The following article talks about why Blacks have lower wages than whites. In essence, it implies that the reason is Blacks lack sufficient intellectual, social, and communication skills as well as practical work experience. Afromerica will interject thoughts on the matter throughout the article as a rebuttal to the theories implied.

Article starts
Among young Blacks and young whites with similar levels of educational attainment, differences along a variety of other dimensions of skill might still contribute to the labor market problems of minorities relative to whites. For instance, the labor market rewards for cognitive skills have apparently risen in the past two decades, as employer demand for a variety of cognitive tasks on the job has steadily grown. In this context, the relative losses experienced by those without these skills, particularly among minorities, may have grown as well.

AI (Afromerica Interpretation)
The above paragraph states that employers are hiring more workers based on whether or not they have effective problem-solving skills, or the right amount of "intellect" to do the job. And that the reason many more Blacks are unemployed than whites is because Blacks lack these skills. The problem with this reasoning is that if the mainstream stigma of Blacks being "less cognitive" than whites continues to be pushed as scientific theory throughout society, people are going to naturally assume Blacks are less intellectual, thus resorting to reluctance in hiring them.

Article continues
Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that, among those with similar levels of education, the scores of blacks on tests of cognitive achievement (such as the Armed Forces Qualifications Test, or AFQT) lag behind those of whites. While these gaps narrowed significantly between young whites and blacks during the 1980's, the progress after that point seems to have leveled off, and substantial differences in their performance remain. These differences account for large parts of the wage gap between young whites and blacks of similar levels of education, though less of the employment gaps between these groups.

AI
Whites are so hung up on IQ and "The Bell Curve" theory that they try to use it as the reason Blacks remain in poverty and less successful than whites before they will admit that the major reason Blacks lag behind whites economically pertaining to wage rates is a long and blatant history of racism, wage discrimination, and plain ole selfishness. If IQ is such as major factor in success, I can think of a million reasons why I'm not rich.

Article continues
Differences in test scores can be interpreted as differences in the quality of education received by members of different racial and ethnic groups, even when the quantities are more similar. Certainly, the view that these differences reflect innate differences in average intellectual caliber across groups, as some have suggested, is not supported by a large body of evidence. On the other hand, the view that differences in test scores largely reflect racial biases in the structure and content of the tests themselves also receives relatively little support in the recent literature.

AI
Quality of education plays a huge role in today's work force politics and practices. It's all based on prestige; what Ivy League college you attend, what State University, or whether you went to the "white school" or the "black school." This little societal arrangement of the segregated school system is not one devised by the intellect of Blacks, but by the prejudices of whites. It also implies that poor schools and teaching, or theories that tests are racially biased cannot be considered as a reason that Blacks lag behind whites in various areas because they are "not supported by a large body of evidence." Whose evidence? Whites?

Article continues
The lower test scores of blacks at least partly reflect various characteristics of their families and neighborhoods that limit their access to good schooling, and that some authors have dubbed "pre-market factors." But substantial differences in scores remain, even after accounting for these factors that may reflect more subjective factors such as differences in teacher expectations of performance across white and black students.

AI
The first sentence of the previous paragraph is a bunch of crap. What it says is that Blacks have low-test scores because of their family and community life and the lack of good schools. This is the epitome of hypocrisy and senseless idiocy, to place the label of intellectual inferiority on a race of people after depriving them of adequate funds and equal support of the urban school systems. Innocently speaking for urban schoolteachers, how are teachers expected to do their jobs without the proper supplies, resources, and funding?

Article continues
Another dimension along which the skills of whites and minorities might differ is in the so-called area of "soft skills". While less clearly defined, "soft skills" appear to encompass a variety of attitudes towards work, as well as social and verbal skills. The latter seem to be particularly important in jobs that involve substantial contact with customers and/or coworkers. Furthermore, many employers express the view that black workers lag behind whites in these areas, particularly when it comes to attitudes about work.

AI
This is where Blacks are expected to "act white" or at least adapt perfectly to the cultural traits of the euro-dialect and behavior. Because Blacks carry their own unique cultural traits that stem from those of African decent, we cannot and never will become completely "whitewashed." Furthermore, Blacks' attitude about work depends on the work environment. If it is pleasant to work in, they will perform, but if it is laced with discriminatory practices, which could perform effectively under those conditions.

Article continues
Of course, employer perceptions in this regard are quite subjective, and may reflect their own prejudices as well as the real skills of employees. On the other hand, Wilson (1996) notes that many black employers in Chicago report the same concerns about their young black employees as do white employers, which raises doubts about whether employer prejudice can fully account for their reported observations.

AI
Of course, these "black employers" are the ones who have met the standards of "whiteness" and now have a voice as to what other Blacks are white enough for the job skills of talking to customers.

Article continues
Another area in which minorities lag behind young whites is that of early work experience. At very early ages, young blacks (and, to a lesser extent, Hispanics) begin to fall behind young whites in the accumulation of work experience. While the barriers to gaining early work experience may initially have little to do with their relative skills, their slower accumulation of work experience contributes substantially to slower wage growth of minorities over time.

AI
Well let's see, if my father or uncle, or friend of the family owned the corner plaza, the new apartment complex up the street or the pawn shop on the corner, or was the president of a major company, head manager in a reputable business that has been passed down throughout the generations beginning with Lincoln, or even supervisor down on the dock, many brothers and sisters would have work experience also.

What this article says is that Blacks are their own problem where it pertains to wage differences, better known as "wage discrimination." Instead of calling it that and admitting to the practice, the author of this study would just as well blame Blacks for their lack of wage differences as compared to whites. What a bunch of racist bull.

Sources from: Urban Institute.org with references to:
(Murnane and Levy, 1995)
(Holzer, 1996)
(Grissmer et. al., 1998)
(Johnson and Neal, 1998)
(Herrnstein and Murray, 1994)
(Jencks and Phillips, 1998)
(Neal and Johnson, 1996)
(Jencks and Phillips, op. cit.; Ferguson, 1998)
(Moss and Tilly, 1996)
(Rothstein, 1999)
(Taber and Gladden, 2000)
(Ballen and Freeman, 1986; Holzer and Lalonde, 2000)
(Topel and Ward, 1992)

© 2003 by Cartel Q