’S Black American: Chronic Social Problems Essay, Research Paper
Pinkney states that when you discuss social problems among black
American you must take in account the role of racism in American life
and the persistence of inequality generated by racism. Pinkney goes on
to state that individuals, social agencies, and social institutions
responsible for the enforcement of social norms, operate with in a long-
established framework that precludes the equality of treatment for black
people. The efforts to move toward equality of opportunity are
strongly resisted by those who benefit from the current social
arrangement. By this he means that those who enforce the social norms
prevent equal treatment of blacks and therefore strongly oppose to any
progress that will give blacks a chance for equality. Pinkney also states
that the social structure forces people to engage in conforming and non-
conforming behavior. The majority of the social problems that affect
minorities in the United States result form their low status in society
and the poverty that accompanies with this status. Pinkney goes on to
state when individual share a comparable socioeconomic status, that
are remarkably similar in behavior, this the social problems mainly
stem from the social structure. Pinkney discusses three main social
problems black Americans share with millions of others, they are
homelessness, adolescent pregnancy and drug abuse.
When Pinkney discuss homelessness he starts off by going over
the history of homelessness, discussing some of the causes of
homelessness, the health problems the homeless have, the race and
ethnicity of the homeless, homeless veterans and the attitudes we have
toward the homeless. Pinkney states homelessness as a social problem
is not a new development in the United States, before the depression it
affected few. The permissiveness of homelessness during the depression,
led to the first federal programs to help the homeless including soup
kitchens and public housing. After World War II the government
made a decent home and suitable living environment for an American
family a national goal. Ultimately, federal aid and improved economic
conditions served to end mass homelessness for nearly thirty years.
Economic developments and public policy decisions in the 1970’s
triggered an increase in homelessness that accelerated in the 1980’s .
Those affected by the results of those policies are the elderly, women,
children, minorities, immigrants, veterans, disabled persons, and the
mentally ill. Pinkney goes on to say that the single greatest impetus to
the present situations of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing.
The funding for new low income public housing were reduced by
seventy-five percent between 1981 and 1988 and the ascent of political
conservatism is one of the causes of this. Funding for many programs
that might have ameliorated the problem of homelessness were
eliminated or drastically reduced. The response of the government
officials has been to ignore the homeless, to denigrate them, blame them
for their plight and even deny their existence. When the problem became
pervasive it could no longer be treated lightly, the federal
government enacted the Stewart B Mckinney Homeless Assistance Act
That has had little impact on the homeless and had never been
completely funded. Pinkney states that it is difficult to know exactly
how many homeless they are in the United States estimates by the
federal government state that they are anywhere from 250,000 to 350,000
although research by the National Coalition for the Homeless state a
more realistic figure of 3 million. To sum it all up, there is not clear cut
definitions of homelessness; however , at the very least, the homeless are
people who do not have a place of residence in the conventional sense.
Pinkney states that some of the causes of homelessness are lack of
affordable housing , economic changes, the deinsitutionalization of
patients in mental hospitals and the ascendancy of conservatism.
Pinkney states that the lack of affordable housing is due to the sharp
drop in construction of public housing in the early 1980’s, appearance of
gentrification of the inner city properties, such as conversion of rental
space into condominiums and the decrease of practical hotel and
rooming house space, has forced many of the poor on to the streets. The
economic changes contributing to the homelessness include high
unemployment and longer periods of unemployment. It is difficult for
homeless person to obtain jobs because of no permanent address and
home telephone number. Also, there has been a decrease in the number
of manufacturing jobs and concurrent increase in high technology jobs
requiring greater education and skills. The deinstitionalization of
patients in state and county hospital and the failure to provide
residences for them in community group homes has forced many into
the ranks of the homeless. In conclusion the ascendancy of the
conservatism in the 1980’s brought forth significant reductions in
financial support for public programs that might have ameliorated the
problem of homelessness. The major programs that were affected were
food stamp reductions, cuts from child nutrition program, job training
virtually eliminated, Medicaid benefits reduced, minimum wage
remained unchanged , and school lunch program reductions.
Health problems of the homeless could be divided into general
health problems , mental disorders and substance abuse disorders.
Studies show that 80 to 90 % of homeless people suffer from psychical
health problems and most suffer from several conditions . Study show
women suffer an average of nine health conditions while men suffer on
average eight. Some of the most frequent diagnosed physical problems
are orodental problems, gynecologic problems in women, dermatologic
problems, anemia, respiratory and neurological problems, sexually
transmitted disease, infectious disease and hypertension . Those
suffering from AIDS pose a special problem among the homeless. It has
been estimated that 20,000 homeless persons are infected with the AIDS
virus. Furthermore, more studies report that the AIDS rate among the
homeless are growing rapidly. It is commonly reported that one third of
homeless people suffer from mental problems. Most of the people live
in large shelters with hundreds of cots packed into one room. They are
said to range from violent psychotics, to schizophrenic who rarely
communicate, to those who are able to live peacefully with others. The
most common mental disorders in these shelter are said to be manic
depressive and schizophrenia. About 50% of these people are said to be
addicted to crack cocaine. Drug abuse is reported to be widespread
among the homeless. It is reported that one third of the nations
homelessness are impaired by alcohol and other drug dependencies.
Research show that men are more likely to be impaired than women.
Drug abuse among homeless runaways is also high. Research shows,
alcohol is the most widely abused substance among homeless followed
by cocaine and then crack cocaine.
Pinkney states that it is difficult to identify the homeless by race
and or ethnicity because the data is often enumerated and black and
minorities are vastly over represented among the homeless. Pinkney
concludes that as is the case with other social problems minorities
(especially blacks) are disproportionately represented among the
homeless. Pinkney goes on to state that one third of the single homeless
men are veterans and the federal government estimates that 150,000 –
250,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Of the homeless
veterans, those whose who served in the Vietnam are over represented
when it comes to the national population of veterans. Homeless
veterans are victims of problems similar to those encountered by non
veterans; among them are drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness. It
is significant that blacks and Hispanics are over represented among
homeless veterans and that they are more likely that whites to suffer
medical , psychiatric and substance abuse problems.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s the homeless in New York City were
largely white males who congregated along the city skid row known for
cheap hotel and bars . Since then, the homeless have soared and in
numbers and the characteristics have changed radically. The typical
homeless person is a young black or Hispanic man who is housed in
one of New York Shelters. .It is reported that New York City spends
$18,000 a year for a single man to sleep in a shelter and for a family in
barrack styled shelters the cost is $53,000. Typically, a homeless family
in a shelter is headed by a young black or Hispanic woman with a very
young child. The vast majority of these cases the mother themselves was
raised on welfare . Reports show one in five have been physically or
sexually abused and one and ten have been in foster care. In addition, to
the shelters owned by the city , some social agencies also operate
homeless shelters . The Partnership for the Homeless establish and
coordinated 153 emergency shelters in churches and synagogues which
provide 1,700 beds for the homeless.
In recent years, the attitudes toward the plight of the homeless
have fluctuated from compassion to irritation to apathy. The federal
government, especially in the 1980s, appeared to adopt the attitude that
the homelessness was the fault of the poor , and many municipalities
enacted laws aimed at regulating there behavior. Oppositions of group
homes in residential areas is wide spread and citizens and community
groups frequently succeeds in prohibiting them. As the homeless people
flood the streets throughout the country the mood of the citizens
appears to have harden but in a nationwide poll in January of 1992
revealed that the vast majority of citizens say homelessness is
“something the government can do something about.” Pinkney suggest
that homelessness violates the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution. What is clear is that homeless people suffer serious
depravations of what people in the industrialized world consider to be
basic human rights. Pinkney goes on to say that the impact of massive
homelessness in social values has yet to be determined.
In adolescent pregnancy and childbearing, Pinkeye discusses
sexual activity among adolescents, contraceptive use , adolescent
pregnancy, adolescent childbearing, abortions among adolescents, the
fathers of children born to teenage mothers and the consequences of
teenage childbearing. Research shows that sexual activity among
adolescence in the United States is widespread and it begins at an early
age. Studies also show that sexual intercourse begins as early as 13 or 14
for males and 14 or 15 for females. Black adolescence generally initiate
sexual activity earlier that whites by the average of two years. Studies of
teenage sexual behavior show that in addition to sexual activity, black
teenager had more sexual partners , but fewer acts of intercourse than
their white counterparts. In 1979, 51 percent of all female teenagers
reported having sex with two or more partners since first intercourse;
for black females the proportion was 62 percent. Research also shows
that sexual intercourse was not frequent among white teenagers than
black also black males had intercourse less frequently that whites , but
not significantly so. Additional data shows that black teenagers are more
likely than their white counterparts to us contraceptives, especially
condoms, during intercourse . Among sexually active teenage females in
1982, 7.5 percent used some form of contraceptive ; for black females
13.5 percent use contraceptives , compared with 6.4 percent for whites.
Data on adolescence pregnancy show that the number of teenage
pregnancies and the teenage pregnancy rate rose gradually during the
1970s but leveled off in the 1980s. Among minority teenagers, the
pregnancy rate dropped to a low of 181 pregnancies per 1,000 teenagers
in 1984and then rose 5 percent in 1987, while whites in the this age
category, rate declined . White teenagers , more than black, resolve
premarital pregnancy through marriage, they are about six times more
likely than blacks to marry before the outcome of the first premarital
pregnancy. Black teenage mothers lead all other racial and ethnic
gropes in total births. Currently about 64 percent of all black children
born out of wedlock many to adolescent mothers . In 1980 adolescent
births represented 26 percent of all births among blacks, compared to
less that 14 percent among whites. The teenage birth rate for blacks is
more than twice that of whites . Blacks accounted for 28 percent of all
adolescent births in 1980, and they accounted nearly one half of
premarital births.
When Pinkney discusses abortion, he refers to the national data
that states that all women having abortions in the United States in 1987
65 percent were whites and 35 percent minority. However , minority
teenagers have higher abortion rates than do whites about 78 percent
minority to 38 percent whites. He goes on to say that the abortion rates
for teenagers 15-19 roes during the 1970s and had remained stable after
1980. Among white teenagers, the abortion rate declined from 85 in 1982
to 71 in 1987 which was a drop of 16 percent. Among minority teenage
the abortion rate increased from 66 in 1980 to 73 in 1987. In a 1970
study, white pregnant teenagers who were unmarried were about
three time more likely than black to choose abortion. Pinkney states the
pattern has changed significantly in subsequent years.
Pinkney states, one of the significant differences between black and
white adolescent mothers is that blacks are less likely that whites to
place their babies for adoption. Studies show that 18 percent of white
teenagers give up their children for adoption, but only 2 percent of
blacks do. In some cases, adoption was hardly considered as an option
for a largely black population. Pregnant teenagers who choose to place
their children up for adoption rather than parent them did so because
they thought the outcomes, such as their continuing in school and
assuring and adequate future as well as the baby’s development would
benefit from their choice. Those who did not consider adoption felt that
these outcomes would be more likely to happen if they parented or that
he outcomes would not be affected by their choice. Those who elected to
place their children for adoption were more advantage economically
and held more positive attitudes about adoption than others.
Studies show that black males are the most sexually active
adolescent in the United States :they ini
have more sexual partners than so black females and Hispanics and
white adolescent Data on the fathers of children born to adolescent
mothers are not extensive. However, national data indicate that in 1984
approximately 3 per cent of all lice births in the United States were
fathered by males under the age of 20 and of the children born to
teenage mother, 23 percent had teenage fathers. Studies show that
adolescent fathers are more likely to have academic and other school
problems, engage in aggressive antisocial behavior , t use drugs and
to be involved in the criminal justice system. They are more likely to
work at low status occupations and more likely to come from homes that
are educationally and financially disadvantage. Pinkney states, that the
data indicates that adolescent males are ill prepared for the
responsibility of fatherhood and many voice concerns about vocational,
educational, health, and family problems. In an national study,
academic and drug problems as well as general conduct problems were
more common among adolescent fathers that among adolescent in
general . Black teenage fathers, like teenage mothers, are younger than
their white counterparts and are more likely to be unemployed than
whites.
Nearly one half of black women aged 15-17 lived with one parent
and only 45 per cent lived with both parents. By comparison with their
white counterparts 78 percent lived with both parents and 16 percent
lived with the mother only. More black adolescents that whites lived in
families below 100 percent of the poverty line: 41 percent of black
women aged 15-21 in 1981 had family incomes below 100 percent
poverty , compared with 14 percent of whites. By 1990, 73 percent of all
children under 18 lived with both parents . Nearly one third lived with
parents who have never been married. Twelve percent of white mothers
living alone with children were under the age of 25, 27 percent had less
than a high school education and 36 percent were unemployed. For
blacks 18 percent were under 25; 34 percent had less than high school
education and 52 percent were unemployed . For Hispanics, the
proportions were 15 percent ,55 percent and 54 percent. Pinkney states,
that studies show that because teenage mothers are emotional immature,
they place themselves and their babies at risk for medical problems. In
addition, school aged children born to adolescent parents exhibit more
behavioral problems and score lower on intelligence test than other
school aged children. In conclusion, Pinkney states, that a basic
problem of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing is poverty. Given the
nature of American society , it is difficult to foresee any positive
outcomes for of adolescent childbirth, especially among minorities.
Pinkney states, of all the industrialized countries , the Unites States
alone has no consistent family planing policy.
On substance abuse, Pinkney focused on both legal and illicit
drugs. The legal drugs being alcohol and tobacco; the illicit ones being
cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. He discuss crack cocaine in some
length because it is fairly new and believed to have the most serious
adverse effect of any drug on both the individual involved and the
larger society.
Alcohol is potentially dangerous drug, but its sale and use are not
prescribed and it is the major drug of choice in the United States.
Research shows that more males than females have used alcohol and
whites are slightly more likely that blacks and Hispanic to be frequent
drinkers. Among men, however, roughly the sane proportion of each
group were frequent drinkers. White women on the other hand are
somewhat more likely to be frequent drinkers than blacks and Hispanic
women. Whites are also more likely that blacks or Hispanics to drink at
early and at older ages. Of all the categories, Hispanics women are the
least likely to drink and white men are the most likely. Studies show,
blacks drink somewhat less that whites and are more likely to abstain
from drinking. Also, alcohol plays a smaller role in home and family life
among blacks that whites. Although alcohol is legal in the US, its
recreational use is socially acceptable, and it adverse social effects are
greater than those of all illicit drugs. It is said to be the direct cause
between 80,000 and 100,000 deaths annually and it is a factor in nearly
on all of murders , suicides, and accidental deaths. Alcohol related traffic
death are the leading cause of death of adolescence. According to the
U.S. Public Health Service, alcohol is more than 10 percent of all health
problems in the country and 50 percent of all homicides. Also,
cirrhosis of the live killed some 30,000 people annually in the US, and
the mortality rate form the disease among black is double that in the
white population. Fetal alcohol syndrome , is another alcohol related
health problem it is diagnosed in one of every 750 live births. The
diseases is marked by birth defects and usually occurs in women who
drink heavily during pregnancy. The symptoms include brain damage,
low birth weight, and facial and bodily abnormalities.
According to the 1990 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse,
147 million Americans 12 years of age and over have used cigarettes.
Males are more likely have smoked than females and to be regular
smokers. Whites are more likely to have smoked than blacks or
Hispanics and are more likely to smoke regularly. Hispanic women are
least likely to smoke and white men are the most likely. Smoking
increases with age among each of the three groups; within each group
the youngest persons are more likely to use tobacco than any other drug.
Tabacco is a psychoactive substance that stimulates the central nervous
system. It addictive potential is so great that the surgeon general of the
United States declared it to be as addictive as cocaine and heroin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, cigarette smoking is
declining in the United States, and the annual rate of decline had been
higher among men that women. However, cigarette smoking remains
the most preventable cause of death in our society and is responsible for
an estimated 390,000 deaths annually. According to the CDC, Black
men were more likely to smoke than white, but the rates for black and
white women were similar. According to Statistical Abstracts , the
proportion of blacks in the population who smoke cigarettes has
exceeded the proportion of whites since 1965. In addition, person who
smoked cigarettes were more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol
beverages and to consume a greater quantities of alcohol. Cigarette
smoking had been found to be a major cause of several life threatening
diseases such as emphysema, cancer of the lungs and airways, coronary
heart disease, and vascular disease. Pinkney states although the
destructive potential of tobacco use is well established , cigarettes are
one of the most heavily advertised products. The advertising usually
associates smoking with a glamorous life style , healthy activities, and
social success. Evidence shows that cigarette companies target their
advertising campaigns to minorities, women, blue collar workers, and
teenagers these groups make up an increasing proportion of the
smoking population.
It is reported in the 1990 National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse some 23 million Americans have used cocaine and of that nearly
one million use some form of the drug at least once a week. Males more
than females are likely to have used some form of cocaine and are more
likely to be frequent users. In terms of race /ethnicity , whites and
Hispanics are more like to used cocaine that blacks . Hispanic males are
more likely than white and black males to have used cocaine and are
more frequent users. White females are more likely than black or
Hispanic females to have ever used cocaine and are more likely to be
frequent users. Cocaine releases adrenaline, thereby stimulating the
central nervous system. It also usurps the need for food and sleep and in
high doses it produces extreme euphoria . Adverse reactions may
include cardiopulmonary, psychiatric, gastrointestinal, and as well as
eyes, ears, nose and throat problems. Pregnant women who use cocaine
frequently experienced spontaneous abortions, premature birth, low
birth rates, congenial fetal malformations, fetal irritability and
malnutrition. Also, cocaine is likely to be use in combination of other
drugs , and because it can cause an increased libido, it has been
associated with the spread of STD’s and AIDS.
The 1990 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, reported that
2.7 million Americans 12 years of age and over had used crack and that
nearly half a million were regular users. Males are more than twice as
likely as females to be regular users. A higher portion of black had used
crack cocaine than Hispanics or whites. Blacks were more likely to be
regular users and considerably more black females had used the drug
than Hispanics and white and of the nearly 500,000 regular crack
addicts, more than 200,000 were said to be black. Cocaine hydrochloride
is a white crystalline powder that is about 95 percent pure, is converted
into crack by boiling it in a moisture of backing soda and water. The
mixture is then dried until it becomes a soaplike substance. It is most
often smoked in crack houses were users frequently remain for several
days. The name crack comes from the sudden, sharp sound the drug
makes when smoked. Because it is smoked it goes directly into the
lungs when inhaled and the reaches the brain in a few seconds. It
produces extreme euphoria in a very brief time, and for this reason it
has become the drug of choice for many. Crack cocaine is inexpensive,
highly addictive and easy to use; it is therefore popular among
adolescents. It addictive power is so great that constant users require
hundreds or thousands of dollars a week to support the habit , and
crime is usually the source on income. Crack first appeared on the West
Coast in the early 1980s and made it debut on the streets on New York
in 1984. Scientist doing research states, crack is the most addictive
drug in existence and that the addition comes more quickly and last
longer than any other illicit drug because the drug stimulates the
pleasure center of the brain. The euphoria leaves quickly leaving users
depressed , anxious, and with out pleasure. The biochemistry of crack
addiction is such that the craving for the drug in addicts is so intense
that relapse is almost inevitable the cravings last much longer that for
other drugs. Crack cocaine abuse is associated with the same adverse
reactions as cocaine but often to a greater extent and more severely.
Studies show, the use of crack during pregnancy has serious effects
on the he fetus. It has also been linked to increases in child abuse and
neglect and has been associated with the increase of aggression,
resulting in increase in violent crime and other strains on the criminal
justice system. Although crack has been reported to be prevalent in the
suburbs of New York and elsewhere, its damage has been greatest in
poor black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Pinkney states, one of the most
destructive results of the increase of libido and impairment of
judgment, that result from addition to crack, has increased the role in
spreading STD’s and AIDS. In crack houses where it is often smoked ,
crack is frequently used in exchange of sex. In some cases many as one
half of the crack users seeking drug treatment tested positive for HIV.
The 1990 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, reported that
1.6 Americans 12 years of age and older have used heroin. Men are
more than twice as likely as women to have used the drug and blacks
are more likely than Hispanics and whites to have used heroin. Heroin
use appears to peak at a later age that than that of other illicit drugs.
Regionally, heroin is used mostly on the East and West coasts followed
by the Midwest and least often the South. Heroin is deprived from
opium and is therefore is a depressant. It induces sleep and lessens
nervous tension. Like most opiates heroin produces relief from pain,
hypnosis and euphoria. It is usually ingested intravenously with hyper
hypodermic needle although it can be sniffed or smoked. The effects on
heroin use have euphoric feelings that give the user a general feeling of
well being an escape from reality. With one injection those feeling can
last for hours. Heroin addicts are usually not violent because the drug
depresses aggression and unlike users of some other illicit drugs, those
who use heroin have little or no interest in sex. Some of the many side
effects are respiratory arrest, anxiety, increased blood pressure, nausea,
insomnia and cardiovascular collapse. Also the hypodermic needles are
often shared is associated with AIDS and hepatitis. Minorities,
especially blacks, have long been over represented among heroin
addicts. However the increase use of cocaine and crack decrease the use
of the drug. The use has been on the increase since 1990 according to
drug enforcement officials. The increased can be linked to improved
growing conditions for opium poppies. There is a wide spread myth that
heroin is not addictive and is less harmful when snorted, but that was
soon shattered in 1991 when several addicts died from snorting toxic
heroin called “Tango and Cash”. Although it was sold as heroin , lab test
reveled that it contained a chemical, fentanyl, which is used as a
tranquilizer during surgery. The New York City Health Commissioner
said of the new drug that “it overwhelms opiate receptors in the brain ,
causing the users to stop breathing. Because the addicts are constantly
looking for a more intense euphoria the drug was immediately popular
despite it deadly potential. Heroin use is said to be on the increase,
because newer forms are widely available and they are less expensive
than in the past. Underground chemist continue to experiment, seeking
ways to create synthetic form of heroin that can be made inexpensively
in labs.
Pinkney concludes minorities in the US, especially black
Americans, are over represented among the homeless, adolescent who
become pregnant, and those who are addicted to harmful drugs.
Although the data on the extent of these social problems are sometime
contradictory they are persuasive . Research on these problems reveals
that to a great degree they result from wide spread poverty, brought
about by the racist nature of society. He goes on to say that this makes it
difficult for black citizens and other minorities to conform to standards
of behavior society sets for all citizens.
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