African American Stereotypes

Stereotypes seem to be very present in our country, especially stereotypes towards African-Americans. For the longest time, like it has been instilled as a fact in my brain, black people have been directly related to the words “ghetto” or “hood”. I don’t remember a time where I actually can remember the words “ghetto” or “hood” without the picture in my mind of an African-American person. I think that this is a big problem in today’s society because it is not true but still seems to be taught. In politics, society, and everyday life, it feels like African-American’s are being slammed for being hoodlums. This is a problem because there are millions of African-American people who do not fit this stereotype, but still get degraded and treated badly because of this age old belief.

A stereotype is a popular belief about specific types of individuals. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. African Americans have been perceived to be someone they are not in the media, history, and in everyday life. Although some stereotypes are true, many are harmful and inaccurate.

African Americans have been oppressed ever since slavery was abolished and it seems to be a never-ending cycle. White Americans oppressed the black population because they needed a way to remind everyone of their so-called supremacy. They did this through many different ways but the most common were by theatrical performances. Ever since the minstrelsy shows the negative stereotypes of African Americans seem to keep growing. According to the book Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks, “in almost every American movie in which a black had appeared, filmmakers had been trying to maintain the myth that Negroes were naturally rhythmic and natural-born entertainers.”

From the article, personally, I gather the idea that some African American students are scared to score better than the white students because they did not want to get bullied or taunted. For most of history, a well educated African American had to hide their knowledge because they were afraid. There are many stories where slaves would sneak their masters books to teach themselves how to read and educate themselves on their own. Based on the interactionist perspective African Americans are automatically have a unequal learning opportunity. They are often perceived as “slow learners.” By placing the students in this category teachers and parents hinder the children’s true potential. There may be many African Americans who are highly

I believe that I contribute to fostering an inclusive and welcoming community on campus by being myself. As an African American, there is a lack of the artsy-nerdy types represented in our culture. By being myself, I’m taking part in the growing population of the diverse types of African Americans that exist. For our society, when it comes to the minorities, we focus primarily on the stereotypes given to a specific group of people. For example, all African Americans are lumped up into two categories: the criminal and the one who acts white. By being myself, I prove this standard wrong by demonstrating to other racial groups that African Americans can and are different. We are free to have likes and dislikes, speech patterns, economic status,

Throughout the world, society habitually puts every group into multiple categories. Those groups can vary from gender, to race, to religion, while those categories can fluctuate from what society believes each group is supposed to act by. This method is often referred to as stereotyping, which is a widely held label that each particular group follows in society’s eyes. Though many groups in society have stereotypes, the African American race has numerous. Though the way of living for African Americans have changed throughout time, the stereotypes from the past still haunt us today. Based off of societies stereotypes of the African American race, commonly known as “blacks”, each subgroup of this race reacts differently toward the stereotypes.

Differences seem to be the only thing we see in our world today- different appearances, different ideas, different cultures and beliefs. They are what define us; what give us each a uniqueness that is the reason our species thrives. But, when we are not accepting of our differences, when we refuse to see that our outlook on life is not the only one, many conflicts can arise. Unfortunately, this happens all too often, with differences often being seen in a negative light, casting the shadow of conflict over the world. However, there is an easy fix to this problem, although simple is not always equal to easy. Yet, I believe that when we connect to those different from ourselves, we can open up a path to a more peaceful society.

I absolutely agree with you LaQueisha! Especially, at my work I see this happening all to often from your examples. Constantly, I see a higher expectation for Asian Americans rather than African Americans when doing their job. From what you said in your post and what I mentioned, could it be the results of negative self-image inflicting this negative stereotype being placed on these two groups? This kind of stereotyping based on the assumption that Asian Americans have more education than African Americans is inappropriate. With that said, I know a few African American co-workers who I work, with that went to college and got their masters. I sometimes think that cumulative causation may have something to do with or has

Our society is fabricated with the many stereotypes that exist regarding each and every race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc. African American youth are among the greater numbers that are instantly judged and labeled with those stereotypes. There are a handful that may be considered positive, however, the vast majority of stereotypes are built off of the imperfections of a given group of individuals. That being said, a higher education will grant a better reputation for African American youth, compared to the reputation that has already been set for them. Education is by far, the most valuable asset that anyone can have in a lifetime, especially for groups of individuals such as African American youth.

Black people have been known to be able to do incredible things from themselves and others. They are able to turn nothing into something and use it for the greater good of their own communities. Since the Great Renaissance and the inception of the Black Wall Street, African-Americans were a force to American society. Through the Black Wall Street, with their own money, Blacks were able to open up jobs and business that would recreate and maintain the socioeconomic flow within their own communities. Businesses, shops, banks, and health care facilities came out of the Black Wall Street. Since its destruction in 1921, African-Americans and their sense of having something that they can call their own has not been revitalized. Till this day, Blacks rely on their white counterparts to fulfill their needs in day-to-day living. There are a few ways that African-Americans can give to themselves, which will continue to give throughout the year. In return, this will make them (as a people) stronger, more unified, and powerful than ever before.

Another behavioural tendency that exposes one as a racist would be if one is verbally abusive, threatening, or ridiculing while using derogatory language towards a particular group of people in the community based on their race and cultural belief and practices. Stereotypical comments and racist propaganda such as symbols, signs, and graffiti is another form of behavioural character of a racist. For example, many stereotypes have a belief that all Asians know martial arts such as Kung Fu and that they all come from China. Similarly, most stereotypes believe that an African American’s first instinct is to fight or kill someone if they do not see eye to eye typically because they believe that all African Americans come from poor and violent backgrounds.

Over the years, stereotyping has reached an all-time high especially in this contemporary society. Everyone is stereotyped in different ways whether it is their race, religion,  gender or culture  and unfortunately this only results in negative outcomes.For example African Americans are stereotyped as violent and wild individuals that are uneducated gang bangers, but the real question is how did this stereotype come about and why is it still relevant today? In the movie "Crash it gives great examples of stereotyping and prejudice behavior towards different racial groups. They had two different examples of  a group of people that are the same race living completely different lifestyles. What people fail to realize

Stereotype can be defined as “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing”. Seemingly, stereotyping different races or even genders have become the norm. Society in itself likes to classify, label anything that is even remotely considered different. It is as if society just sits there and picks apart an individual whether it be a characteristic or information just to get a glimpse of what that person is all about. Whilst stereotyping may seem normal it affects a large amount of people especially African Americans.

In today's modern society there have been numerous stereotypes and standards built up for every culture, gender, and race. One of the biggest races impacted by these stereotypes is the African Americans. They've fought long and hard for freedom, independence, and equality. Yet they can't seem to catch a break with everyday cultural stereotypes. From the foods they eat, to the voice they talk in, and the clothes they wear. They are often labeled "hood" or "Ghetto" being an assumption they are from the slums if they do not act or represent they selves in a certain manner.

Stereotypes. Labels. Many have experienced being labeled, while practically all of us have labeled others in the past. Whether it be a person we’ve never met, a person we saw for the first time, or even a friend, labels along with their accompanying stereotypes are frequently placed upon various types of people. However, stereotypes are never random; there seems to be some sort of perceived knowledge about the nature of a person when the stereotype is formulated.