The society today is subjected to various social, cultural and economic challenges. This is accelerated by the high rate of globalization and the emergence of complex social and economic structures and perspective sin the society. As a result, there have been numerous levels of and forms of stratification that are evident in the society today due to the unequal distribution of resources among people in the society. The African Americans are a critical presentation of a social group that is experiencing intense challenges in the current society. This is attributed to the vulnerability of these individuals because of their socio-cultural predisposition. As a result, re African American men have intense challenges that require an urgent solution in order to enhance the quality of life of these individuals. Unemployment among the African American men is one of the chronic challenges that has been very persistent over the years. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 51.6 % of the African American youths are unemployed (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015).
This situation is becoming worse among these individuals and should be controlled and mitigated in order to prevent its escalation to severe levels. This is one of the factors that has led to an increase in social stratification in regard to the racial alignments of people in the United States. Some of the factors that have contributed to the high rate of unemployment among these individuals includes the lack of the required standards of education and skills to assist them have decent jobs (Cottle, 2003). Perception and other social influences have also contributed to this status in the society. The practical approaches that can embrace towards reducing unemployment of the African Americans in the society includes the commitment of resources towards the education, empowerments and change if perceptions among these people.
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"Reducing Unemployment among Young African Americans".
Contrary opinions argue that the high unemployment rate among the African-Americans can be attributed to factors that cannot be managed and controlled. This is because this is embedded in the social structures that puts this groups of people at a disadvantage in various entities that cannot be mitigated. Some of the factors that make these people is due to the challenges that are associated with the genetic predisposition of these groups of people to factors that can hinder their ability to get education and be employed in high levels of school dropouts due to drug and substance and addiction that exposes them to the risk of other mental and health challenges (Cottle, 2003). However, with the formulation and implementation of comprehensive strategies, these are challenges that can be managed and the rate of unemployment of the African American youths can be reduced.
The African American youths should be made to understand the importance of sufficient education in the current society. Most of the unemployed in youth in this social group do not have sufficient skills and knowledge to undertake any formal employment. This is because of these individuals do not get the required education to the standard levels to have the required skills. Therefore, these individuals should be encouraged and be motivated to continued have the education. Cottle (2003) argues that most of the youths drop out of school and colleges due to some social influences. Some of the factors that make these individuals not to have the education because of the high rates of poverty and they cannot afford the education. Therefore, the government and the related agencies must ensure that these individuals get the required education by providing an affordable education in order to reduce their knowledge gap with other members of the society. This can be achieved if the governments collaborate with the local agencies and parents towards ensuring that the youths get the required standards of education.
The provision of sufficient guidance and counselling in the school and the community can assist in alleviating the rates of unemployment. Trotter (2013) contends that a critical issue that increases the rate of unemployment is the poor psychological orientation among these individuals regarding education and getting a job. Most of the teenagers that drop out of school is because of the influence of psychoactive drugs that affect their mental alignment and they lose focus on the important aspects that can make them have valuable jobs in the society. Consequently, providing comprehensive guidance and counselling can assist in saving some of the youths that fall into the traps in associated with peer pressure and other social influences. This can be achieved through a good invested in the facilities and professional that can assist in providing expert advice to these individuals. These platforms can also be used in motivating these youths on the importance of getting employment and their role in applying their skills in improving their lives and the lives of others. These individuals can also be encouraged to take entrepreneurial courses and technical education in order to increase their chances of getting employed or having their business entities that can increase the quality of their lives (Trotter, 2013).
Therefore, this can be elemental towards eliminating enhancing the focus of these individuals towards improving their lives by the engagement of their energy towards positive productivity in the society. This strategy can also include the collaboration with the related agencies to have rehabilitation centers for these individuals who are school dropouts and are engaged in drug addiction to assist them overcome their habits and engage in income generation activities.
Equality and strategic acquisition of parity are elemental towards alleviating the high level of unemployment. Government and institutional policies should be formulated and implemented to alleviate the traditional disparities that exist in the society along the socio-cultural perspectives. The most practical and realistic ways to achieving this are through embracing dignity to humanity by reducing the discrimination that exists along the racial lines in the places of work and learning institutions. All the public and private agencies should have a just view of the society by having proportional accommodation of all members of the society in terms of employments and educational opportunities. Through this, the African American men can get a fair platform to compete with other members of the society in getting the employment opportunities. Cottle (2003) suggest that all the employment and recruitment processes should be carried out through merit and not on any social or ethnic entities. This will motivate these individuals to work hard in order to get their chances in the various areas of working.
To sum up, the social, cultural and economic influences in the society have led to various forms of stratification in the society. This is heavily manifested in the number of unemployed African American youths as compared to members of other ethnic backgrounds. The rate of unemployment among these individuals has been increasing consistently, and this has called for an agent need to the development of strategies to assist in managing and mitigating the problem (Cottle, 2003). The lack of practical solutions to assist in mitigating and managing the problem has led to an increase in the levels of poverty and crime in the society. Consequently, getting the commitment of the government, related agencies and the members of the society towards the adoption and implementation of comprehensive recovery mechanisms is imperative to the management of the unemployment rates among the African American youths.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2015). Economic News Release: Economic Stats of the Civilian Population by Race, Sex and Age. United States Department of Labor.
- Cottle, T.J. (2003). Hardest Times: The Trauma of Long-term Unemployment. Boston: University of Massachusetts Press.
- Trotter, W.M. (2013). African Americans: Essential Perspectives. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
