A Portrait of Mississippi
This paper peaked
my interest on a lot of levels. It reviewed the Human Development
Index relative to the various states in the country. This index gives a relative
standard of living by taking into account life expectancy, education and income.
The scores are out of ten with the higher scores being better. The discrepancies
among a nation, its state and ethnic groups within a state were appalling. I
knew that there were differences but did not realize to what
extent.
Discrepancies:
This was shocking, absolutely shocking.
Mississippi scored last in life expectancy, first in uneducated adults over 25,
worst state for Human Development Index and among the highest for infant
mortality. What is worse is that when the statistics are looked at within ethnic
groups, African American children in some areas had a similar caliber of life as
those in a third world country. This to me was appalling. In one of the
wealthiest nations in the world how is this possible?
What causes these vast differences, a student at my inner city Jackson school, or a rural delta school. Why would they choose to perpetuate this cycle? Everyone in America has the same rights by law, yet why do so few take advantage? My family came from Europe after the Second World War with nothing. They were peasant farmers in the old country, had little education and could hardly speak the language. Despite this, they worked hard at low paying jobs and were able to retire reasonably well off. Why would people in America, who have all the advantages, not make full use of them?
Some argue that our students do not have advantages and are deprived. Their high school education may not be at the standard of other locations, yet so few of my students actually attempt to maximize what they have been given. Everyday I observe them clown around when they could be learning. The students in Jackson have an opportunity to complete a JPS high school diploma. This diploma may not teach them enough to go to an elite university. However, it should be sufficient for them to attend at least a Junior College or Jackson State University.
A Junior College diploma should allow them to attain a reasonable job. This reasonable job should allow them to move into a better neighborhood with better schools. These better schools should allow their children to receive a better education and then attend a better university. The American Dream is still alive. However, it now may take several generations to accomplish.
I do not blame people for where they are. I do not know
where I would be if I had been raised in a similar setting. As an outsider being
immersed into this new culture I ponder how and why does this all happen? How
can this cycle be changed? What is the factor that perpetuates this cycle? What lessons in
history can we apply to this mystery? "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with
what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:1-2)
Map One: I picked this map because I thought it was interesting. This map showed where the standard of living was the highest in Mississippi. As mentioned previously this standard of living is an index based upon expected income, education attainment and life expectancy. Washington-Bolivar County has the lowest standard of living. This county also has largest discrepancies between African American and white American in wealth (see Map Two) What would map two be like the standard of living was separated by race?
