Poverty and Hunger among A.A. –

In the article, "Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans" by Bread for the World Institute; I received the message, suggesting that African-Americans are far less productive to society compared to the rest of the American population. From the wording of the statistics, this article seems to downplay African-Americans. In my opinion, this article was unnecessary. What was the point in comparing the African-American statistics to the rest of the population? There were no solutions mentioned in the article but only a negative voice pouring out statistics that can be seen as a direct attack towards African-Americans. In many ways, I feel that this article is published to discourage or destroy any previous hopes formed in any African-American readers. I couldn't believe this article was actually published and I could not find any reason to why it was necessary to publish such an article. There could have been many other topics regarding "Poverty and Hunger" that could have been more relevant and beneficial to publish an article on; such as, "The Problems and Theories of Solutions to Poverty and Hunger in America".

The article is suggesting to me that food insecurity/poverty/hunger among African Americans is alarming. According to the fact sheet, a large number of families, specifically the families in the black community, are currently living below the federal poverty line. From this, it can be inferred that household income must be low and it's suggesting that the kids living in these households are not pursuing a higher education. There is this idea that the better your education, the better your job and pay and the better lifestyle you have. When this organization was distributing its data, I believe that one of the links they're trying to make is that when people have higher education, they're more likely to be above the poverty line because they would most likely have better paying jobs. This organization is emphasizing how critical food insecurity/poverty/hunger is among the African American community as compared to the rest of the American population. This organization is focusing heavily on the African American community when in fact, other groups of people are struggling too. Maybe they believe that if a black family is plastered on the cover, it will spark some sort of urgency for the rest of to help those in need. But we should recognize that there are so many other groups that are beneath the Federal poverty line, not just African Americans.

This article is a clear indication that African Americans are consistently living in poverty and hunger. I find it quite shocking that 1 in 4 African Americans verse 1 in 8 Americans live below the poverty line. There are also more African Americans living in hunger than the overall Americans. I feel as if the environment plays a big role in this problem. Not just African Americans, but all other races tend to segregate themselves with other races. Certain areas in our community will always be dominated by one particular race. For example, Chinatown is dominated by the Chinese, Harlem is dominated by African Americans, Upper East Side is dominated by Whites. Often times, the areas we live in force us to live and grow up a particular way. Schools in Harlem is definitely not as prestigious as schools in the Upper East Side. Everyone will act the way everyone else is acting to fit in with the norm. I think drop out rates are higher among African Americans because it is seen as a norm whereas drop out rates are lower in the White community because the norm is to go to college. As a result, African Americans often miss out on a chance to attending college. This is definitely not a matter of being lazy or unappreciative, but rather a norm. On top of all this, I feel as if African Americans are still being discriminated against during the hiring process. African Americans are getting the shorter end of the stick when it comes to getting opportunities. They are not often the first pick for a job and are probably the first pick to be laid off. The bottom line is, if we want to live in a community with less poverty, everyone has to first not hold any judgements against another race.

It's clear that the article is suggesting that African Americans all over the country have a harder time than other ethnic groups. Whether you look at large metropolitan areas, or more rural states; the percentage of the African Americans living in poverty, is well above the averages for the population as a whole. That poverty leads to food insecurity and hunger. In my opinion one of the key reasons for the higher poverty rate in African American communities is the higher high school drop out rates, and lower rates of college education. Now having a college degree does not guarantee a well paying job, but it certainly helps. The pool of non-skilled jobs available to non college graduate African-Americans, or any other ethnicity for that matter is constantly shrinking. This effect is even more pronounced for those who lack a high school diploma. Many of the historically well-paying non-skilled jobs in manufacturing, food processing, government( ie:the post office ) etc, have been the backbone of a uneducated middle class, as those jobs are lost through outsourcing, attrition, and budget cuts, things will only be harder for the uneducated segment of the population going forward.

After reading the article, I found it to suggest that African Americans have higher food insecurity, poverty and hunger rates than the general population. What shocked me mostly about this article was the statement about African-American families experiencing “recession-like” conditions even while the general U.S. economy was strong. I don’t understand how the government could allow their own citizens to live in such conditions. I understand that perhaps they think there are enough programs out there to help. I’m just curious about what other types of programs could be implemented to prevent or even reduce any population of people to suffer from “recession-like” conditions. The link the organization is making between the two is compared to our general population, African Americans are struggling the most and it seems like this problem isn’t being addressed effectively. There are huge disparities in income and education as well in the African American population compared to the U.S. population as a whole. I never knew of the huge differences in poverty among the general population compared to African-Americans. I hope to learn more about how these issues came to be and how it is being fixed or can be addressed with other intervention programs.

The article was informative in terms of statistics but I don't think it was anything we, or maybe just me, haven't seen or hear about ourselves. The lack of education and low employment rates for African-Americans and other urban cultures has been an ongoing and rapidly growing issue in this country that never seems to get much attention. If it does get any attention it is only momentary then soon forgotten and that is possibly where the issue lies. The article shows us the direct link between education & income, which for the average person go hand in hand, and hunger. It makes sense that education is the foundation of the problem. I think the article suggests this by breaking down the percentages the level of education in these communities. it's all one big circle. No higher education leads to no job which leads to little or no income which results in loss of homes, vehicles and other materials and objects that are needed in order to become a successful citizen within your community. Because of this circular downfall these people have to look for government assistance in order to survive.

Sadly and in a capitalist world as the United States, people may think that poverty does not exist. Paradoxically, exists and is very evident. There is no equality in the system and we can’t deny that many conditions are linked to discrimination. It is palpable not only in African – American minorities but in other groups like Latinos or women in general. I believe that although the system is jeopardized, America offers opportunities to succeed and improve conditions. The government supports education, housing and food for the poor. At this point then, emerges another problem and is the lack of appreciation for the benefits offered by the government. People take advantage of those benefits and then lose the desire and the capacity to improve. In this case one would think that the government is spoiling people because instead of forcing an individual to work- in the many jobs that exist (not highly desired by the Americans)-, it rewards and drives them to go down more and more because that person knows that there is always going to be a solution even on the streets as homeless. These means of protection is undeniably great, but at the same time should be reformed so that there is some appreciation and respect. It is important to consider these benefits as a temporary means of support not as permanent. This is just like when a mother is overprotective of his son, the only thing she is doing is preventing him to learn how to survive. The solution then is to add certain responsibilities to those who receive benefit from the government regardless their status or social class.

         After reading the article titled "Poverty and Hunger among African Americans", to me, it explained in depth what the current issue among African Americans is when it comes to food insecurity, poverty and hunger and it suggested to me how the troubled situation can evolve for the future generation amongst African Americans. The article first mentions that one in four African Americans lives below the poverty line compared to one in eight Americans overall. This statistic shows that African Americans, as a whole, are not doing as substantially well as other Americans since they have a higher likelihood of participating in nutrition assistance programs. The part that really opened my eyes in this article was the statistics among African American children. More than a third of African American children lives in poverty in comparison to the other children who are living in poverty as a whole. The even scarier part to this situation, if you will, is that African American children are experiencing hunger at a much higher rate than the adults. It is scary to know that children are living in homes that struggle to put food on the table. This offers a greater understanding to the assistance programs offered to families underneath the poverty line and helps me to sympathize with the children who need the help. The article also suggests that 90% of African American children will receive SNAP benefits at some point before the age of 20. What does this information say to the future generation of African Americans? In my opinion, it suggests that the future generation of African Americans is at a great risk for being financially independent from living off of government aid. It suggest that the situation at hand is not getting any better and we need to discover a way to teach our children the importance of education and how it will play a major role in the survival in this world. The statistics almost suggest that many African Americans won't be able to make it on their own and we need to create a new system that will allow our future generation to do so.

This article is showing how African Americans, in regards to food security and income , are struggling much more than non African Americans in the United States. They show statistics of how one-in-four African Americans live below the poveryy line compared to one-in-eight Americans overall. One reason this article gives for this large disparity are the high rates of high-school dropouts. I think that this is a very important fact raised, especially when they go on to talk about how if these students stayed in high-school, graduated, and went to college that their salaries would almost be doubled. I feel one way we can combat this issue is to put more money into public education so that more people have the opportunity to make better lives for themselves and their families.

While reading the article I couldn't help but feel that the ratios given were too close. "1 in 4" African Americans living below the poverty line is too close of a number; I just could not grasp the idea that out of 4 people of the same race, 1 of them is living below the poverty line. This, amongst other numbers, expressed the dire need for some sort of change because there is no reason why one particular race of people experiences such disparity. I also wondered, what are the numbers for whites, asians, or hispanics? Why do we as humans allow such issues to even exist? This article expresses the lack amongst our fellow humans, but expresses no hope for change. If the point of this article was to set fire under others to look for change and help, then I believe it has fulfilled its purpose.

I take issue with the parallels being drawn between African-Americans and suffering in Bread for the World Institute's fact sheet, if not simply because as propaganda material, this fact sheet has cherry picked its facts as a means to a disturbing end. Consider the first two bullet points in the Hunger section. Bullet point #1 reports from the US Dept. of Agriculture that one in four African-American households struggles with food security. The second, with no citation or reference at all, says that 35% of African-American children in this country are food insecure; it's even bolded. Linking these associated but not necessarily dependent or correlated data sets is dangerous insofar as it misrepresents the intention of the fact sheet, which I understand it to present facts. The manner in which the fact sheet handholds and guides us to its on self-serving conclusions is a tatic meant to increase the donations that fund their cause - but at what cost to the community they hope to serve? This same section ends with a paragraph about government assistance. So how then are we not expected to think of people of color and these programs as inextricably related? What's the collateral here for trying for change? If we take a look at bullet points #4 and #5 in the Income and Education Section, we see an even more blatant example of this. Bullet point #4 has no footnote. It is a declarative statement about the rates of graduation for African-Americans, but it's not supported by any data. But bullet point #5 resolves this lack of evidence by creating a corollary between the two by forcing the reader to make the connection they hope we see. I should that it's not as though I believe that African-American food security or any other means by which their quantifiable rate of suffering is measured is a myth. However, this fact sheet seems like a disservice to a community when it takes liberty with facts and molds them in their own image. This is so dangerous because it has the ability to conflate problems with different roots and to assign a community as a mascot for negativity. Even the pictures chosen for this fact sheet are concerning. Why is there a young girl holding a baby in the first picture? Is she the mother? Is that boy the father? If not, where are their parents? The visual presentation of either black children alone or as children raising children is one that I imagine brings in many donation dollars because it's sad. But in some ways it creates a damage that endures. If the goal of the fact sheet is to shed light on the disproportionate suffering of a community, would it not be in its best interest of that community to chose pictures of some of the permutations of African-American suffering and not just the ones that might get you to open your wallet?

The article “Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans” suggested that African Americans are suffering from insecurity, poverty, and hunger more than any other race group in America and that there is no pin-point reason for this. All of stats in this article show clearly that African Americans are suffering more than any other group in America. The lack of reasons for the statistics presented throughout the article is troubling. Why are so many African American families living below the poverty line in present times? The article states that 35% of African American children live in a household where there is a struggle to put food on the table yet this is something that most of society would probably overlook. Since it would most likely be overlooked people don’t feel a need to help in finding a solution. A lot of people probably feel as if since they aren’t the ones without food on their table, it isn’t there problem. The link that the organization is trying to make in distributing such statistical data is that poverty really does effect Americans, especially African Americans at alarmingly high rates. I think that the article is also forcing us to question, “why is this the case?” why are African Americans more likely to drop out of high school and have lower college graduation rates?. There has to be something more that the government and even people can do to help lower these statistics.

“Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans” is a good statistical overview article. It provides facts about poverty levels, unemployment, education, income levels and nutrition assistance program. It compares data for African Americans with the rest of US population. The main point is that situation among African American population is worse compared to the average US performance in every field mentioned above. The article suggests that quality of life among African Americans is lower than everybody else’s in the USA. The article leaves two questions unanswered: first is it reliable and objective and second in our modern society what can cause such difference in numbers? Article leads to the conclusion that the problem of inequality between African Americans and white population still exists. To improve situation something has to be done from both sides: people with low income/education/etc. and society. As Paulo Freire wrote “liberation is a mutual process, requiring effort from both oppressors and oppressed”.

The biggest fact that stood out to me throughout the article was the section about Income and Education. The fact that education has such an effect on the income of people in the African-American population, including the dropout rates of high school students and the lack of graduating from a college as well. Knowing many acquaintances and friends of African-American descent, and friends knowing other friends in that respect, I really don't see this as being the case. All have graduated high school and are going to various colleges on their way to completing their degrees and have had no problems with employment nor are close to reaching poverty. Then I realized that the problem may be focused on just the areas of the United States where poverty is the primary problem as stated in the article. If poverty grows with people and families in one area, then the whole area starts to become poor as well eventually overtaking the population. I feel it's kind of sad that even with the WIC, SNAP, EBT's, and all other ways of helping the African American community in poverty, the struggle keeps growing. And if you look the whole US population and those in poverty, the number is much higher. It just amazes me how high the number is for African American families struggling to put food on the table, or for their family to find ways to let their children eat at least once a day. Especially with our economy in its economic crisis how much more families will go into poverty, how much more children will starve. That's why I believe it's our duty, reflecting on our class discussion, to help the social change and try even a small gesture of helping those in poverty. Social Change starts with us, and we have to be the change we want to see in the society.

Just briefly going back to our class discussion about social change.. I think in most cases we all want to contribute to social change; we all think about doing it but it is very rare for anybody to actually take action. By going to school in New York City we are exposed to many homeless, hungry, and needy individuals on a daily basis and seeing them breaks my heart every time. I personally would like to reach out to them but in the back of my mind I hesitate to sacrifice a few dollars in fear of what they might buy with my money. Of course there are those who could really use the money while others just take advantage of the situation. Because it's hard for me to distinguish the two I just try to avoid it all together. I am very much interested in learning about other ways I may be able to make a change in society. I think raising awareness is the first step in doing so and this class does just that. I am excited to see what these next four weeks have in store for us. Regarding the article, "Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans", I agree with Medina. I think poverty and hunger of African Americans dates back to the days of oppression and slavery. For that reason we are still seeing the effects of their oppression today. The "fear of freedom" in the oppressed sometimes can bind them to that role. For many African Americans, freedom is something that they must work harder for than others. And at times, African Americans may feel like they are not capable of achieving success and this is a very sad thought. This can either motivate some to work harder in order to get ahead or prevent others from working to their full potential, resulting in higher high school dropout rates and settling for less than the average American. As stated in the article income and employment tend to depend on the amount of education an individual has and with such high high school drop-out rates and low rates of college graduation, the African American community is experiencing more job losses than others in the US population. Without jobs or with an insufficient amount of income, many African American families go into poverty. I never realized how many African Americans were being affected by poverty and hunger. One of the first facts given states that the poverty line for a family of two adults and two children in 2009 was $21,756. While many other Americans are earning well over that amount just for themselves they still complain about not having enough. Because we are so used to the luxuries we encounter on a daily basis it is easy to ignore the issue of poverty. I think the purpose of this article was to inform those who are oblivious of the fact that poverty and hunger among African Americans is especially high and is a serious matter.

While reading the article “Poverty and hunger among African-Americans,” a question kept crossing my mind: Why such poverty rate in this community? Is “discrimination” the root of the problem? Are they the outcomes of apartheid? All these interrogations raised another issue: If we take the theory of discrimination, how can it still be possible to find a correlation between efficiency at work and skin color in our today society? Did our hegemonic America fail in promoting its values on equality of race? As we all know, our country became well-know for its “American Dream” and its system based on meritocracy, however in spite of being the first world power, the United States still remain far behind others when it's about education and healthcare issues. The idea of promoting capitalism through the world is unfortunately a parameter that cannot coexist with social reforms. The idea of having a country based on capitalism is good, however wanting to promote social justice and equality at the same time doesn't seem to be a realistic idea. Wanting to reduce the income gap between poorest and richest would mean reconsidering the entire system in which our country is based on, thus putting on the side capitalist ideas in exchange of social measures.Today, more and more people struggle to have access to education and healthcare, leaving the poorest communities on the side. I guess the case of the African-American community can be explained by two theories: one dealing with its own history (Cf. integration within American society) and the other dealing with discrimination often generated by ignorance.

Because of media and lack of knowledge, hunger and poverty in the United States has been an issue concealed to many. The commercials that we see on television are all asking us to donate money to families in third world countries without the necessities to survive, but what about families right here in the United States? Where are the commercials for them? Just because we are a developed country, doesn't mean we have solved all our internal problems yet. I have to admit though, I did fall prey to those commercials until I read this article. The article "Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans" is definitely an eyeopener (for me). The statistics that it contains are shocking. It really showed that the United States isn't better off than any other country - "more than a third of all African-American children lives in poverty". More importantly, this article shows how the African-American population in the United States is undervalued and more poverty stricken than any other race. I believe that the correlation between African Americans and food insecurity/poverty/hunger is based highly on one's environment and family's standing. Environment meaning if a family is living in a poverty stricken community, it's hard for them to get out of it and mover away. They've grow accustomed to what they have and usually do not have the capital for a better life. They pick comfort over chance/risk. When it comes to education, location matters a lot also. If the school is in a bad location and the teachers aren't paid well, they won't care about their students and the students won't care about their education. The idea of "the poor get poorer and the rich get richer" also plays a role because a family working in a less fortunate community will make less money. It would be a miracle if they make $30 an hour living in a poverty-stricken community. Most do not even have the chance to change class levels.

The article was very interesting to read. It was amazing to see some of the statistics like the 19.6% of African Americans that participate in WIC and the poverty rates among the top ten states. The 35% percent of African American children whose families struggle to put food on their table was a very surprising fact to read. Just trying to comprehend some of this statistics and grasp the severity of the issue at hand was overwhelming, especially when you consider that if this is only for the United States or African Americans the numbers for other ethnic groups in other parts o the world must be massive. A sad thing to note that was discussed in class yesterday was how the commercial for kids in poverty always features third world countries when in fact some of those "third world" countries are actually better off than the U.S. and the common misconception is that they are worst off. I remember last semester when I was taking Hispanic studies and the the teacher provided us with statistics for Spanish speaking and Latin American countries, the poverty level was actually lower in some of those countries, which most of them are considered third world countries, than in the U.S. One thing that was evident is that poverty is not just an occurrence in one country it is a global issue.  What this article suggests to me is that education, unemployment and poverty/hunger are all interconnected. It has become an epidemic. The relation between the three is simple: due to high levels of drop out rates in high school and lower levels of education, income is therefore lower among African Americans and unemployment is higher. It even states that "Africa-American families were experiencing recession-like conditions even while the wider U.S. economy was strong." So it the seems the struggles African Americans have has to endure economically wise has been a constant problem.  By lower levels of education and income along with higher levels of unemployment, hunger, poverty and public assistance have continued to increase. With poverty for African Americans at such an alarming rate, it is no wonder many continue to live below the poverty line. It is because of this poverty that hunger or food insecurity is such a major problem in the African American community and it is due to this that so many participate in nutrition assistance programs.  Its like a chain reaction or a domino effect as one bad decision like dropping out of school has led to lower income jobs which has in turn led to higher poverty and food insecurity. It's necessary nowadays for higher learning as "education attainment has a significant impact on income. 

The fact sheet shows that the poverty rate in African American families is very high, yet, it fails to mention why it is so high. I am not sure why the article does not say anything about that - at first I thought that the authors did not feel the need to add the reasons because this is just a sheet with numbers and stats and including them would be somewhat irrelevant; but after reading some of the facts on that list I was not so sure whether the authors did not include those reasons because they were irrelevant. The article does mention obvious things such as the fact that "poverty and food insecurity rates are closely linked", and that "a principal cause of hunger in the United States is the inability to afford sufficient food". I felt that it would have been much better if the article went deeper into the causes of poverty, and what I mean by that is not just telling us that the lack of education is the main cause of unemployment, which in turn causes poverty; but also adding why African Americans higher high school dropout rates and lower college graduation rates. On a side note, regarding Medina's comment about "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", I really was not able to see how that kind of oppression relates to the lack of education. If I were to apply the "oppression" and "freedom" discussed in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" to this case, I would define them as "racism" and "being successful" respectively. Thus, I do not think that young African Americans in high schools see themselves as not being worthy enough of something simply because they are scared of embracing freedom, or being successful; or are in a minority which constantly faces racial issues, which leads to high high school dropout rates. Personally, I believe that most people, when told that they are worthless, start working even harder, just to prove everyone around them wrong.

The article "Poverty and Hunger among African Americans", is suggesting to me that due to the lack of education and educational resources in the African American community, the minority group will always have the highest rate of unemployment and the lowest rate of income. I strongly agree with this suggestion. If African Americans are not receiving the educational resources or pushing themselves to get a higher education to improve their human capital, how could they ever be qualified for a job or even received a promotion. With this key factor in mind, this is what leads to food insecurity/poverty/hunger. The statistical data is proving that the African American community is in the worst poverty shape, as a people and they're not doing anything to improve their situation. If "almost 35 percent of African American children live in families that struggle to put food on the table," then why African Americans have the highest high school dropout rates and the lowest rates of college graduation? This statistical fact should want to promote and show the importance of higher education in the community.

The data tells us that African-Americans and poverty/ food insecurity issues have never disappeared from American society. Most of African-American families have suffered from the recession conditions, lived in poverty, and experienced educational inequality long before the economic decline. Every year we read the fact sheet, most of us just simply accept poverty as a fact of African-American life that will never go away. Some of us have spent time to study and understand the problem. We also see attempts and efforts from individuals, organization, and government to moderate the problem. However, those are not the ultimate solution to solve poverty. If we are so concerned about the poverty, then we should address problem at the root and at much larger scale. Americans tend to tolerate economic inequality than political inequality. We need to educate the policy maker and general public that economic equality is equally important as well as political equality. We need to encourage young African-American to think beyond the NBA, rap, and drug; to expand their career range; to teach them the principle of wealth, money management, and capitalism. The issue of Food Stamp abuse and program inequality need to be addressed, however, government invention can not build a new African-American society. How to give African-American a stake in economic growth and ensure them have the basic intellectual tool to prosper in newfound competitiveness are much urgent.

After reading the article, I became more aware...or maybe seeing the actual numbers made the situation of discrimination more real. Discrimination still exists even though a lot of people don't wish to talk about it at times. In other classes, we've discussed how poverty and the clear lines that still exist between income, education, and wealth come from the many years of slavery that existed in the US years ago. This is something that will not be "fixed" overnight but is definitely something that has to be actively worked on. The numbers definitely make it a more "real" problem, because I know about discrimination, I probably have been victim of it because I'm a woman and latina, but for some reason when you see the numbers it makes you cringe and "shake your head." What also turned on a lightbulb on my head was the statement of education, income, wealth, poverty all being interconnected and affect each other. This is what spoke out to me and it makes me wonder how long, or will we ever see true equality?

I think the article "Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans" was a very eye opening article especially for most of us native New Yorkers who often forget about the rest of the other states existing. With the statistic the article shined a light on how severe poverty for African Americans is all over America. Another thing that I got from the article is that although their are multiple programs to prevent people from going hungry there aren't many programs offered when it comes to unemployment or education. It's as if those poverty stricken are given enough to survive day to day but not much to progress out of poverty.

The relationship of race and class issues in the United States is a result of certain areas of domestic policy which are resulted from racial bias and the racist past of the United States. Social welfare policy is one of the biggest issues of the U.S. today. The article “Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans” shows the actual statistics of US poverty population and compares African-American poverty level v. nationwide poverty. The ratio is so high and huge, that it raises question what is a source of this result. Education and income play huge role on poverty which quite often results in unemployment. The source of poverty is often uneducated population. The article shows that many of African-American children are often high school drop-outs with low-income, and even though they might have a college degree, they still have lower income than rest of the nation’s population. The question raised is this article is what is actual source of this poverty. Could it be the racism of the Twenty-First Century?

The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of the fact the African Americans in the United States are doing worse in terms of income and food security than non African-Americans. The statistics jump out at you from the charts and bullet points: that rates of African American poverty are almost twice as high as poverty rates in the 10 highest poverty states from 2009, and that more than a third of African American children living in the US lives in poverty as compared to one in five children as a whole. The article goes on to talk about education rates: that African -Americans have higher rates of dropping out of school and lower rates of college graduation, and that people with a bachelor's degree are two more times likely to be employed than people with a high school diploma, and three more times likely to be employed than people without a high school diploma. The article seems to suggest that it is because of lower education levels that African-Americans are more "prone," for lack of a better word, to poverty. Do I agree with it? As someone for whom education is very important, I cannot say I disagree, but I don't think that this is particularly an issue of race. I believe education is important in our society as a whole (although for what fields and such is a different story): the statistics about how having a degree makes you three times more likely to have a job don't mention anything about race, the article leaves it up to you to infer that that is what they mean. There is always the chance that perhaps I'm the one who interpreted it wrong...

Throughout reading the fact sheet for "Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans", the same thought kept coming across my mind - why is there such a difference in the poverty rate and salary rate for African-Americans compared to the rest of the American race? I honestly can't help but assume it has to do with discrimination. Sure, the public does not want to admit that such a thing still exists strongly towards the African-American race, but it does. Women and men still are not paid equally in the job market, and although women have come a long way, as have African-Americans, there is still that gap. There are people sitting at the top of these corporate ladders actively deciding that women and African-Americans should be getting paid less. Another thought I had was regarding the higher high school drop-out rate of African-Americans. It is sad to see that the facts show this occurring. It makes me think of Freire's, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," in which the oppressed are scared of that freedom that would complete them. Oppression can scar someone into thinking they are never worth more than they see themselves as. It can make the oppressed feel that they will never amount to more or to an equality of their oppressors. The African-American youth should strive hard to become successful individuals and not focus on the failure of others. It's easy to lose focus and believe the negativity they hear, but a strong support system can motivate the youth to follow any dreams they have. The link the organization may be making with African-Americans and poverty in this data is simply the obvious division between the African-American race (lifestyle) and the rest of the American race. The statistics do not show 'minorities', rather specifically African-Americans. This goes back to the discrimination I mentioned earlier - it is definitely present.

The article “Poverty and Hunger among African-Americans” is suggesting that as much as we want to believe inequality has diminished over the years among African-Americans and general population, it is not essentially true. In this article, statistical evidence shows, that African Americans are still overlooked and deprived from basic needs, which are necessary to survive. Unfortunately, as we continue to try and close this gap, it is not easy task to accomplish. When US recession began in December 2007, African-Americans disproportionately lost their jobs compared to general population. This right away suggests us that African-Americans are the first people to be let go, bringing to the surface the idea of inequality. When income levels fall due to job loss, families are less likely to provide for their needs. The most basic needs such as shelter and food become family’s priority. “Employment and income levels are strongly linked to education”. It is really hard to continue on with your education when you are trying to survive and satisfy your hunger. African-Americans have higher HS drop out rate which ultimately leads to lower college graduation rates, and which in turn leads to increased unemployment rates among African-Americans. It seems like one incident leads to another, without a way to escape. And it keeps continuing to travel in such circle. To me, it seams like due to various reforms over the years, things got a bit better concerning race inequality, however, it is extremely sad that abundance of African-Americans still struggle to satisfy their basic needs. If we don’t do anything about it and close our minds, eyes, and hearts we will never close this gap, and the poverty levels will carry on from generation to generation. I believe by publishing this article organization is raising awareness of struggles African-Americans are facing. By bringing this issue to the surface it makes us understand that if African-Americans are suffering due to poverty, the population as a whole is effected by it as well.

I think that there is a clear and substantial disparity between the fortune of the american people and the black people of america. black are obviously relatively underpriveledged according to numerous stats on 'bread for the world institute' handout. Whether it is the 35.7% of black children compared to 20% country's children, or whether it is the 2009 stat of 46.2% of blacks owning a home, compared to 67.4 percent of total population. i found those stats particularly important. HH