I believe history has shown that past government officials time after time set up loopholes for racial inequality. In the 1800s when states were in between being slave states or not, the states that decided not to make laws still shows actions of racism. Free black people pushed for voting rights within the state that they were owed. But, government officials took advantage of their power to create laws such as only allowing men with land or no criminal records the right to vote. Even though they didn’t directly pass laws labeled “Black men can’t vote”, at the time at least, they knew that free black men didn’t have enough money to own land, and they were unable to attain jobs that would grant them high pay. In addition to that, many black men were arrested for petty crimes. The government officials made it impossible for black men to have power. 

In the present day, inequality is present in early childhood opportunities that can pave the road to success. Schooling in low-income communities, communities mainly made up of people of color, offer poor quality education in comparison to schools in high-income areas. 

The article, An End to the Class vs. Race Debate, by Ralph Richard Banks stresses the idea of “ racial disparities in social mobility is economic inequalities in disguise”. The article goes on to explain the economic outcomes of black people in these communities, comparing boys and girls, then comparing them to white people in high-income communities. Putting into perspective the challenges of socio-economics. 

From the 1800s to now, the social status of an individual made up a lot in paving the path for an individual. I do not believe that the communities or families an individual is born into solely determine their future but being born into a community with low-income status bring in many more obstacles to fight through than being born into a community that works in your favor. 

Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/opinion/class-race-social-mobility.html