Argumentative Essay On African Americans

African American Studies is a very complex subject. To confuse African American studies with black history is a common occurrence. African American studies is much deeper and more profound than just Black history alone. There are many unanswered and unasked questions among the Black American culture which causes confusion and misunderstanding in modern day society. In unit one there were many themes, concepts, and significant issues in the discipline of Africana studies. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Vivian V. Gordan touched on many concerns.

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated; that is 60% of 30% of the African American population. African Americas are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. “Between 6.6% and 7.5% of all black males ages 25 to 39 were imprisoned in 2011, which were the highest imprisonment rates among the measured sex, race, Hispanic origin, and age groups." (Carson, E. Ann, and Sabol, William J. 2011.) Stated on Americanprogram.org “ The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison.” Hispanics and African Americans make up 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. (Henderson 2000). Slightly 15% of the inmate population is made up of 283,000 Hispanic prisoners.

African Americans are the most judged group of individuals in the U.S. and around the world. Many American and non-American citizens see African American males as threating and thugs, while others view African American females as angry and ghetto. These stereotypes have led to Blacks being least likely to date outside of their race compared to other races. In this study we will discussing the reasons why White Americans would either object or not object to a member of their family bringing home an African American for dinner, we will also look at how education, gender, and region affect these decisions. In this study we will go into detail about why these attributes can cause different responses with White American. This research is important because there has been little to no research done on how whites really feel about family members dating outside their race and to test why White Americans would either except or object this notion. While White and Black Americans have come a long way in our hatred for each other we still have so far to go. Americans (White, Black, Hispanic, and other) are all entitled to our own opinions but these opinions should not be based off of racism.

I think a cause that I would die for would be Black Lives Matter. I would like to think I would die for this cause because their is an argument on this cause that can cause a lot of tension. People argue this cause that all lives and I agree but the blacks have been racially discriminated for a long time. There's no election on choosing your race. People have remonstrated that Black Lives Matter stands for that black people matter more than other races but it’s not. Black people are being treated unfairly and since it hasn’t stopped, people have joined the cause that Black Lives Matter. I would die for this cause if it would mean that everybody, no matter what race, would be treated fairly.

Despite numerous misconceptions, African Americans who have attended HBCUs have thrived tremendously. In fact, African American students that attend an HBCU are more likely to go on to graduate from a professional school than African American graduates from other institutional types. Brandon Busteed, an executive director who organized a survey about the matter under Gallup-Purdue University stated, “There are still noticeable challenges around completion rates and loan default rates, and this data doesn’t change that…but this data does add a whole new dimension to the conversation about the value of HBCUs. Black students are having very meaningful experiences at HBCUs, compared to black graduates from everywhere else.” (Busteed) Here we can assume what Busteed analyzed from the survey was that despite the fact that HBCUs seem to have challenges, for instance one that wasn’t mention regarding how PWIs receive a substation amount of funding as compared to HBCUs. In the face of all this the black students that do attend HBCUs are still confident and graduate quite successful. Moreover, approximately 33% of African American students receiving their PhDs

Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another. Discrimination has been going on for generations among generations. Many years ago people of different races were divided from each other. Public places were segregated. Colored people had to use specific water fountains, schools were segregated, and blacks had to sit at the back of the buses. If they were to disobey then there would be consequences and repercussions. Equality was a figment of imagination, a dream the the minority groups had. Throughout the years racism has decreased and many things pertaining to racism were made illegal but that doesn’t mean racism disappeared. Although the separation of the races are more organized, racism can lead the world back to inequality,

The American past, with all its racial discontent-of Native American; of the enslavement of Africans; of segregation based on culture and origins; of anti-Semitism, anti-Africanism and discrimination - underlines every conceivable interpretation of the violent fury periodically seen in our larger cities. To say that we are victimized by history-that is, both by the cards dealt by history and by an ignorance of historical context-means that we are subject to misunderstanding the nature of the disillusionment, anger, and hoplessness that exist in our country. I do not see complete, destructive form of nihilism, (Asante2003)

“There is nothing wrong with a little casual racism.” One of my friends recently commented this phrase to me, in a joking manner, but it struck me. Is just a little casual racism fine? I am one to err on the side of, “All things in moderation” but is it truly not a problem? In our society, today we see racism in our soup. In many ways, I feel as if the word communist has been switched with the word racist. No longer do we call each other a communist if they are stingy or different, we just stoop to the words racist or xenophobe. In the essay, written by Roxanne Gay, called, Surviving Django, Gay makes claims that she was offended by the racially insensitive, supercharged, ego driven film, created by Quentin Tarantino. She proceeds to

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed-we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” This was a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. He believed in the idea of equality for all men, in a world where a black man and a white man can walk together side by side, a world without segregation, jobs and equal pay for the people. Martin Luther led one of the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of the United States. As a civil right activist, he stood for equal rights for all people and he led a great march of over two hundred and fifty thousand civil right supporters for quality and the end of racism in the United States. His speech “I have a dream” paved the way in setting a decisive moment for the American civil rights movement in the country.

Today many people believe that we have obtained racial equality. However there are multiple reasons and statistics that contradict those arguments . For decades African Americans has been deprived of basic rights, “If America had racial equality in education and jobs, African Americans would have two million more high school degrees…(Raines)”. There are many drastic racial gaps from education to owning property. Throughout America’s history blacks have been limited, when it comes to education, property, and other things. If people truly believe that after four hundred years of enslavement and limited rights, can be fixed within one generation they are wrong. The African American community has faced

The media has changed the mindset of many individuals in society. If a peaceful protest is happening, then the citizens are portrayed to be angry and rioters in the media. In today’s society, people gain their knowledge from either reading off social media networking sites and newspaper outlets online. The miscommunication and biased perspectives are formed because of sources that may have an enticing headline such as saying, “Black Lives Matter is the newest hate group.” For someone who might not understand this organization would believe the negative stigma behind it. This organization stands against violence and systemic racism toward African-Americans involving the issues of police brutality, profiling, and injustices. Black Lives Matter holds peaceful protests and meetings to find solutions to help end racial inequality for African-Americans. The headline should state that “Black Lives Matter stands up for unity,” which is respectable toward the organization. However, the media tries not to promote positivity because they want to appeal more individuals with newsworthy articles. The Nationalist Association of Black Journalists Award Winning Artist, Akiba Solomon is a freelance writer who focuses on writing about race and gender. One of her most indulgence writings is titled Thugs. Students. Rioters. Fans: Media’s Subtle Racism in Unrest Coverage. Solomon is a lecturer that instructs and teaches about women and social justice issues. She discusses the intolerant

The history of the struggle for the advancement and progression of African Americans is a larger-than-life story. It reveals their endeavors for the initiation of change in political, financial, educational, and societal conditions. They did everything to shape their future and that of their country i.e. the United States of America. This struggle for the attainment of equal rights has helped them to determine the path and the pace of their improvement and development (Taylor & Mungazi, 2001, p. 1).

The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance. Negro denotes "black" in Spanish and Portuguese, derived from the ancient Latin word niger, meaning black, which itself is probably from a Proto-Indo-European root nekw-, "to be dark", akin to nokw-, night.