Essay On 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.

Stereotypes can be defined as schemas applied to a group of people sharing common physical, biological or racial characteristics. Focusing on education, African American students had consistently been negatively stereotyped about their intellectual abilities. Research indicates that racial stereotypes negatively affect African American students’ academic performance. This correlation, though, is clearest among salient African American students, implying that psychological factors may result from these discriminations.

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.”

In the start of the 1960s basketball had entered the world of professionalism since there was a decrease in amateurism in sports. More teams have come to a conclusion and have become a part of a professional league called the NBA (National Basketball Association). In regards to a book American Decades 1960s “In the 1960-1961 season of the NBA there were eight teams in the league, which included the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia Warriors, Syracuse Nationals, New York Knicks, St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and the Cincinnati Royals”. All these teams had at least two or more African American athletes. As African American athletes become more famous, players such as Bill Russel from the Boston Celtics or Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors have people who will become jealous and try to make them look bad. “Unfortunately more and more African Americans have become extremely valuable in professional sports leading to people/ fans to get used to different skin colors. Thus leading to less racism in sports” (Encyclopedia of Race and Racism). Racism was a huge benefactor during that time and became less public due to the fact that there will be African American players in professional sports no matter what.

Media allows young African American boys to believe they need sports as an outlet and a way out of trouble. Although, this is true this is not the only promising career path. Overemphasizing a sports filled career deteriorates the drive of African American men, causing them to suffer academically. Krystal's position is supported by clear evidence, when African American men are told they wont amount to anything, that image of failure embeds in their conscious causing them to be less successful and driven. African American men should be taught that they are more important than a sports player. They should be told that there is more to life than being an athlete. There are other careers to pursue and thing to

George focuses on implicit bias largely in the educational sector and how that effects African Americans with the emphasis on specifically the black female. Educationally facilities tend to apply restrictions regarding disciplines on a sort of equality across the board basis; however, the failure of recognition is that this method is not effective and results in long term psychological disparities that will prove to affect an individual’s well-being well beyond their school years. Racism is certainly still prevalent in society and perhaps even unintentionally woven into the very fabric that has a huge impact on our

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.

During this time more than ever, African Americans are able to speak on subjects that can affect us in the future. Growing up, racial profiling was never a big deal to me or my family. I was taught to never judge someone by how they look but upon their actions. Ironic to think that is how one is taught to act but stereotypes are now bigger than ever right? Being a high school student I never payed much attention to anything outside of sports, academics and what crazy adventure me and my friends would be sucked into the upcoming weekend. I didn’t have an opinion when surveys asked if I felt that I wasn't being treated equally to my fellow American classmate with all the same qualities I held. Race itself was never something I viewed another

For many years there has been a lot of talk about what Africans think of African Americans and sometimes most of it isn't in the most positive light, and vice versa. As a Black American myself I want to delve deep into this argument that has been going back and forth for years. I feel that it is important for Africans and African Americans to understand each other, learn from each other because there are only certain things that are mainly different about each group but at the end of the day we are the same.

In my graduating class, there were seven girls: four Arabs, one Somali, one Bengali, and myself, an African American who also has Ethiopian heritage. While in high school, I continuously dealt with a majority of my classmates, as well as some teachers, making remarks that I considered to be racially offensive and made me quite uncomfortable.

The media today has been developing ways for the African-American culture about how they are supposed to be portrayed when they are on television. Mainly the media want to focus on material and other aspects that contribute to alienation, such as, drugs, violence, crime, and antisocial behavior. What is the cause for all this? The cause for this is that the media is bringing in reality television to portray African-Americans as offensive and prejudiced.

To begin with, African Americans have undergone decades of discrimination and racism, and despite the numerous powerful changes, which have progressively worked to propel equality for African-Americans; the residue from their discrimination still exists in the crevices of our society today. In most cases, media is one of the main sources people become aware of what is going on in the world. That is how we become informed about African American athletes in general. It

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.

Our young black males gaze at their televisions with eye’s widened full of admiration and awe at the images of professional black athletes living the dream of prosperity and idolism. In surfing the web, pictures, along with interviews and commentaries can be seen and read by the most impressionable minds. With research, I intend to sift through various resources to uncover the effects of the Medias’ portrayal of professional black athletes on the minds of young black athletes. I intend to sift through information to find out if the marketing approach used by the media and sports to portray the success of black athletes hindered young black males from pursuing other facts of economic success.