“Our modern society is engaged in polishing and decorating the cage in which man is kept imprisoned.” - Swami Nirmalananda “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” - Author Unknown These two quotes, using common sense a person would identify that both of them concern and are projecting to modern society and the unfortunate stigma it has come face. As a country, we’ve faced and encountered many, as a world, a universal organization, we’ve endured much, much more. Modern society is diverse, much more complex and varied than it was before, obviously, but you would think, as Earth is growing, we would accompany her on her journey of development, but no, instead we’re letting our greed take hold of us. Our modern society (referring …show more content…
I notice how everyone feels as if they deserve some type of apology for how their people are or were being treated. As I am writing this, the first thing that emanates is slavery, in school I tend to sigh or groan when “black history month” rolls around because the whole time I’m thinking, “so, what, because black people were slaves they deserve a month dedicated to them?” or “what about the Native Americans whose lands were stolen from them, whose people were killed and discriminated against? did they not suffer enough to deserve a month as well?” One would think this is just a form of gratitude to pay respect to certain African- Americans, but speaking for myself, I find it so unnecessary and vacuous. Slavery happened and is still happening! Big whoop, it’s not like this holiday is going to bring anyone back from the dead. And taking 28-29 days out of the student curriculum to watch silly videos about how blacks were treated is a waste of time to me. Racism is becoming a social stigma, from little kids I hear “that’s racist”, it’s disappointing to see our future generation confuse acknowledgement of someone’s race/ethnicity/nationality with discrimination. Surely this will continue because we’re so caught up in teaching kids to be respectful of one another and to keep hands and feet to themselves that we’re continuously walking in a circle in search for an object that’s
As African Americans we have such a rich diverse culture filled with different cuisines, languages and traditions. We definitely should be proud of the many accomplishments that we have made as a people. But in terms of black history it dates back to some of the most inhumane and repulsive actions that African Americans were subjected to. Aside from the racism and segregation that occurred to black people we were also seen as a joke in TV/movie culture back in the day that perpetuated many stereotypes. In the article “Black Stereotypes as Reflected in popular culture” by J. Stanley Lemons he talks about these clichés that were portrayed but most importantly the action of blackface. For me blackface was the most detrimental and had the most
Just because I am a son of a Muslim Man doesn’t mean I bombed the Twin Towers
Asians always have perfect scores on the test and aspire to be doctors. African Americans have serious attitudes, are thugs and live in poverty. While all Hispanics are illegal immigrants, who can not speak English and commit vicious crimes. If you watch much television, all of these previous statements may seem true. Television is a powerful source of knowledge that in some ways help us understand others in humanity and ourselves.
Have you ever told one of your friends something, and you just felt the need to throw in
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.
Growing up black history month seemed to be something that was rehearsed, I remember in 4th grade my fellow classmates would choose someone they wanted to be, learn a short dialogue about that person’s life and that was it. Then it got creative, pieces of papers handed out to everyone in the class to color Martian Luther King and Rosa Parks when in all actuality there was more to our history. Over the course of time the perception of African Americans has continued to be the same and even with a legacy of people who have paved the way for us many people don’t seem to appreciate it. Black history month has lost its value over time especially in my generation.
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.”
Racial stereotypes more or less affect our perceptions toward race, and judge people in a certain frame unconsciously, as Omi set forth in In Living Color: Race and American Culture. It greatly impact the images of minorities on the visual media, which the most direct medium to reflect the popular beliefs. Even though the “racist beliefs” have “just recently being reversed”, the portrayal of minorities on visual media is still not exemplary (Horton, et al “PORTRAYAL OF MINORITIES IN THE FILM, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES”).
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.
As in the Spanish Colonial period, the Spanish classified the mestizos, Spanish mixed with indigenous, as different. Since the start of the new era, humans classified whiter skin to a high social status and darker skin as slaves or lower social status. While moving at the age of nine to the United States I was profiled based on my appearance, race, the difference in culture, language and social differences. While growing up, I had to learn that not everyone was willing to accept foreigners and respect people who are different. Because of the stereotypes that people believed in Mexicans: as being illegal immigrants, unable to speak the English language, or being a gang member. Currently, I have experienced many of
Florida’s rich history often spotlights two distinctive groups; the plentiful Hispanic population, or the conventional Caucasian syndicate. What most people tend to overlook are the copious amounts of esteem found in Black History; a chronicle furnished on centuries of symbiotic suffering and triumph. Thousands of individuals have contributed to this amorphous embodiment, but there is one woman in particular that has succeeded in evolving our world’s views on art at
I will start off with the stereotypes of Hispanic/Latinos. They include being a gardener, probable gang member, hard workers that work all the time, great soccer and baseball players, maids, and nannies. Though some of these things may be true, not all of us are like this. Then there are the African Americans, they are all assumed to very athletic and good at basketball. Other stereotypes are ghetto, uneducated, do not know their biological father and so on. Asians are stereotyped to be super smart, to own a liquor store, they are all bad drivers, and have a lot of money because they are cheap and money hungry. White Americans have the higher up successful business man stereotype and also the hillbilly southern redneck stereotype. Another stereotype is that white people cannot dance.
Afros were first worn by Circassian beauties also known as "Moss-haired girls", a group of women in sideshow attractions in the United States by P. T. Barnum. These women were claimed to be from the Circassian people in the Northern Caucasus region, and were marketed to White audiences by the "exotic East" as pure examples of the Caucasian race . Afros became popular in the 1960s in the african-american community when the Black panthers brought it out .The reason I choose the art “estefania afro” is because I have a strong relationship with big and poofy hair. I love big hair just because of the way it looks and feels and wearing things that are different is apart of who I am.I don't think “big hair” is appreciated like it
One of the more prominent issues that African American comedians discuss and represent is racism in American society. Through the usage of humor these comedians represent the different issues that racism has in American society. Chris Rock is one of these comedians that addresses this issue through his comedic work. Although initially born in Andrews, South Carolina, Rock moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was young. Here he was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, where he attended an almost all white public school. Because of his skin color, Rock was subjected to all forms of racism when he was growing up. As a result from this difficult childhood, Chris Rock was able to incorporate racism into his work later on in his life. Rock,
These two quotes can be seen as having similar common dominators. They both appear, in my opinion to acknowledge their existence of their extensions without actually paying any attention or acknowledgement of what they consist of, and also that they are influenced by the choices that they make unconsciously without knowing. It is also apparent that in both of the quotes they are lacking in the understanding of themselves as cultural beings that are shaped by the world they grew up in, adding another dimension to their self-understanding.