Why are African Americans over represented in professional sports and entertainment but under represented in STEM and the professions?
History and culture, for the most part.Until less than a hundred years ago, it was almost impossible for an African American to get an education beyond high school in most of the country.Humans start to identify with whatever role a society allows for them, and this can happen quickly: within a couple of generations. African Americans have several hundred years of history in which the culture cemented around certain activities being available to them, and others being unavailable, and dangerous to pursue. For hundreds of years, any aspiration to ‘higher’ careers was seen as a rejection of the subordinate place the society enforced for African Americans. It could literally get you killed.
Why are rich Black Americans usually rappers, or in the entertainment industry, and not businessmen, politicians, or have professional jobs?
Rap music was created by black people, and a large number of its customers are still black people. You can make money in this industry by being talented, your skin colour is in no way an inhibitor to your ability to progress. You don't need to have come from the right background or the right school or have the right qualifications - ironically such elements may actually hinder a career rather than help. With regards to sports people this is another scenario where pure ability is what counts - and that ability is easily measured (one need only look at the immense amount of sports related statistics produced). Again, background, family standing and family wealth have very little to do with your success in these areas. It is also arguable that black people do have some physical advantages that may help them in this field.If you are achieving a triple double in every other game no one cares what colour your skin is, where you went to school and whether you’re from a family that holidays in the Hamptons - the same cannot be said for other jobs. As such, such careers will appeal to those who have ability and see them as ways out of poverty and crime. Black people can look at numerous role models that came from the poorest of backgrounds and achieved fame and success, any kid can pick up a basketball or mic and imagine what it's like to be famous - children from a poor background, irrespective of race cannot imagine what it's like to be a CEO or a Senator - if daddy is a Senator it's a lot easier to understand and comprehend. The US has the second worst economic mobility of any developed country, the concept of the ‘American Dream’ is a fallacy. If you are born poor chances are you will die poor - only a very small percentage break the mould. If you are going to defy the odds it makes sense to look at routes that others in similar situations to you have taken - music and sports are two options where many blacks have defied the odds.Skin colour is certainly an element to this, but not purely the cause. How many Senators, CEO and billionaires are from poor white rust belt families for example? Black people represent a disproportionately high percent of the poor due to their history in the US. Economic mobility in the US sucks - music and sport are potential outs for a select few in the black community, as such it's no surprise that they are fully utilised.
Why are their such so many blacks in prison?
No excuses or BS. No political correctness. Why is the criminal justice system (regardless of the state) constantly flooded with blacks? More importantly, what can be done to stem this tide?
What Were Some of the Southern Arguments in FAVOR of slavery?
According to pre-Civil War Southern statesmen like John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis, slavery was a positive benefit to society and to the slave. Please understand that what follows is a summary of what Calhoun and Davis thought, and does not necessarily reflect what I think. According to Calhoun and Davis: Blacks in Africa were savages. They were fortunate that the white man was willing to bring them to this country. Once here, the blacks were given the benefit of Christian principles, and, to the extent their limited intelligence would allow, they were trained in an occupation or skill, and were provided with food, clothing, and shelter, so that they could be happy and contented. The master also cared for them when they were old, sick, or disabled. While a slave might need to be "corrected" once in awhile, there was generally a low crime rate in the South. In the North, by contrast, where the blacks were technically free, they were despied by the white population, restricted or prohibited from attending school, and denied the opportunity to pursue many social or business activities. Blacks committed crimes, and were imprisoned, in the North, in numbers greatly disproportionate to their presence in the population. Calhoun and Davis and other Southerners did not favor extending the Northern experience to the South, and they believed that slavery presented a much more humane alternative for the blacks, that they were happier under that regime, and that society was better off.