Week 10 Blog How I feel about it

Some of the main concepts and issues that leave me with convictions are issues of income inequality, poverty, racism, and housing discrimination. Poverty is one of the most difficult issues to resolve because we live in a capitalist society where the rich get richer and the poor remain poor. Through social stratification society has been  arranged in social hierarchy based on access to wealth, power, and prestige. Because we live in a society that is highly segregated, class social class and socioeconomic status are important.
Prior to taking this class I knew that inequality in america was a big problem but i never thought about how housing discrimination affected minority groups. After watching America Divided, I was amazed and ashamed to realize that  tenants and landlords racial discriminate against people of color, gentrification hurts minority communities, and redlining is  a racist housing policy.   Also as the semester went on I gained insight to where I personally sit in the American Class System. Although my family is considered high income because of my dads job and accumulation of my mom and sister's income,I know the reality of it is the expensive of life makes my family the working class. I consider myself in the lower class because I'm a college student who is broke. Because of my life experiences and knowing how hard it it to move up in society, I have gained better understanding of inequality.
To me social inequality in america is the effect of unequal opportunities, based on status, wealth, power, racism, and prejudice. Social Inequality affects gender , education, and life chances. Understanding social inequality will help give one perspective and can help in resolving societal conflict, and in explaining various phenomena

Week 9: America Divided

Environmental Justice

Two National Organizations - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

-The EPA is an agency of the Federal Government that has enforced environmental regulations based on laws passed by congress

-The NWF has addressed environmental justice by seeking balanced, common-sense solutions to environmental problems that work for wildlife and people."

Two Local (Statewide) organizations - Sierra Club- Maryland Chapter & Howard County Conservancy  

- The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club focuses on protecting the state's natural and wildlife resources, monitoring legislation, sponsoring outings, and educating the public about pressing environmental issues. They are addressing environmental justice by coordinating conservation campaigns

-The Conservancy, originally founded in 1990 as a private, nonprofit land trust, today has a dual mission of preserving land in Howard County MD and provides educational programs to educate children and adults about our natural world, preserve the land and its legacy for future generations and model responsible stewardship of our environment. 

Racism 

Two National Organizations: YWCA & ColorofChange.org 

-YWCA  is a national organization that has fought against racism, works to bring racial justice and raises awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in communities. Their campaign has attracted over 250,000 participants and has earned the endorsements of five U.S. Governors

- ColorofCHange,org has empowered members, allies and black Americans to make government more responsive to the concerns  of Black Americans and bring about positive political and social change for everyone.

Two Local (Statewide) organizations: Black Lives Matter Organization & Baltimore United for Change (BUC)

- #BlackLivesMatter Organization- This organization has started an online forum to build connections between Black people and allies to fight anti-black racism and to facilitate the types of connection necessary to encourage social action and engagement. They have organized protests in local communities and have brought awareness to police brutality.

- (BUC) is a coalition of organizations and activists in Baltimore that have a record of working for social justice. They came together three days after the murder of Freddie Gray, and have trained communities about their legal rights in civil disobedience training. Also, they have raised money to bail out individuals raising over $100,000 for jail support.

Week 3 Income Calculator

Based on my household income and the number of people in my household, I am in the MIDDLE income tier, along with 51% of adults in BALTIMORE-COLUMBIA-TOWSON Maryland. My results compared to others in the U.S. with my demographic profile was interesting. Among all American adults with your education, age, race or ethnicity, and marital status, 48% are LOWER income, 46% are MIDDLE income and 6% are UPPER income. In terms of global income distribution, my annual income of 100,000 US dollars for a household of 4 is equivalent to$63/day, per person in 2011 in purchasing power parity dollars,  putting me in  the HIGH INCOME group worldwide, along with 55.7% of people in United States.

Your class status influences the decisions you make in your life because your class status shapes your identity. Class status can influence religious affiliation, political participation, family life, education, and health.  Class status can both help and hinder your life goals depending on the resources you have available and the opportunity presented. A positive role model in my life is my dad and cousin. My dad has influenced me to be a man of integrity and my cousin has been a positive example in college. While in college having an older cousin, who knew the ropes of college was an advantage for me. I know I can go to these men for advice and when making life decisions. Currently, I have one old friend that I see as a negative influence. This old friend of mine has different lifestyle than me. He constantly breaks rules, he isn’t motivated, and he generally has a negative outlook on life. I have taken steps to minimize his influence on me by distancing myself from him. I realized I don’t have to put myself in unfavorable situations, so I decided to stop hanging out with him and his group on weekends.

The opportunities in my life that may contribute to my future success could be the connections I make in college. The opportunity to get an education in college has set me up for possible future success berceuse degrees are needed to get well-paying jobs. Yet, the obstacles that can make it difficult for me to achieve success could be because of financial insecurity, discrimination I face because I am a black male. Regardless of what obstacles come, they key is to fight against oppression.