Challenges mostly unique to African Americans

The African American community has historically faced barriers and challenges due to their race, ethnic, and cultural identities. These challenges, often created and perpetuated by the government, have created limited access to quality educational resources, adequate health care, gainful employment, and longitudinal negative interactions with law enforcement and the legal system. The authors agree that a quality education creates the foundation for opportunities for an individual later in life, such as college, career, home or business ownership, and opportunity to establish generational wealth. However, barriers to these opportunities for African Americans have led to an increase in medical and mental health issues such as higher than normal rates in obesity, cases of asthma, anxiety, depression, and mood disorders.