Equality of Opportunity American ideal that we should pursue policies that create equality of opportunity for all citizens and that citizens should be free to maximize their fortunes/happiness under conditions of relatively equal opportunity Equality of process not outcomes Most American debates take this form of equal opportunity over equality of outcomes Does equality of opportunity exist?

Myth of Equality of Opportunity? Historic oppression and foundations of discrimination Slavery and dehumanization of racial minorities Jim Crow, residential segregation and forced neighborhood exclusion based upon race and socioeconomic status Inheritance, property and wealth accumulation across generations Unequal racial “starting points” – Rawls Some will have to work “twice as hard” and be “twice as ambitious” to achieve the same level of upward mobility Connections, rich social networks, and advantaged rolodexes It’s not what you know but who you know Exposure and occupational opportunities oftentimes vary by race Unequal educational opportunities and limited access to financial capital

Race and (In)Equality of Opportunity Structural inequality and racial minorities Residential and neighborhood segregation Suburbanization, “redlining”, and housing discrimination Inner-city abandonment and concentrated “ghetto” and “barrio” poverty in modern America Criminal justice discrimination & mass incarceration Employment discrimination Growing wealth inequality Inheritance & property accumulation Limited access to banking institutions & financial capital Limited access to health insurance & health services Limited access to educational opportunities Limited access to automobile transportation & mobility Limited access to healthy, natural & nourishing foods Environmental racism: Lingering effects of asbestos & lead

Race and Equality of Opportunity Centuries of oppression and subjugation led to unequal starting points based on race both historically and arguably in contemporary times Unable to acquire and accumulate property and wealth across generations Residue of slavery and Jim Crow remains today Arguably, centuries of unjust accumulation of resources and exclusive opportunities accruing to dominant white population at the expense of minorities