Changing the Image of Minorities in Ameria

Throughout the matriculation of a black boy 's’ life, there are many, (labeled natural, yet are culturally, socially and institutionally based) factors, that govern the holistic views and beliefs entailed to the child. From that moment on, challenging the social structures that these norms entail suggest a sense of sensitivity, homosexuality or weakness, ultimately emasculating the highly regarded social stigmas attached with being a man. Despite being indoctrinated into the minds of black boys from an early age, there are many long lasting effects of masculinity that are in turn reciprocated in the role of black fathers, husbands, brothers and friends. Black masculinity is the self-deteriorating idealisms that attack the identity and social positions black men ascribe to.

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

Across the nation, millions of Americans of all races turn on the television or open a newspaper and are bombarded with images of well dressed, articulate, attractive black people advertising different products and representing respected companies. The population of black professionals in all arenas of work has risen to the point where seeing a black physician, attorney, or a college professor are becoming more a common sight. More and more black people are holding positions of respect and authority throughout America today, such as Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Condelezza Rice and many other prominent black executives. As a result of their apparent success, these black people are seen as role models for many Americans, despite their race.

Growing up Du Bois often played with the white kids in school, and he strived to be recognized for being more knowledgeable in all aspects than they were, however, he came to realize that it would never be possible. Through interactions with other black boys Du Bois was made aware of his limitations, nevertheless, he, like many black people fought to be optimistic in finding ways to take these opportunities that were so rightfully theirs. However, the question emerged of how could a person strive to be prosperous and have everything that the race he so greatly detest has, without being considered dishonorable by his own people? Many African Americans are brainwashed and fall under the misconception that having an education, a career, or even speaking proper, falls into the category of acting white. This ideology places a lot of stress on many successful black people, who growing up faced bullying and were described as a disgrace to their own race.

The first main point the authors’ introduce is to recognize black males’ lived experiences. Black males have an experience unique to just them. Black men’s experiences of racism impact their education. They even face consequences for pursuing education. Those consequences could be social, educational, and economic. To understand these key issues, you must first look at the past. Black men have always had to overcome great obstacles. Low literacy, limited employment, high incarceration rates, have predisposed many black men to never being able to escape poverty. Further, being impoverished means a less chance that these men will go into higher education. Higher education is so expensive these days, and the underfunding of financial aid and other

There is no single overriding factor to explain this lack of success, but most scholars and researchers point out that beginning in the colonial era and continuing through most of our nation's history, the experiences of Black males in White society have been so negative and psychologically damaging (Pinkney, 2000; Staples, 1982) that they have given birth to and nurtured a deep-seated and tenacious belief in their own, and the entire Black community's, inferiority. At the beginning of this history, Black male slaves were looked upon by White society as the most undesirable and least trust worthy of people, and they were treated accordingly. Black male slaves were closely associated with and compared to animals, and were said to have a deceptive and violent nature and to be uncontrollable and in need of the whip (Kunjufu, 1986). Given this formative experience in slavery, the fact that Black males have continued to be disadvantaged from birth to death throughout our nation's short history hardly seems to need explanation.

Another point I wanted to address is that young black men aren 't the ones to be stereotyped in society. Thought the years young black women have been made out to be ghetto and project staying women. Black Women have been pushed around for decades. There disrespected on a day-to-day basis. There often called out of their name and put down for how many kids they 've had out of wedlock. Of course there are some poor black women on the welfare system. But clearly most of them don 't want to be. The media on the other hand exploits black women to where they have to expose body parts while useless men watch and throw money. But what I can 't understand is why do we still find our selves listening to the exploitative music. We would go out and buy most of the CDs and play it in our cars and jam to it in the clubs. Are we telling the world that that 's who we are? These women listen to the music and purchase the CDs, but wouldn 't want to take a guy approaching them talking in such a manner.

In my experience, TV in general is doing a huge disservice to any hopes of future racial parity by its extremely unfair portrayal of the young African American male. These young men are literally only shown on TV as sports stars, in the very best cases, and unfortunately most commonly seen as jewel-adorned rappers, spewing obscenities, making offensive gestures at the camera, hustling around scantily-clad young women as if they are simply commodities, and rapping about having sex and smoking weed. Honestly, in the past few months I have yet to see a young African American male portrayed as thoughtful, analytical, poetic, artistic, or even, sadly enough, remotely intelligent or mature.

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.

Most people in the United States are aware of many stereotypes and images surrounding black men. These negative portrayals of black male are noticeable and expressed in the public through the news, film, and other forms of media. With the media access into people's' home helps to spread these

“The sensitivity around stereotypes and distortions largely arises, then, form the powerlessness of historically marginalized groups to control their own representation.” Since Black people are the minority, they have no control over how they are represented in the media. As Shothat had mentioned in his article, “In the media there is a tendency to represent Black males as potential delinquents.” The misrepresentation of most Black males, affects them significantly; therefore, since they

After many years of racism and segregation, it is time for a change in the African American community. Changing the perception others have on the black community is difficult. The problem needs to be fixed within the community, with how they view themselves. African Americans are accepting the prejudice against them and are not taking the time to change the standards. Changing the way they think about themselves will form stronger relationships at home, in the media, and in society.

In spite of this being a male dominating society, I fear for the African American men, there’s a quote from a movie called, Menace II Society, that I feel summarizes what is happening with the African American men today. Mr. Butler a character in the movie stated,” Being a

If you are a student, you know that no matter what, after taking a class, failed or succeeded, you will learn something new. But what can I learn in a “Black Man in Contemporary Society” class that I don’t already know? Can it change my opinion of the black man? Coming from a majority black country, being in the USA has already challenged and confused my person. I was not ready to affront a world where people judge me by my skin color. By the time I got into this class, reality already burst my bubble, and I had already forged in my mind, ideas about black men. So, from this class, I was not expecting a miracle but was still hoping to find answer. During the semester, we read many books, articles and watched many movies about black men,

The first time I questioned my own masculinity I was young and naïve; I was not only physically young, but my attitude and thoughts were unpolished as well. Up until this time in my life, I possessed a lot of anger and disdain for many African-American men. At the time I viewed a large portion of African-American men in low regards; I felt as though many of the African-American men I came across were lazy, unaccomplished, selfish, and shameful. I idolized African-American male athletes, music artists, and celebrities, but when it came to the African-American men at my church, the ones who taught in my schools, or even the men in the local police force, I held almost no respect for them. All those years ago, I possessed those sentiments towards