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Racial and ethnic divide, something[br]that hit so close to home for many yet

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gets ignored constantly in legislation.

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It is October 2020,

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an election year that holds extreme[br]tension between political extremes.

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And we are living through a pandemic[br]that has already lasted for

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almost eight months with[br]no clear end in sight.

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Racial and ethnic divide has[br]never been clear than protests in

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the streets fighting for black lives.

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There's no reason to wait to have[br]conversations about racial and

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ethnic divides in America.

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Many of the problems of racial and[br]ethnic divides stem from economics.

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The wealth gap between white and

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POC Americans has only been[br]becoming clearer in recent years.

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During the uprising of the coronavirus[br]outbreak, the labor and

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stock market face major blows.

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Even though this is mostly subsided,[br]the effects on Americans have not,

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significantly financial hardships.

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Black and

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Hispanic individuals have been most[br]affected by these financial hardships.

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According to the Pew Research Centre,[br]30% of Hispanic Americans, and

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33% of black Americans, have reported that[br]they've gotten food from a food bank or

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similar organization since the start[br]of the coronavirus pandemic.

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While only 11% of white Americans[br]reported the same thing.

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I had a conversation with my friend[br]Bethany Jablon about this wealth gap.

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>> Do you have any background knowledge in[br]the subject of wage gaps in conjunction

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with racial and ethnic divide in America?

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>> I have a very limited level[br]of knowledge on that subject.

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I have watched a couple TED talks[br]just to familiarize myself with it.

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But I don't think that we spend nearly[br]enough time in school talking about wage

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gaps, having serious conversations[br]around these issues.

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And I think a lot of us have chosen[br]to focus a little bit more on racial

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inequities, especially this year[br]after the killing of George Floyd and

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Black Lives Matter protests.

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>> Yeah, I can definitely agree.

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I actually went to some Black Lives Matter[br]protests in the past couple months.

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And from the speakers there, I learned so

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much more about racial inequalities[br]that I never even thought of before.

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And with economics, I'm taking[br]a macroeconomics class at state and

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I've learned a lot about[br]economics with racial divides.

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And that's one of the reasons[br]I'm doing this project.

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More specifically with wage gaps[br]in these racial inequalities.

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For example, during the coronavirus[br]pandemic, black and Hispanic individuals

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have actually been the most affected[br]by these financial hardships.

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According to the Pew Research Center[br]30% of Hispanic Americans and

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33% of black Americans have[br]reported going to food banks or

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similar organizations during[br]the coronavirus pandemic.

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While only 11% of white Americans have[br]had to report doing the same thing.

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I thought this was really interesting,[br]how do you feel about it?

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>> It's crazy that there's that[br]big of a difference between them.

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I definitely think that everyone[br]should have access to food

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without having to resort to a food bank.

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It's really unfair that those[br]numbers are so different.

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So I think it's really important that we[br]take steps to level the playing field

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there and to make sure that everyone[br]is able to afford food on their own.

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>> Yeah, definitely.

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And just like you were saying,

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we need to level the playing field[br]we need to have these solutions.

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So during this project,[br]I've been trying to look around for

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different solutions that I could find,[br]such as reparations for

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different communities,[br]more specifically, black communities.

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Or government help to all[br]different types of communities,

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poorer communities, such as job[br]opportunities or job help, job training,

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all these different types of things[br]that government can help with.

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But in all,[br]I think it's just really important for

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these conversations to[br]happen between people.

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I think it's really important[br]that we're talking today.

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Do you think it's important too?

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>> Definitely, I think this is a subject[br]that we've denied attention to for

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far too long.

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And in order to combat these issues,[br]in racial inequities and in the wage gap,

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I think that we need to get more[br]comfortable with talking about it,

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talking about solutions.

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First, identifying that[br]there is a problem there.

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And then taking specific steps to[br]ensure that the playing field is level,

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like you said.

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And just to make sure that all people

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have the same opportunities[br]regardless of their race.

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>> I do understand that I too have[br]a lot more to learn about this topic.

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Whether that be from people with[br]different perspectives from me or

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people being affected by[br]these issues right now.

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I urge you to initiate these conversations[br]with your friends, family members, and

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those who you may not normally[br]have conversations with.

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You never know what you might learn.