The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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According to several white youth, the “X” hats and the “attitude” that blacks have along
with the “yelling” and being loud causes others to treat them differently.
Job Opportunities
Youth were next questioned on equal job opportunities for blacks (Tables 1, 2). A
majority of youth questioned felt that blacks can get as good of a job as whites can (78
percent of the whites, 88 percent of the blacks). More whites felt that blacks could not get
as good a job as whites (15 percent), while only 3 percent of the blacks questioned felt
this way. The remaining youth neither agreed or disagreed with the statement (8 percent
of the whites, 10 percent of the blacks). The impressions from the interviews concur with
these results.
Nearly all of the white youth interviewed believe that in the workplace both
blacks and whites are provided equal opportunities, such as getting hired and receiving
equal pay. Oddly enough, nearly all of the black youth interviewed also agree with this
perception.
There were very few white youth that felt blacks did not have the same
employment and salary opportunities as whites. The following quotes support this view.
Q: Do you feel that a black person who has the same education and
qualifications can get as good a job as a white person
A: No. Because America is ... they came here and nobody liked them.
Most of the people in the government are white. I don’t know how to
explain it.
Q: Well, do you think those negative feelings towards black people are
getting more intense
A: Yes. In different areas. A lot of people just don’t like blacks because
they are black.