Blacks and African-Americans
African - Americans account for approximately 13% of the US population. Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, is an African American. On January 20th 2009, when he walked into the White House with his wife Michelle and his two young daughters he did so on a swell of national pride.
On that historic day, when Obama took his place as the first Black President of the country, every American, no matter his or her racial and cultural heritage could take great satisfaction in the knowledge that at last, the United States deserved its reputation as a land of equal opportunity for all.
For that one day at least, it seemed as if the stirring words spoken by Martin Luther King, in his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, which was given in Washington in 1963 had finally come to pass:
'I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." '
Sadly, in reality there is still some way to go before you could say that all men (and women) were treated equally in the USA. If this were the case then there would be no need for such euphoria at the sight of a Black man entering the White House.
The truth is that there is still a marked disparity in the average annual incomes between white and black households. With more likelihood of being born into a poor community, an African American child is less likely to achieve high academic marks because he has less chance of being sent to a good school.
With Black leaders in every field from sports and science, to entertainment, medicine and the arts, it is clear there are both opportunities and role models for young African Americans to seek out and follow. The key is education.
Every child, no matter his ethnic origin, has the ability to learn and grow, to develop the knowledge and experience that he or she will need to make a positive contribution to the world. However not every child has the fortune to be born into a family which has the financial ability to send him or her to the best of schools.
Not every student has access to a network of supportive family, friends and community counsellors that will guide him to make the best choices for his education and career. At Minority Passport we are committed to help those students who want to learn, regardless of race, religion, gender or social standing. We invite you to visit and join the Minority Action network.