Being Black and Brown in the 21st Century

Pierre W. Orelus

doi:10.1177/2158244012464979

Abstract

Depending on one’s level of understanding and awareness about the plight of Black and Brown people, one might argue that they are better off today than they were 50 years ago or so, especially when one remembers the Jim Crow era during which Black and Brown people were ruthlessly brutalized, particularly by White supremacist groups such as the Klu Klux Kan. However, if one critically analyzed the achievement gap between students of color and their White counterparts, the decline in incomes, and other forms of educational and socioeconomic inequality that Black and Brown people, particularly poor students of color, have been experiencing for the last several decades or so, one would realize that substantially nothing has changed for them. In light of this view, this article explores the educational and socioeconomic conditions of People of Color, including those of linguistically and culturally diverse students. Specifically, it examines the ways and the degree to which lack of resources combined with institutional racism and the legacy of slavery continue to limit the life chances of Black and Brown people in the 21st century. The author ends this article making recommendations to counter inequality in schools and society at large that Black and Brown people have been facing.

Highlights

It is unquestionable that the activism, sacrifice, and hard work of the civil right leaders and White allies have enabled many Black and Brown people to vote and have access to socioeconomic, educational, and political opportunities
It can be argued that had Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Jessy Jackson, Angela Davis, Denis Bank, and others not dedicated their lives to fight against racial and socioeconomic injustice to pave the political road for future generations of Black and Brown people, Barack Obama, for example, would not have been able to emerge on the political scene the way he has
Depending on one’s level of understanding and awareness about the plight of Black and Brown people, one might argue that they are better off today than they were 50 years ago or so, especially when one remembers the Jim Crow era during which Black and Brown people were ruthlessly brutalized, by White supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan

Summary

Introduction

It is unquestionable that the activism, sacrifice, and hard work of the civil right leaders and White allies have enabled many Black and Brown people to vote and have access to socioeconomic, educational, and political opportunities. These stereotypes about Black and Brown people circulated through the mass corporate media have been the main ideological and political tools that many prejudiced and economically and politically powerful Whites have used to maintain the unequal socioeconomic and political power relations between privileged Whites, People of Color, and poor Whites.

Results

Conclusion