Stereotypes In The African-American Society

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.

Over the past decade disciplinary issues in the schools have increased. Children are no longer showing respect to those in authority. This problem has caused students to not only decrease in their academic achievement but also decrease in their real world social development. African Americans are amongst one ethnicity group to experience bias. In the context of school discipline, race and gender stereotypes particularly function to criminalize African American youth and to reinforce cultural beliefs about perceived inherent behavioral deficiencies and African American cultural norms in need of “social correction” (George, 2014). African Americans are placed in the stereotypical norm of having discipline problems in the schools. Especially African American girls. In a 2014 national data report, African American girls accounted for 12% of all suspensions (George, 2014). With that being said, African American girls are suspended at least “six times the rate of white girls and more than any other group of girls and several groups of boys.” (George, 2014) This is a huge problem in our schools that needs to be addressed.

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.

Racism and stereotypes occur greatly throughout the life of Jesmyn ward. The Men We Reaped would talk about how African American males would not leave their town because all of the influences that are around their life. So the research articles in sociology and psychology talk a lot about the stereotypes of African American males and women are more prone to stay in their home town and not do much with their life. So these articles hopefully will give insight to anybody that reads these articles and realize how people actually stereotypes African Americans. The way Men We Reaped relates to the topic that I chose and the book has material that talks a lot about racism and stereotyping.

A stereotype is a popular belief about specific types of individuals. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. African Americans have been perceived to be someone they are not in the media, history, and in everyday life. Although some stereotypes are true, many are harmful and inaccurate.

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.”

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.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2015, African-Americans have been in the U.S. for many generations; they were forced as slaves to come to American by the Europeans; their ethnic background consists of Africa, Caribbean, and the West Indies Culture. African-Americans were known in the past years as Negros or Colored. According to CDC 2015, during the year of 1997, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), identifies people of color as Black or African-American. The population of African-American in the year of 2013was estimated around 41.7 million, which made up of 13.2% of the population in the United States. In 2013, 38.1% of the total population in Mississippi was African-Americans (CDC, 2015). According to

Many have criticized Disney for their lack of minority representation in their line of Disney princesses. Disney’s debut of their twelfth princess, Anna of Arendelle from their recent film Frozen, marks their eighth “white” princess, leaving only four as “people of color.” Although she was not the first minority princess Disney debuted, Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog was the most anticipated out of the four. African-American moms and children had looked forward to the representation of African-Americans in Disney films for years. Princess Tiana made her debut as the first black princess over 70 years after Disney’s first- Snow White (Cheu). However,

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.

I first learned about the world from my parents. Their viewpoints on people and their opinions about issues shaped my perceptions growing up. After interacting with people outside of my house, however, I began to doubt the explanations that my parents offered about issues like race and religion. For example, I distinctly remember my dad telling me to avoid befriending black people due to their “inherent aggressive behavior.” Then, I moved schools in third grade and started interacting with African American kids my age while also learning about the civil rights movement and segregation. With these new experiences and education, I realized that what my parents said to me was wrong and how our negative stereotypes of African Americans are harmful. I shared my findings with them, but they simply shrugged my comments off and kept their bigoted opinions firm despite everything I said. I think it was at that moment I realized

Societal values are cultural standards that indicate the general good deemed desirable for social life and these standards determine what is right, important, and ideal for society. Pop-culture creates and upholds these societal values, such as stereotypes that apply to different groups of people. The general public looks at news, celebrities, movies, and high influential people as a way to shape their thoughts on a race/ethnicity, gender, age, income/status, weight, or sexuality.

I absolutely agree with you LaQueisha! Especially, at my work I see this happening all to often from your examples. Constantly, I see a higher expectation for Asian Americans rather than African Americans when doing their job. From what you said in your post and what I mentioned, could it be the results of negative self-image inflicting this negative stereotype being placed on these two groups? This kind of stereotyping based on the assumption that Asian Americans have more education than African Americans is inappropriate. With that said, I know a few African American co-workers who I work, with that went to college and got their masters. I sometimes think that cumulative causation may have something to do with or has

As an African American we have so many stereotypes of how an African American community should be. We strive for solidarity on so many topics like family, church, politics, and culture. When we do not act the same we get shamed in our own community for not acting black enough. These stereotypes are too limiting, because not everyone is the same. We should not be categorized by our community or what anybody else think is right. Traditionally and stereotypically, in the African-American community we ascribe to a certain definition of "blackness." These traditions and stereotypes surface in phrases like "acting black," "talking black," etc. What does your not acting black even mean, some people pass it around like it is supposed to a trait or characteristic.