My Stereotypical African American Culture

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.

As an African-American, I've seen the world through a different lens than most of my contemporaries. Different attitudes and different perceptions have created this continual Gap and where my people and others stand in our country. Since the late 1800s after President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, African Americans have been fighting for basic rights that were promised to everybody else in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. As we remember the Reverend dr. King On this day in January, we remember the values he fought for and what it means to have can Americans across the country in this present age. What this man, Louis Stokes of the Congressional Black Caucus understood was that if we hold together we will overcome. Heard

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.”

As we all know, African Americans did not originate from the United States. We were abducted from our homeland and brought here on slave ships by the hundreds. Before we were taken we were living a sustainable lifestyle that fit our basic needs. We ate fruits, vegetables, and meat from game that we hunted and gathered from the land. We also used herbs and natural remedies to cure us of our ailments instead of prescribed medication and radiation treatments. Today, many African Americans face countless health issues such as diabetes, asthma, HIV/aids, high blood pressure, obesity, and the list goes on. Many of these health issues come from the lack of education of our past, where we reside, and many stereotypes that are embedded in us in society.

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

In this world there are ideas that separate people by race, and these are the stereotypes or labels. Stereotypes are put on African Americans, Asian, and even white people, or they could get more specific and go into a certain type of person like their actions or their personality; however labels could also be on different levels such as positive,neutral, and negative.

In today’s society it has become a norm to make assumptions of an individual and categorize them into groups that fit them. This would be known as stereotyping, and it occurs everyday and almost everywhere. It can affect someone’s everyday life along with their emotions. A stereotype is a widely held idea or image of a a group of people and is based off of some truth, while misconceptions are based off no evidence at all. Stereotypes can either be positive or negative. Stereotypes exist because that’s how the human brain functions, they see something that repeats within a group of people and that’s how stereotyping begins. An example of a positive stereotype would be that African-Americans are very athletic. However, there can be some negative

Throughout the history of motion pictures, prejudice directors have used film to control how the general public views certain demographics of people. In particular, the black community has historically been viewed in a negative light. Stereotypes were created through literature and film that still affect African Americans. Directors and writers would create relatable stories and attach demeaning traits to black people that have qualities in common with Black Americans. This would force readers and viewers to subconsciously attach these stereotypes black people. Examples of these stereotypes can be found in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Birth of a Nation. Derogatory terms such as “Bucks,” “Toms,” “Coons,” and “Mulattos”, have put African

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.

African Americans are underrepresented in various aspects of American society. On television I am bombarded with commercials, cartoons and other genres of visual entertainment and one fact is prominent, there are few African Americans seen on television. When Blacks are on television it is a criminal on the news or single Black person to meet the diversity quota of the network or not at all. Though some will argue that cartoons should not be in this category for the simple fact that they are understood to not have a race I disagree. When there is a fairy with light pink skin and Caucasian features that represents a Caucasian individual. Many times there are no cartoon with brown skinned characters which, in my opinion is a tragedy. Children

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.

In the works Let the Great World Spin, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jazz, and The Help, the portrayals of African-Americans reinforce established racial stereotypes. Dorcas and the prostitutes represent the jezebel; the absent male is viewed and reinforced through the perspectives of Violet, Golden Gray, and even Minny; Aibileen and Minny represent the mammies, and in a way, Jim is Huck’s mammy too. While there are instances in all four novels of characters challenging stereotypes, these characters primarily reinforce racial stereotypes.

That’s because you are not an ordinary person you’re an extraordinary person. I thank you being an African American woman I had defense my African American culture. Here’s one example I was in a 4.5 star restaurant, I walked away with a group of lady going into the same direction. A white lady turned around a single me out of the group asking if I can get her a glass of water. I pulsed and carefully collected my thoughts and said in these time I’ve could have ask you the same question it appear your intelligent enough to distinguish a waitress from a customer and those days are over and by the way the meal was amazing. For a minute she looked taken back until she thought about what I said and then she apologized. As I smiled because it could

African Americans have endured many years of mistreatment and oppression. Even though slavery and segregation ended hundreds of years ago the mockery of African Americans continued. Media portrayal of African Americans includes many negative stereotypes such as: all blacks are lazy, uneducated, oversexed, rebellious, untidy, and zany. Much of African American cinema displays brutal harshness such as repression, racism, and struggle. The only positive roles that African Americans were offered were roles that displayed oppression such as loyal servants, mammies, and butlers which just reinforced that the proper role of blacks were to serve whites.

Many things that can define culture and each one is holistically unique. The culture that defines and includes me is the African American community. My culture is defined by the history of my people. For you cannot know who you are or where you are going if don’t even know where and what you come from. Art plays a major role in African-American community as well. Since the beginning of our time, blacks have been craftsmen or born with an artistic ability. Lastly, the food. Food is a very important aspect of African-American culture. In fact, the preparation of food is important to the black community.