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Kamilia Watson
Professor Samsone
MDS 4983
28, April 2015
Salaries: In Living Color
An abiding rule in our society is that racial discrimination is far more intense against
black men (JBHE Foundation 13). We are all aware of the racism that blacks had to endure
living in this great country. Racism led to many different problems, first there was
discrimination, which led to segregation, then segregation gave way to fewer education
opportunities, and fewer education opportunities bred lower wages. In a world where it is already
not enough just to be your best, it is discouraging to know you have to be the best. When you
compound this thought with living amidst discriminatory practices, society can begin to
understand the economic gap for black males. Discrimination created uneven playing fields
within the workforce, and widened the gap of income disparities between blacks and whites. In
the words of Susan Williams McElroy and Leon T. Andrews, Jr., black males earn less than
their white male counterparts, even when they have completed the same amount of education
(Susan Williams McElroy 161). This indicates that individuals born at the top of the social class
structure are extended with the opportunity to maximize their economic potential, over those
who were not. Studies have proven that the expansion of the economic gap between the
percentages of Black and White males with college degrees have widened almost every year
since the year of 1940 (Ivory A. Toldson 197). With this fact being stated, statistics virtually
remove the excuse for failing to issue equal salary opportunity amongst black professionals. So,
how can we expect those persons, exposed to greater obstacles, proven throughout the history of
this nation, to make fair advancement, in an unfair, and unstable environment? To name a couple
of these obstacles, there was the Brown v. Board of Education, which took place in 1954, and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which were centered upon the disenfranchisement of blacks.
Although these obstacles date back prior to the mid 1900s, the effect of these types of
originations have been perpetuated down through the years, making it harder for black males to
co-exist equally in. White America. Is it fair to a struggling black male population, who has
persevered to obtain the necessary skills, to have to endure the harsh reminder that no matter
what he has achieved, in the end it makes no difference (JBHE Foundation 8) due to the societal
norms that his status is inferior? I believe we live in a society today full of forward movers and
thinkers who have a desire to solve this problem. Although we have made huge improvements,
we still have a long way to go in terms of equal pay, so the question is how do we fix this
economic gap? In this paper, I will be examining whether or not the statement higher education
equals higher income always hold true, even when it comes to the black male population
compared to their white male counterparts. I will also explore whether or not there is a solution
to this problem. Due to the fact that this issue is such a broad topic, raising so many different
questions, I have narrowed my research down to the specific field of Medical doctors.
Problem:
Black male doctors do not keep up economically with white doctors (JBHE Foundation
10). Black professionals, in 1995 had a median income of $41,742, compared to white
professional incomes of $52,086 (JBHE Foundation 10). It is also true that the income gap for
black college graduates who possess a bachelors degree or more, have increased, but not

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equalized to the pay of white graduates. Based on the findings of the JBHE in 1995, blacks with
a bachelors degree or higher had a median income of $30,453, or 87% of the income of whites
with a bachelors degree or higher. The median white income for college graduates stood at
$35,085 (JBHE Foundation 8). These staggering numbers peaked my interest, so I delved
deeper into the research to see how early the black male population was effected by this problem
of the income gap, and I discovered that it started as early as the age of sixteen. Based on the
findings of Susan McElroy, black males aged 16 and over who were employed full time earned
an average of $468 per week, compared with white males [of the same age group], who earned
an average of $615 per week (Susan Williams McElroy 161). This supports the assertion that
this problem is a systemic one. Taking into consideration the history of black people, one can
surmise that being black, generally implies being born behind the power curve. Unfortunately
this leads to a series of unfortunate choices made by males in black communities. It is stated by
the JBHE that the problem of the income aperture is largely due to an overwhelming amount of
black professionals entering the main stream later in the game, however, it is hard for one to
decipher what entering at a later time has to do with not earning near the top of your profession
(JBHE Foundation 10). The more I investigated these gaps, the more frustrated I became with the
reasons given for their existence. For instance, it was determined by the JBHE that income
disparities existed for black professionals because there were almost no black professional
graduates forty years ago (JBHE Foundation 11). This assertion is preposterous and if society
continues to make excuses for not closing the gap, based on the history of our nation, it will
never be inspired to change it.
Solution:
If we search consistently and genuinely enough the answer to this economic gap, for black males
may lie within the questions. For starters we could start with restructuring current systems. The
old adage, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him
for a lifetime, holds true, and this is why I believe a restructured assistance program designed to
give a hand up and not a hand out could produce more change than this nation has ever known,
as well as, decrease the economic gaps by astronomical amounts. I make this hypothesis based
on the knowledge that most social programs are structured to keep the black community in some
type of social, or financial bondage. Welfare programs that originated in the country during the
1960s were just another form of oppression for the black race, and Todays welfare child,
raised in hopelessness and dependency becomes tomorrows welfare adult, pauperized and
helpless (Nadasen 58). This is a declaration made by the great welfare debaters. African
American males are among the targets of welfare debaters who lump all blacks into the category
of lazy, unfit parents, and sexual deviants who engage in immoral family practices (Nadasen 58).
It seems our society has no qualms with pointing out the problems that exist in this nation,
however it would be more productive for it to synergize in order to become a part of the solution.
Make no mistake we are still on the issue of the disparaging economic gaps that exist for black
doctors, but it is impossible to form solutions when we have not accepted the fact there is indeed
a problem. Moving forward to the next theory of how to close these gaps, we could bring into
effect laws that would make it impossible for the income gap to continue to increase. Laws are
rules that bind all people living in a community. Laws protect our general safety, and ensure our
rights as citizens against abuses by other people, by organizations, and by the government itself
(Learning Center 1).

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In relation to this last law my assertion is that the government makes laws that
continually hinder the black man, so why not make laws intended to help him succeed through
his own efforts. If the economic gap is part of a deeply rooted problem, the solutions will only
emerge when the truth is exposed. The last theory for a possible solution to the income gap is
collective performance evaluation of doctors. Each site could hold evaluations that lump
everyone in on the basis of their performances, and those doctors with exceptional evaluations
should have their salaries reassessed. With this method there is not the appearance that white
male doctors are more exceptional than the black ones will disappear altogether.
In closing, if the idea is to attain higher levels of education to ensure greater access to
jobs, consisting of higher pay, upward mobility and better benefits, why are black males still so
discouraged in their fields? The sources of U.S. inequality have no problems with a person who
receives big bucks as long as they deserve it. If the black male population of doctors continues to
receive lesser distributions of income, then we are sending the wrong message. The existing
evidence of the income gap is enough overwhelming proof to indicate that something needs to
change. Through assistance programs structured for upward mobility, laws that abolish the right
for income gaps to exist, and collective performance evaluations within the medical field, we can
begin to take the necessary steps in closing these gaps. One thing is for sure, change will never
happen, if the mentality that there is nothing wrong continues to endure. The most important
aspect to finding a solution, is deciding as a nation that we want things to change, so that we
truly can be One nation, that is indivisible.