The U.S. is a multiethnic country where people of various races were categorized into six main groups. These groups are black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, and white (OMH, 2021). The first five represent social and ethnic minorities, while the sixth is the majority in the United States. Unfortunately, there is a disparity between minorities’ and majorities’ education, economics, and health; thus, addressing these problems at the structural and systemic levels is essential.
Racial minorities lag behind white Americans in terms of education, income, and health. For example, many African Americans are reported to live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Specifically, more than 40% of the rural black population live in poverty, compared to 9% among white residents (Probst & Ajmal, 2019a). It means that many African Americans live in suboptimal conditions that negatively impact their health. Furthermore, 21% of black adults living in the countryside did not graduate from high school, while only 10% of their white counterparts do not have a high school diploma (Probst & Ajmal, 2019a). Similarly, more than 30% of Latino Americans do not graduate from high school, and 21% live below the poverty line (Probst & Ajmal, 2019b). The funding of Native Americans’ healthcare is half of what is actually needed (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2018). Moreover, Asian and Hawaiian Americans do not have equal access to care due to their lower socioeconomic status and lack of insurance. The two possible solutions to address this issue are to eliminate systemic racism and provide more funding to the minority groups’ education and healthcare.
In summary, it appears that many racial minorities do not have the same socioeconomic opportunities as most white Americans to receive a good education and afford medical insurance. A significantly higher number of blacks, Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians live below the poverty line compared to the white population. This problem should be addressed at the structural level by expanding financial support to the education and healthcare of minorities and by destroying systemic racism.
References
OMH. (2021). Minority population profiles. HHS. Web.
Probst, J. C., & Ajmal, F. (2019a). Social determinants of health among the rural African American population. Rural & Minority Health Research Center, 1-11.
Probst, J. C., & Ajmal, F. (2019b). Social determinants of health among the rural Hispanic population. Rural & Minority Health Research Center, 1-13.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. (2018). Broken promises: Continuing federal funding shortfall for Native Americans. Web.