Economic Deprivation and Exploitation
Only a small percentage of each of these minority groups has been able to gain entry into occupations and professions that pay well. They are far more likely to occupy positions with the lowest income, benefits, security and status.

Performance on nationwide achievement tests (in reading, maths, ctc.) should be examined. Educational systems &il. to prepare many students of color to compete on an equal basis with whites on such tests and thus, their occupadonal opportunities are limited. Nor does high performance on tests necessarily guarantee employment and occupational mobility for people of color. White employers prefer employees who “fit in” in terms of physical features, dress, accent, and other characteristics. This renders being a person of color a deficit in and of itself in a predominantly white establishment.

People of color need to be far more qualified (overqualified) chan whites in order to get the same kind of jobs. In business and in government, white monopolization of positions with the hi^iest pay and the most authority remains unchallenged. In the labor market as a whole, there is a division along racial lines. The primary labor market consists of the higher paying, more secure, and most desirable occupations for which employers recruit white workers. The secondary labor market consists of the lower paying, least secure, and most undesirable jobs, in which most people of color are likely to find work. In recent years, some people of color have been permitted to move upward as pressures have increased and laws have been passed against blatant discrimination, but in group terms, most of the minorities have remained in place.

Technological changes also work against minority employment New jobs areas calling for training and skills of an extensive and esoteric nature have been created. Since educational resources and opportunities arc disproportionately available to whites, most whites arc in a privileged position to compete for such jobs. At the same dme, technological advances have enabled employers to reduce or even eliminate certain positions, those that require limited skills.

Through institutional racism, minorities are effectively kept at the bottom of the employment ladder. In 1992, white males at Fortune 1,000 industrial and fortune 500 service companies made up 43% of the US labor force, but held 97% of the senior-level managerial positions. Only 0.6%of the managers were African Americans, 0.4% Ladno, and 0>3% Asian Americans.

Political Powerlessness

People of color in the US have historically been £aced with extraordinary resistance to their participation in the political system at all levels. Minority groups are represented primarily in the lower paying, non -policymaking positions. Let’s take African Americans as an example. There are fewer than 5% of the top-level presidential appointments in the executive branch; only 4 African Americans have served in the Senate.

Minorities have faced white -controlled election laws and rules designed to impede voter registration and the exercise of the franchise. While 70% of eligible whites reported they were registered to vote, 64% of Afiican Americans and 35% of Latinos said they were registered. Native Americans and Ladnos are asked to take literacy tests in English, and poll taxes are imposed on poor people who cannot afford to pay them. Those who sought to vote were often subject to threats and acts of economic reprisal such as job loss.

The Voting Acts passed in 1965 was primary intended to protect the rights of southern African Americans. It was extended to cover Ladnos in 1975 and then amended to cover the entire nadon in 1982. It has helped to eliminate many discriminatory practices.

People of color have long felt themselves to be the prime victims of police misconduct and brutality. When asked “have you ever felt that you were stopped by the police just because of your race or ethnic background”？ 42% of Blacks say “yes' while 6% of Whites say “no”. Police brutality and harassment (including beating and killing minorities) sparked street violence and urban rebellions.

The problem is not limited to individual police officers. Racism in the administration of justice is an institutionalized process. Prosecutors，judges, juries, prison personnel, members of parole boards all tend to be white. Minority group members are denied bail or given higher bail, detained in jail before trial, given severe sentences, and denied early parole.