with whites. Unfortunately it is such mindset that fuels anti-integrationist trends and keeps the torch burning that burdens black community. Time to Discard Affirmative Action Critics like Whorter argue that affirmative action has outlived its intended purpose, which was to uplift the blacks and other disadvantaged groups. Progress has been impressive. For instance, today black and white high school graduation rates are identical and black married couples earn on average only a 'bit less' than those who are white (Abigail, 1997) 5. America is also more racially tolerant than ever before. More than 70 percent of both whites and blacks now claim to have a "good friend" of the other race. Only a small fraction of blacks say they have no white neighbors. Residential segregation is down in almost every city. Whorter has identified three islets in the ocean of problems faced by the black community in the U S. The first is the Cult of Victimization, the tendency to admire being victimized by the whites, which generates slush benefits. Therefore, blackness is an adorable embellishment to be eternally worn as an identity to be nurtured rather than a problem that should be solved. How edgy blacks are and how easily they succumb to stretched imagination is well brought out in the 'Howard episode'. David Howard, the white ombudsman to the Mayor of New York made an innocent remark about his budget spending to be "niggardly", meaning miserly. Though the word meant nothing racial his black colleague took exception to it and created a row ending in Howard's resignation. The word in fact is traced to Scandinavian Viking invaders of Britain in the 800s, in whose dialect 'nig' meant "miser." Its resemblance to the racial slur 'nigger' is accidental. Blacks have been ascribed with many qualities, good and bad, but "stingy" is not one of them. Acquittal of the black national footballer, O. J. Simpson, of murder charges in spite of material evidences against him reinforces victimization psychosis. American public believe that he received racial benefit. An NBC poll supported this view. 77 percent of 1,186 people sampled felt Simpson was guilty. Further breaking down these figures only 27 percent of blacks in the sample believed so compared to 87 percent of whites that believed. Unfortunately the gravity receded into the background when many blacks regarded Simpson's acquittal as a sort of compensatory victory for blacks giving them a sense of racial solidarity, a very undesirable sense of togetherness. The second manifestation is Separatism, i.e. the trend to avoid all activities and forums that are deemed 'white', a natural corollary of Victimization. This can be termed constituency building and the most glaring example of it is the acceptance of Howard's resignation by the Mayor who felt it wise to let Howard go in order to show his allegiance to the predominantly black constituency that he served. This demonstrates the stranglehold of Separatism on the community. Majority blacks were under the impression that three out of four of their class lived in ghettoes; factually only one lived out of five. Surprisingly these tinted notions have permeated the consciousness of a large number of black Americans in all walks of life. Separatism spawns the third manifestation, a strong tendency toward Anti-intellectualism at all levels of the black community. It reveals the inability of African Americans to walk the corridors of intellectual pursuit. Vestiges of this could be traced to the typical problem of underclass youth who had been kept away from schools because of poverty and disenfranchisement and view schools as 'white' enterprises. This has now become an infection nurtured by distrust of the former oppressors. It is this anti-intellectualism and not unequal distribution of educational resources, that is at the root cause of the infamous lag in black students' grades and test scores, regardless of class or income level. Like Victimization and Separatism, racism offers a fertile breeding ground for this mentality to flourish. Poverty as an explanation for academic underperformance does not hold on certain facts and figures. In 1960 every second black was poverty-stricken where as by 2000 it was reduced to every fourth black. In 40 years 2/3rd of the black population was elevated into the middleclass and above category. Further, SAT scores of white students whose parents earned just $10,000 per annum were much better than that of black students whose parents earned a higher annual income of $50,000. Poverty, therefore, cannot be the sole explanation for this performance gap. Since racial abuse cases have progressively declined underperformance excuse cannot be foisted upon racial discrimination also. According to Whorter, anti-intellectualism, once crucial to the maintenance of black self-esteem, has for several decades functioned as a decisive impediment to black advancement. It is for this reason that black students of whatever social standing continue to perform at levels well beneath that of their white and Asian counter-parts. Sociologists no not have a convincing explanation as to why Asian and novo African immigrants, many of who come from poverty and a banal English, academically far exceed their black inner-city compatriot. Black students underperformance cannot be just swept under the impoverished carpet of racism and poverty. It is the squalor-culture borne out of centuries of oppression and allergic reaction to its medication through doses of Civil Rights Act and Affirmative Actions; perhaps the latter has more potential to turn the allergy fatal. As long as black students believe that their paltry efforts will result in more than deserving rewards, they will entrench themselves into an undeserving entitlement regime. They will have no incentive to seriously engage in scholarship thus blunting their competitiveness and worst of all, will never be certain about their latent abilities. This creates a social divide in the society with a beneficiary group and an aggrieved group, with the latter feeling that their interests have been sacrificed to promote the career interests of the less eligible candidates. These three philosophies are becoming institutionalized in black America and are becoming part of the black American culture. Black intellectuals have to give serious thought to the emergence of such a situation. The aim of the Civil Rights Movement was not merely to achieve social parity between blacks and whites but had a larger agenda to position African-Americans as an integral part of the American society to enjoy and suffer all the goodies and travails of the country. Such a dream is impossible to realize without wholesome non-discriminatory education system. By channeling blacks to these thought patterns whites are now blamed of replicating the same historical gaffe their ancestors made. It may be an attempt to repent and wash off their past sins. Well-intended social policies like 'open-ended welfare' and 'permanent affirmative action' to help blacks overcome their laggardness in practice further weakens the black community. Interracial relations in America have unwittingly encouraged black people to preserve and reinforce their status as a pitiable, weak and unintelligent 'other'. A section of the intelligentsia dismisses this syndrome as fringe issues and sees nothing wrong with them. They even consider them evolutionary transition, which identical groups would benefit by adopting. Unfortunately blacks refuse to realize that these very trilogies hold them back from true freedom that many consider whites are denying them. In short, these three cerebral exhibits are neither trivial inner-city ills nor mere cynical ploys by politicians or smug fantasy churned out by ivory tower intellectuals. They are endemic to black culture today and a logic personified. In other words, these defeatist outlooks have become the bedrock of black identity. Lack of claim to a heritage of their own gives Africa Americans nothing to be culturally pride of and to fill up this vacuum and the urge to synchronize with other culturally rich cohabiters, they work on their own black culture that will take ages to evolve and fructify. Race-based Affirmative Action was necessary for the transformation to start. Crutches were needed during the preliminary stages but leaning on it as an unalienable appendage of ones life is absolutely undesirable. It habituates a person to dependency and makes him a parasite on the social system. This stifles efforts of black students to breakout of the shackles and does not fetch them full credit for their scholarly achievements. In the evolving situation where the ranks of suburb-dwelling African-American professionals are swelling day-by-day continuation of Affirmative Action is phony. However, after leaving educational institutions to blaze through business and government contracting hurdles some sops may be necessary to penetrate structural barriers that continue to obstruct minorities. Protagonists of Affirmative Action Contrary to Whorter and Abigail's arguments that time has come to withdraw Affirmative Action privileges, ground realities still support continuation of the rights. According to a 1998 study conducted by the Fair Housing Council in Washington, D.C., minorities are discriminated twice out of five times they attempt to rent apartments or buy homes. Congressman Robert C. Scott, citing another study conducted that year by the Fair Employment Council and Urban Institute, revealed that "African-American and Latino job applicants suffer blatant and easily identifiable discrimination once in every five times they apply for a job." Furthermore, the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission reports that African-American men with a Bachelor's Degree earn as much as $15,180 less than their white counterparts. In an investigation conducted by the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston during October 2005 to January 2006, found discrimination by mortgage lenders in Greater Boston against African American, Latino, Asian, and Caribbean homebuyers (The Gap, 2006) 6. It revealed differential treatment being meted out to colored and white loan seekers. On the education front it was observed that after withdrawal of affirmative actions from California University, minority admissions declined to the prestigious California schools. Of the 828 students admitted to the law school at the University of California at Berkeley in 1997, only fifteen were black compared to seventy-five in the previous year. Supporters of affirmative action argue that these numbers are proof that an admissions system based only on grades and SAT scores is culturally biased and that Affirmative Action Programs are needed to ensure minority students a place at America's prestigious institutes of higher learning. If test scores and grades alone were used to determine admission to top-level universities, the percentage of African Americans attending major colleges or universities would considerably drop. Supporters of affirmative action argue that as long as racism is present in institutes of higher learning and the professional world, race conscious policies will be needed to jumpstart minorities. They contend that such programs check preferential treatment granted to white people simply because their skin is white. "The favoritism for certain groups in the United States is so strong that it can only be remedied by actively encouraging the promotion of other groups," asserts Paul Butler, an associate professor of law at the George Washington University Law School. Favoritism for white people in the United States is so strong and inviolable that African Americans need built-in safeguards to have a fair chance to access the national pie. A US Census and US Labor Department data 7 collected during 1978 and 2003 reveals some very impressive and some no so impressive achievements (Richy, 2003) 8. It indicates that advances have been made on many social parameters. Abandoning Affirmative Actions at this juncture will be unfair and amount to a half-hearted work. For a logical conclusion of the endeavor there is a need to persist with Affirmative actions. A panel of experts from the American Law School briefing The United States Commission on Civil Rights Held in Washington, D.C. on June 16, 2006 pointed out that Graduation rates of Black Student in Law Schools were generally lower at 78 percent for blacks and 90 percent for whites except at the top three where the rates are 91 percent for blacks, and 96 percent for whites (Law School, 2006) 9. Similarly the Bar Exam pass rates for minorities have been 74 percent for blacks 96 percent for whites with the gap narrowing at the top three schools to 84 percent for blacks and 96 percent for whites, indicating selective universities have been successful in attracting better quality colored students. Figures also indicate that at quite a few Law Schools more than 60 percent of black matriculates never become attorneys. Such information emphasizes the need to continue with Affirmative Actions in Law Schools. Chang-Lin Tien, of the University of California claims Affirmative Action programs have fostered an atmosphere of diversity and racial tolerance on college campuses across America. Students who are taught in a culturally diverse setting are better equipped to succeed in a multicultural and multiracial society. Because it promotes interaction between people of different races, affirmative action can be an effective tool in bridging racial intolerance, the exalted aim of social equity. James A. Buford Jr., Management Consultant and Professor in the College of Business at Auburn University feels that though discrimination is not as rampant as it was in the past, minorities and women are still underrepresented in many types of jobs. Affirmative action programs can ensure that qualified minorities and women come into the pool of eligible candidates for skilled positions. The failure to hire talented women and minorities reflects poorly on human resources management and will in the long run harm the workplace and the national psyche. To make it more universal it may be wise to apply Affirmative Action benefits based on class instead of race without disturbing levels of diversity within universities without resorting to racial quotas (Kahlenberg) 10. Moving from race-based criterion to a class based principle will reinvigorate Affirmative Action Programs that will be more inclusive than divisive grounds of race. America may take a cue from the largest democracy in the world, India, which faces a similar dilemma what the oldest democracy faces. Though quite different from the race issues faced in the U S, which is an outcome of ethnicity and only a few hundred years old, India has a peculiar cast system being practiced for thousands of years. The common grain running through both the countries is exploitation of the weak by the strong in its all-encompassing meaning. On attaining independence the Indian Constitution made some reservations for the so-called lower casts in government education and jobs. Though it was intended for 10 years only the country's Parliament kept extending it in perpetuity. On April 10, 2008 the Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutional validity of the reservations in higher education with a caveat that the economically and socially better off (what they call the creamy layer) should be kept out of the ambit of the benefit. They could be considered along with the general category (The Hindu, 2008) 11. Thus an overflow mechanism has been put in place whereby those crossing the upper bar automatically flows out into the main stream. America can consider a similar mechanism by which a person reaching the threshold of middle class automatically loses Affirmative Action benefits. Conclusion. Gallup Poll results indicate that Affirmative Actions are generally welcome by the people who want it to continue: During 1995, 2000 and 2001 almost 60 percent of the people felt Affirmative Actions to be good. While around 34 percent feel it is not so (Table - 1) 12. Voters were equally divided during 1995, 1997 and 2001 whether to increase, keep the same or decrease Affirmative Actions Programs (Table - 2) 13. In a 2001 August poll 56 percent supported Affirmative Actions while 39 percent opposed it (Table - 3) 14. 58 percent approved Affirmative Actions in work places while 37 percent opposed it in August 2001 (Table - 4) 15. Compared to 1995 in 2001 there was an increase of 7 percent who believed that Affirmative Actions Programs will be helpful to protect discrimination while during the same time span there was a 6 percent decrease in the number of people who feels Affirmative Actions will not reduce discrimination (Table - 5) 16. Almost 2/3 of the people feel Affirmative Actions will be always needed while 1/3 feel it need not (Table - 6) 17. African Americans need to realize that to be equal, socially as well as legally, they have to think and act as equals and unalienable part of mainstream American society. The scars of the ills that befell blacks in this country are gradually fading. If they do not come to grips with the situation, racism and black problem will become a millstone around their necks. They must learn to retain and improve upon the exclusive physical, mental and spiritual qualities bestowed by God on them. They have to assimilate with the surroundings and be proud of their ethnicity. The black American community brings richness and strength to the table that is unique. Today they dominate the cultural and sports field. There are world famous artists, athletes and sportsmen. They are not exclusive Black American achievements but of all Americans to be proud of. America as a whole will benefit from it. It seems, though, that black Americans, rather than being held back, are holding themselves back. It is sad and unfortunate. Perhaps it is not surprising given their history in this country, but it is a reaction to be discarded the earliest. Appendix 'A' Report Card on Equality in The U S (1978 & 2003) Serial Category 1978 2003 1 Life expectancy of a black child Five years shorter than a white child Improved to six years shorter 2 Risk of a black woman dying during childbirth Three times as likely Notched up to 3-1/2 times as likely 3 Infant mortality rate for blacks Twice that of whites Slightly more than twice 4 Black families below the poverty line Four times the number of white families Unchanged 5 Unemployment rate for black adults Twice that of whites Unchanged 6 Unemployment rate for black teens Three times that of whites Unchanged 7 Median income of a black family 60 percent of a white family's 66 percent 8 Lawyers and judges 1.2 percent black 5.1 percent 9 Physicians 2.0 percent black 5.6 percent 10 Engineers 1.1 percent black 5.5 percent 11 College and university professors 2.6 percent black 6.1 percent Source: Us Census And Us Labor Department Appendix 'B' Gallup Poll Results on Affirmative Actions Table 1 On the whole, do you think affirmative action has been good for the country, or do you think it has not been good Good Not good No opinion 2001 Aug 3-5 58 33 9 2000 Aug 4-5 59 33 8 1995 Jul 20-23 54 35 11 Table 2 In general, do you think we need to increase, keep the same, or decrease affirmative action programs in this country Increase Keep the same Decrease No opinion 2001 Aug 3-5 24 34 35 7 1997 Jan 4-Feb 28 27 28 33 12 1995 Mar 17-19 31 26 37 6 Table 3 Do you favor or oppose affirmative action programs for minorities and women for admission to colleges and universities Favor Oppose No opinion 2001 Aug 3-5 56 39 5 Gallup Poll Results on Affirmative Actions (Continuation) Table - 4 Do you favor or oppose affirmative action programs for minorities and women for job hiring in the workplace Favor Oppose No opinion 2001 Aug 3-5 58 37 5 Table 5 Today do you think affirmative action programs are needed to help women and minorities overcome discrimination, or are they not needed today Needed Not needed No opinion 2001 Aug 3-5 56 41 3 1995 July 20-23 49 47 4 Table 6 Do you think the day will ever come that affirmative action programs will no longer be needed at all, or will they always be needed Always needed Not needed No opinion 2001 Aug 3-5 66 30 4 1995 July 20-23 69 27 4 References Cited Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom, 1997. "America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible". Simon & Schuster 1997, Touchstone 1999. Retrieved from: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/critical_acclaim-america_in_bl.htm Accessed April 16, 2008 Affirmative Action in American Law Schools A Briefing Before pp.135-136 law school pdf. In a briefing before The United States Commission on Civil Rights Held in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2006 Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,2007. "Reconstruction to 1954" 6th Ed. Copyright 2007, Columbia University Press. Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0858850.html Accessed April 16, 2008 Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, "Affirmative Action". 6th Ed. Copyright 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0802658.html Accessed April 16, 2008 Kahlenberg, Richard D. 1999. "Class-Based Affirmative Action" Boston Globe, 1/19/1999. The Century Foundation Retrieved from: http://www.equaleducation.org/commentary.aspopedid=186 Accessed April 16, 2008 National Archives of the United States "Civil Rights Act (1964)" Official website http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.phpdoc=97 Accessed April 16, 2008 The Hindu Online edition of India's National Newspaper Saturday, Apr 12, 2008 http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/12/stories/2008041255021200.htm Accessed April 16, 2008 Richey Warren, 2003. "Affirmative Action's Evolution. How the Debate has Changed Since 1970s". Staff writer, The Christian Science Monitor. March 28, 2003. Edition The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0328/p01s01-usju.html Accessed April 16, 2008 "The Gap Persists, A Report on Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in the Greater Boston Home Mortgage Lending Market". May 2006. Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, Boston p. 13 to 16. Retrieved from: http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/GapPersists.pdf Accessed April 16, 2008. Whorter, John H. Mc. August 18, 2000, "Losing The Race. Self-Sabotage In Black America" Free Press A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 Read More