Angry Black Women

As I sit here and think about what it is to be Black in America. I realize how there are so many factors that affect African American people daily. One of the most damaging forces tearing at young black people in America today is the popular culture's image of what an "authentic" black person is supposed to look like and how that person is supposed to act. People assume all black males where raised in a single parent home. People assume that if you are a black male, that you sale drugs or you are really great in some type of sport. If you are a black female, they assume you will have kids by different men, referred to as “baby daddy” or they may not even know who the fathers of their children are. This same society expects African

Life for African Americans has never been truly easy, especially during slavery and Reconstruction. In the United States, African Americans have always been placed into situations where they have had to fight for their citizenship and to be equal to whites. Through slavery and Reconstruction, whites would constantly perform several different types of violent acts to belittle and control both black men and women. These acts of violence included verbal harassment, beatings, rapes, and sometimes, even murders. Thus, all of this structured the political, social, and economic citizenship of African Americans.

The understanding that we are targeted because of social factors that need to be change is depressing because how can we make that change when no one is trying to band with us? It’s one thing to have a bunch of African Americans stand together and tell the world our lives matter but where’s everybody else who claims to love us and the skin we are in.

I have always thought about myself as just a person. After taking this course, I think of myself as a white person. To me, being colorblind and attempting to look at everyone as just a person, were ways I avoided being racist. This course, taught by Dr. Bianca Williams, has enabled me to change my views on racism and race to a move correct outlook. I now understand that it is my duty to be able to acknowledge my race and other identities and the privileges that come with being a white, middle class, heterosexual person. I used to think that interpersonal racism was the main problem in the United States, but after this course realize that institutional racism is the problem. This course, coupled with readings from Devon W. Carbado on his piece titled “Privilege”, Beverly Daniel Tatum’s article titled “Talking about Race, Learning about Racism”, Brittney Cooper’s article on “The Politics of Black Women’s Hair” and Audre Lorde’s article called “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”, I have shifted my views on race and racism to a more constructive and correct outlook.

Being a black woman, in a “white man’s” world, is a very hard thing to encounter; especially growing up in the south where racism is still clearly evident. Georgiana, Al, the small town I grew up in, a white man owns everything. The only exception is the night club that is open only Thursday thru Saturday, but even that business is on the way of being shut down just because it is a popular business owned by a black man. Growing up I have seen first-hand racism, discrimination, and stereotyping against towards the black community.

From the beginning of cinema, the media has shown black women as nothing more than objects, dehumanizing them all together. This representation has held a long-lasting impact on both young and old African American women everywhere. The theme of my paper is about the media and how it has a negative impact on black women. The topics that I will be covering includes the following: need to prove the media wrong and working two times as hard as everyone else; social Media, TV and Movies and the roles they play; self-hatred and anger due to the comparisons to other ethnicities and that we are low-class, unattractive, uncivilized, uneducated and have no opportunities to make something of themselves; embracing what Black/ African Studies teaches; influential people and positive acknowledgments; how black women are affected and discouraged due to lack of self-love and knowledge. These impacts can come from another ethnicity and even from the black women themselves because of their lack of knowledge of where they come from, their history and overall grandness. Knowing these facts alone and embracing all that Black Studies teaches can reverse the damage that has been done to black women everywhere from ages one to one hundred. They begin to believe what they see or what they see on about themselves when it is drilled into their heads that all of what is seen in the media is true. Due to lack of knowledge of

In “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples discusses stereotypes that black men faces in today’s world. Where in his response to oppression he had changed his outside appearance to appear ‘friendly’ to be able to satisfy others. In many other stories, response to oppression was typically covering up instead of being yourself around others. However, I found that the most appropriate response to oppression is to adjust your outside appearance so you appear more friendly to give your inner identity more of a voice for others to be able to hear.

I am a member of the African-American community. My mother and my father have taught me to embrace my culture and most importantly to embrace the color of my skin because that is apart of me and that is who I am. I have recently realized that embracing myself as a Black female consists of educating myself about my people in the Black community. In the past, Black people have faced Black anti-voting laws, slavery, and segregation through Jim Crow Laws. Unfortunately, these principles still exist in modern day society disguised as mass incarceration due to the War on Drugs. As an African American, I have witnessed the mass incarceration of African-Americans in my community. This never ending cycle leads to systematic criminalization within the

Being a black person within society has never been an easy thing to do. Society has constantly been stereotypical of black people, although blacks have molded history and are very vital to society for the things that have happen throughout history have been big contributions toward modern-day life. African Americans in the 1890’s encountered stereotypes most of which still exist in today’s society. African Americans have come a long way and earned many rights but still live with the destitutions that they had in the 1890’s. Many black people have internalized the negative stereotypes of their race. therefore, internalizing the hatred of their blackness to the fact they began to self-oppress. Due to this internalized racism, many Black result

The way entertainment in the media portrays us has greatly affected how others identify us. Movies and shows like; Madea’s family Reunion, Bringing down the House, Love and Hip Hop, and Basketball Wives all portray us in a degrading way. People sometimes find it comical of course, but the fact that it is comical does not justify it being debasing. This image of us has evolved from things in the media, and its’ power to shape people’s idea of us. We as a race must stop living up to our stereotypes. As soon as we take action in not succumbing to our own stereotype, people will not think we are “Ghetto” or any other undignified term they think of us; therefore in the media we won’t be perceived in that way. As Colin Powell once said, “Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.” Although African American stereotyping is prevalent in the media now because of its’ entertaining quality; it perpetuates a cycle of harmful stereotypes. As long as this cycle continues, our culture will always be illustrated negatively.

Women are the pillars of the society. They give rise to the society, each one of us was conceived in the womb of a particular woman. They take care of the entire family, the children and the grown up. The mother figure is quite critical in the life of each and every individual. There is a saying that goes” behind every successful man there is a woman.” Therefore, their significance in the lives of their husbands or children cannot be ignored. The great readers across the world for instance United States of America President Obama and United Kingdom Prime minister David Cameron regularly attends government and private affairs together with their wives Mitchell and Samantha respectively.

Over the last one hundred and thirty years African Americans have little by little-gained freedom for themselves as slaves and domestic servants. Now as a culture they are legally capable of obtaining jobs and positions in all areas of private and public organizations, (Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J., 2010). This particular ethnic group are known to be instrumental in holding their cultures together through times of constant struggle. They have used rallies, protests, silent marches and received help from volunteer organizations to fight for rights as well as obtain justice in a racist and sexist society. This work explores the troubles African Americans face in Americas society today, through stereotypes and how gender roles as African Americans differ from each other as well as the American population.

Perceptions is what we perceive, what we think we see and know vs what another sees towards the same object or person. But something we must always keep in mind is these stigmas we have aren’t always true. One controversial miss perceptions are black lives particularly black males in America. Viewed by a lot of people as thugs, gang bangers, and crooks, harsh and untrue things of the major of the population. a group of individually regularly looked at and put under scrutiny its people constantly put under a microscope if near the scene of any crime, or harassed verbally by authority figure. We must not let our perception of black males cause a divide and allow the stigmas that are attributed to them to instill fear and cause hatred in our nation. We will critically analyze speeches by Brent staples, Coffey Anderson, and Steve lock particularly at their views of the perception of black males and their personal experience on handling the stigmas associated with them.

In 1929 the women of Nigeria made war on the colonial government; almost 30 later Cameroonian women also made war. Discuss these wars. What conditions that led women to make war in these two countries.

“Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples was about a successful young black male that was stereotyped for the color of his skin. Staples couldn’t even walk down the street without people clinching their purses or walking on the opposite side when they saw him coming. This is a clear example of what racial stereotyping is like in this country. So much that a prosperous writer and editor can be depicted as threatening and dangerous. There is a long history of racial stereotyping and discrimination against African Americans in this country. This originated in the American slavery days where whites created many racial stereotypes that still resonates today. Although better, there are still acts of stereotyping in the 21st century. From media scrutiny to racial profiling which more often than not leads to death, racial stereotyping is still at large. There are also many negative effects to stereotyping physically, mentally and emotionally. There is many researches that indicate stereotyping effects the ability to learn and influence ones self-assessment. It must be a way to eliminate the negative stereotyping against African Americans. In order to end racial stereotyping, we must start from the beginning and understand the effects it has on these certain groups.