Andrew Hacker's quote states that whites receive far more than blacks in terms of sociocultural input to a person's feelings of worthiness and to societal treatment based on respect for one's human dignity. Further, the quote implies that this unequal distribution with respect to sociocultural input is dependent upon no other characteristic, attribute, trait, skill, or feature other than skin color.
Hacker substantiates his claims by noting a number of features about American culture and the sociopsychological experiences of white and black Americans. These features can be summarized as follows:
(1) Skin color is ever a component of black people's identity although it is not of whites; for example, the black writer is seldom referred to by others or in the media as merely "an author;" rather, he or she is a "black author."
(2) While most Americans wish to know about and identify with their cultural heritage, the homeland of blacks, Africa, is often devalued by the nation as at a standstill without much expectation of future development and progress.
(3) Most white Americans do not seek out the company of blacks, nor do they desire to do so.
(4) There is a societal tendency to prefer blacks in certain occupations rather than others, e.g. performers or sports figures rather than psychologists, doctors, lawyers, etc.
(5) Black people remain less likely than whites to earn a high income and live in good, safe communities.
(6) Regardless of their amount of education or socioeconomic status, blacks are often perceived--at least initially--by whites as possibly dangerous.
(7) Blacks, because of their history as slaves and as second-class citizens, are less likely than white Americans to feel good about their country and to identify the country with its constitutional principles of brotherhood and equality.
Supporting Hacker's notion of negative sociocultural contribution to blacks are numerous other inequalities s...