Speaking In Tongues, Ti Racial Stereotypes

As a child, I played with the quirky outcasts instead of the “normal” kids. My interest in anyone and anything remotely different became clear as my natural appreciation for diversity surfaced I am a minority by birth because of my Mexican heritage, but since I have always been surrounded by hispanic neighbors and peers, I have never felt it was a defining piece of my identity. Instead, I prefer to think my experiences make me who I am.

I was starting my first day at a new school. My palms were sweaty, my heart was thumping, and I had butterflies in my stomach. I took a deep breath and walked towards the grey doors. I thought about what the new school would be like; how the teachers were and how the students were. I missed my friends from my old school. I walked through those big grey doors to a whole new place.

When I saw my friends walking toward me, that’s when I finally stepped into the building. As I walked into the building, I was astonished by how enormous the school was compared to my middle school. Some teachers welcomed me to the new school, and asked me if I needed any help finding the classrooms, while the other teachers were too busy typing on their computers. The moment when I entered my homeroom, it surely was much bigger than the one at my old school, the room makes me feel more comfortable with the new environment because the teacher was very friendly and very professional because of well-prepared clothes, and the way she talked. I finally realized that I have entered the world of reality, such as passing all my classes and graduate high school, then off to

I perceived the worst of the school, I imagined it’ll damage my reputation. I’m coming from a private school to a public school for the first time in my life and I didn’t apprehend what to expect. I’d be driven to meet fresh faces, create newfangled memories and bonds, which I absolutely dreaded.

Although Racial Stereotype is something we experience daily, people should not be quick to judge or make conclusions based solely on skin color. Not every stereotype is true. Staples introduces himself by using the words “first Victim” by doing so he sets a picture in the mind of the reader that when he came up behind the lady on the street, something was going to do happen to her. He is faced with different stereotypes that he experiences daily from different races. Throughout the essay Staples makes the argument that racial stereotype is wrong .Staples explains his thesis through narratives of incidents in his life. He gives details of numerous accounts of people mistaking him for a thief or mugger.

During my fifth-grade year, my class had been the oldest class in the school, but when I got to junior high, we were the youngest. In my senior high\junior high school, the grades varied from sixth to twelfth grade; I was in the sixth grade. Walking down the hall ways desperately searching for the lunch room, I waded through the intimidating high school kids. It was such a big, frightening change in atmosphere. The fact that I did not know anyone but my fellow classmates made it even scarier. As time went on, I started to become accustomed to my “new school”, and all of the unfamiliar faces.

Throughout the years, racial stereotypes have played a major role in society. Even today, one combines racial stereotypes and prejudice thoughts before one even says a word to the person. Just seeing an African- American man while in a parking lot and pulling out ones phone, can be a simple example of modern-day racial stereotypes.

When people let those snap judgment stereotypes use them, they often discriminate. Such the car salesmen who gave the minority groups and women higher quotes then they would give to white males even if the minorities could easily afford the cars, the salesmen would not take these people seriously. That causes them to lose potential customers and it is all because of unconscious stereotypes. Other examples are when minorities and African Americans are more likely to be accused of a crime even if they didn’t do it just due to these stereotypes.

Change, for me has always been quite a scary and difficult concept. I want constants. I want to feel comfortable, and I am too stubborn to try new things. Though undesired, change is inevitable and I know life must move forward; so here I am, a shy, insecure, seventh grader moving forward onto my first day of junior high. I knew this was going to be terrifying simply by the size of the school; all four foot nine inches of me stood paralyzed at the main entrance of Poston Junior High. Not knowing who I would have in my classes or who I would sit with at lunch had to be the worst part. As I walked into my third hour, which was choir, I realized I knew nobody; sheer terror flushed over my face as I peered around looking for the friendliest face

People of different backgrounds and cultures meet each other every day. The stereotypes that we learn about then start to attend to how we treat those people. It doesn’t mean that they deserve it, but that is all that we know. The white women walking away in the street was unaware of the type of person the black man was. All she could go off of was what stereotypes had been spread around by

The type of prejudice that affects African Americans the most is based on racial grounds. Racial stereotypes are “constructed beliefs that all members of the same race share that are usually negative.” (Green). Harmful and often untrue stereotypes of African Americans mostly come from historical figures who aimed to group African Americans and justify moral wrongdoings of the past. These depictions shaped the way African Americans were, and still are, viewed by other races. Archetypes such as the Sambo, Jim Crow, Savage, Mammy, Aunt Jemimah, Sapphire, and the Jezebel, though not as powerful today, are often altered to be used to categorize the African American people of today 's society. Despite these racial stereotypes of the past being not as influential as they once were, they are still prevalent today by being adapted to fit in with the mainstream views of black people of today.

In American Tongues, the filmmakers traveled to various locales both urban and rural around the United States, and they asked locals to speak their dialect but also comment on the way they view other dialects and others view them. They also talked to academics about the history of linguistic prejudice. In particular, they discussed how the southern dialect of English is viewed as uneducated and racist. I believe this prejudice is still around today, for example, in politics I often find myself assuming the worst of politicians who talk with a southern drawl. The length of their words sounds stupid to me.

It was soon the end of August which meant school was right around the corner. I wasn’t too excited, but I was a little anxious to see what God had in store for me. We hopped in the car, and were on the way. I walked into my new school, Country Day, and acknowledged the wind carried the sound of the chitter-chatter of my fellow classmates, lockers slamming as hard as nails and the howling of the spider-monkey. The halls were outdoor and you could see the never ending mountains and feel the gentle breeze swaying back and forth. I enjoyed the first day and couldn’t wait to go back for more. Throughout the day, I met someone special, someone who would soon to be my best friend, partner in crime, my other half, Sibley. She helped me see the good in situations and inspired me to be outgoing and carefree. Our families became best friends and went on adventure after adventure together. The year

The bell rung and with my heart pounding out of my chest, I exhaled and sped to my first class. A million thoughts were running through my mind and I couldn’t have asked for more. A new school and a new start was bound to shake the nerves of my body and the air around me. My brain was spinning and my hands shook as I held onto the door that seemed to hide a different dimension. Oh wait, there was a line to get inside. As I fell in unison with my peers, I thought about this thrilling experience.

I remember walking through the heavy double doors; they felt like two hundred pound boulders in front of my wrists. I was entering a new territory, trying to figure out where I would fit in. It was something so commonplace but so foreign to me. The same school had been my home for a decade.