The United States political and economic systems and the positions of black Americans in them: a study of the perceptions of African and black American students, 1980

The main objective of this study is to determine how African and Black-American students see the United States political and economic systems and the status of Blacks in them; and to compare the students* perceptions with the reality. The study therefore combines the salient features of Black politics and economics with those of American politics and economics generally. It is significant for several reasons. The image of the United States political and economic institutions and their practices which the African student carries home with him is important to the United States particularly the American policy makers and also of special interest to many African countries and the numerous African students at home who may wish to emigrate to the United States for their education. The African student lives with whatever problems the Black-American faces whether these are problems of discrimination in summer employment, veiled resentment at the public swimming pool or of segregated and unhealthy housing in the ghetto. The status of the Black-American in the United States political and economic systems is a major factor in foreign affairs and the most important of all natural barriers to a better understanding and relationship between Africa and the United States. The changes and developments in the political and economic conditions of the 11.7 million Blacks as they enter the decade of the 1980s � 25 years or a quarter of a century after the historic 1965 Civil Rights Acts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act are of much interest to Black people all over the world. How African and Black-American students assess their present political and economic statue is important to American as well as African policy makers. To facilitate the comparison of the students* perceptions with the reality a factual description of the United States political and economic systems and the positions of Blacks in them was given as a benchmark against which the students* perceptions were compared. The main sources of information for the factual description of the systems and the status of Blacks were government documents and the writings of authorities and experts on American politics and economics as recorded in books, Journals, reports and reputable magazines, newspapers, and periodicals. The perceptions of African and Black-American students were determined through an opinion survey of 150 African and 150 Black- American students. The survey was conducted by means of mailed questionnaires and face to face and telephone interviews. The participants in the survey were randomly selected from the lists of African and Black-American students in fifteen colleges and universities in the Atlanta metropolitan and surrounding areas. The study reveals that African and Black-American students have identical perceptions of the United States political and economic systems and the status of Blacks in these systems; and that their perceptions are consistent with the reality