There was a time when it was acceptable to post job openings with restrictions so that only white people need ever apply, so that statements such as "no jobs for n…gers until every white man has a job," were thereby posted; in which, even if such a restriction such as that wasn't purely legal, it still was an integral part within certain communities as essentially being accepted as not only a fact of life, but as an abiding principle of that community and its attitude.
The bottom line is that any people can define themselves by whatever that they are inclined to define themselves as, of which, the most inclusive people, define themselves as all equally created by the very same hand of God, or its equivalency from a secular basis; and those that are discriminatory typically utilize their skin color, or country of origin, or religious faith as their primary means to define themselves. So that, those that see themselves as being white first, and a citizen of this nation, second, are certainly going to have a strong inclination to do those things that are within their power, that will support that very belief.
Further to the point, when assets of a given community, schools within a given community, jobs within a given community, and property so owned in a given community, are primarily held by those people, who prefer to be defined by the color of their skin, then all those that are not part of that group, are going to be treated in a manner in which they are second class citizens or even less to those of the privileged race. This thus means that when the means of employment, and of schooling, and of policing, and of housing is controlled by, for instance, white people, then those that are non-white are going to be left with the scraps so left by those white people, and subsequently are not going to be able to develop themselves fully because they are lacking in the fair opportunity to do so.
So then, in modern times, over the last several decades, black employment rates, have consistently been significantly lower than white employment rates, and since employment is the primary means for most people to make a legitimate living; then those suffering from higher unemployment are thereby suffering from living lives which are inferior to those that have more privilege, more assets, more opportunity, and more of the good life.
This would clearly indicate, that systemic prejudices have not been resolved in America, and that therefore, as akin to Affirmative Action for those attending higher educational institutions, the same sort of Affirmative Action on a comprehensive national scale, must be implemented so that those that are currently unfairly precluded from gainful employment in so many instances, are able to thereby achieve that employment. While, the implementation of a successful employment Affirmative Action program would not alleviate the vast discrepancy between the material assets of blacks v. whites, it is the needed necessary base that will help to effect positive change, so that those that are the non-white citizens of this great nation, would finally be accorded their due respect and fair opportunity which is their inherent birthright.