ATKINS Social Science Video Contest - Candid Conversations: Bridging the Racial and Ethnic Divide

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

gets ignored constantly in legislation.

It is October 2020,

an election year that holds extreme
tension between political extremes.

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

almost eight months with
no clear end in sight.

Racial and ethnic divide has
never been clear than protests in

the streets fighting for black lives.

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

ethnic divides in America.

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

The wealth gap between white and

POC Americans has only been
becoming clearer in recent years.

During the uprising of the coronavirus
outbreak, the labor and

stock market face major blows.

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

significantly financial hardships.

Black and

Hispanic individuals have been most
affected by these financial hardships.

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

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

similar organization since the start
of the coronavirus pandemic.

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

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

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

with racial and ethnic divide in America?

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

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

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

gaps, having serious conversations
around these issues.

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

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

Black Lives Matter protests.

>> Yeah, I can definitely agree.

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

And from the speakers there, I learned so

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

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

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

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

More specifically with wage gaps
in these racial inequalities.

For example, during the coronavirus
pandemic, black and Hispanic individuals

have actually been the most affected
by these financial hardships.

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

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

similar organizations during
the coronavirus pandemic.

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

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

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

I definitely think that everyone
should have access to food

without having to resort to a food bank.

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

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

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

>> Yeah, definitely.

And just like you were saying,

we need to level the playing field
we need to have these solutions.

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

different solutions that I could find,
such as reparations for

different communities,
more specifically, black communities.

Or government help to all
different types of communities,

poorer communities, such as job
opportunities or job help, job training,

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

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

these conversations to
happen between people.

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

Do you think it's important too?

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

far too long.

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

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

talking about solutions.

First, identifying that
there is a problem there.

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

like you said.

And just to make sure that all people

have the same opportunities
regardless of their race.

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

Whether that be from people with
different perspectives from me or

people being affected by
these issues right now.

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

those who you may not normally
have conversations with.

You never know what you might learn.