Since the violent times of the 60s, African Americans have made progress and improved their situation in every part of American life.

The largest cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, have had Black mayors. Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice were two African Americans who became Secretary of State, and in 2009 Barack Obama became the first African American President of the United States.



Barack Obama - America's first African American president
Image : Official White House Photo by Pete Souza / Public domain



In the film industry, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington are among the most famous stars. Bill Cosby was the first African American with his own comedy show, and Oprah Winfrey is the most famous and best-earning talk master on American TV.

 

Blacks have dominated many sports as well. Boxer Muhammad Ali was heavyweight champion of the 60s and 70s. Basketball’s Michael Jordan was probably the most successful player in NBA history.

 

Despite these advances, about 25% of African Americans live in poverty. Discrimination still exists in many areas and the standard of living lags behind that of the white population. Compared to other groups, average income is much lower and the rate of unemployment higher. Nevertheless, African Americans have made big gains since slavery ended 150 years ago.



Words

  • advances = here: the progress that has been made
  • average = normal
  • despite = even with
  • discrimination = treating a person or a group of people in an unfair way
  • dominate = to be better than all the rest
  • earn = the money you make with your job
  • gains = progress
  • heavyweight = a boxer who belongs to the highest weight class
  • improve = to make better
  • income = the money you get for the work you do
  • lag = stay
  • make progress = to move a step forward
  • mayor = person in charge of a city or town
  • NBA = National Basketball Association
  • nevertheless = but, even so
  • poverty = the situation of being poor
  • Secretary of State = person in the government who deals with other countries
  • slavery = the system of having slaves in a country
  • standard of living = how well people in a certain area live and how much money they have
  • unemployment = being out of work; with no job