The Issues Of The African Americans

In the film, Africans in America: “The Terrible Transformation”, the narrator discussed the influence of certain criteria in which slaves had to meet in order to work for land owners in America. These criteria included: being African American, non- European, and non- Christian. The government created this criteria system to build a barrier between the land owners and the slaves. The individuals that owned property treated their slaves as if they were foreign/strange. The white Americans did not want African American people to have the same equality as they did; Therefore, America was ruled by the whites while the blacks were merely just servants to them.

Almost universally, individuals embark on their life journeys with dreams and aspirations woven into their everyday lives, and for the majority, nothing stops them from achieving what they want to achieve. However, this is not the case for everyone. Imagine having your own dreams, wants, and aspirations, but the color of your skin doesn’t allow you to have the same experience and feeling of achievement as others. Unfortunately, this is the story that plays out for many African Americans. An overwhelming amount of African Americans experience some sort of discrimination through racial profiling and/or stereotyping at some point in their lives, which leaves many of them confined to their own area, separated from the rest of the world.

In America, people used to deal with racism daily in The Jim Crow South, the era of ‘Separate but equal.’ In the South, many people of African-American descent experienced racism seen never before. Since the 1960’s, Americans have tried, and tried again to fight for the rights of people, but it never seems like enough. People have long debated, and are still debating, about the issue of Jim Crow, and whether it still lives on today. The effects of The Jim Crow South today still negatively affecting African-Americans today in the south.

African American Studies is a very complex subject. To confuse African American studies with black history is a common occurrence. African American studies is much deeper and more profound than just Black history alone. There are many unanswered and unasked questions among the Black American culture which causes confusion and misunderstanding in modern day society. In unit one there were many themes, concepts, and significant issues in the discipline of Africana studies. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Vivian V. Gordan touched on many concerns.

There is no doubt that the United States has gone through serious transformation in as far as racial relations is concerned. So far, the country has seen a reduction in racial prejudices and discrimination , yet such changes have never be a one-off event, rather, it has been a process that has seen so many fighting so hard for this course. Talking of racism and racial discrimination, African-Americans would always be taken as the greatest victims to such discrimination. Whereas African-Americans have played victim to racial discrimination over the years, there has been a great level of transformation within the American society over the years to see to it that institutionalized racial discrimination amongst blacks is kept at the bare minimal

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” Barack Obama. The question is always asked does the media reflect the reality of society, or does society try and imitate the reality shown by the media? There are a number of stereotypes associated with African Americans in our society such as African American men are athletes, rappers, criminals, deviant, streetwise, uneducated, and unemployed just to name a few. African Americans in the media have changed through the years. The history of African Americans on TV or minorities in general is hampered by the racial conflicts and segregation that are embedded in American society. Historically, black actors have been grouped stereotypically and assigned to comedy. This has often been traced to the genre of black minstrelsy that was popular in the early 20th century.

Introduction There are many individuals who claim that an outcome always depends on the individual, and that if they try hard enough they will succeed. It is these statements that can undermine many of the underlying issues that many individual face every day. The African American community is one group that have faced multiple obstacles for centuries. Even though we have come a long way, it seems to not be enough.

African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated; that is 60% of 30% of the African American population. African Americas are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. “Between 6.6% and 7.5% of all black males ages 25 to 39 were imprisoned in 2011, which were the highest imprisonment rates among the measured sex, race, Hispanic origin, and age groups." (Carson, E. Ann, and Sabol, William J. 2011.) Stated on Americanprogram.org “ The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison.” Hispanics and African Americans make up 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. (Henderson 2000). Slightly 15% of the inmate population is made up of 283,000 Hispanic prisoners.

Although, African American’s and Mexican Americans adverted more struggles in America than any other race, regarding harm or injury brought on by actions or judgement by others; one thing is certain they’ve managed to overcome some of these differences amongst some of these ethnic groups while benefitting themselves in overcoming those struggles and meeting their accomplishments. One way was they have managed to come together to fight for their civil rights during that of the Civil Rights Movement; as well as fighting for their civil rights during the Civil Right Act, American Anti-Slavery Society; and the President Obama DACA Policy. Thus, giving them the right to freedom, job security, health benefits, housing, equal opportunity, and immigration

Though social problems affect a wide variety of people from all races, classes, and cultures; minorities, specifically African Americans, encounter social problems on a multi-dimensional basis. Poverty, employment rates, discrimination, and other social problems strike African Americans in such a way that it is nearly impossible to separate them; each individual has different background, socially and physically, that would determine in which order his or her social problems need to be solved. Impoverished blacks in the inner city may have difficulty finding or keeping jobs, while others may have jobs, but face troubles with work discrimination that prevent them from moving upward .Underemployment, workplace inequalities, and unbalanced

Over the last one hundred and thirty years African Americans have little by little-gained freedom for themselves as slaves and domestic servants. Now as a culture they are legally capable of obtaining jobs and positions in all areas of private and public organizations, (Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J., 2010). This particular ethnic group are known to be instrumental in holding their cultures together through times of constant struggle. They have used rallies, protests, silent marches and received help from volunteer organizations to fight for rights as well as obtain justice in a racist and sexist society. This work explores the troubles African Americans face in Americas society today, through stereotypes and how gender roles as African Americans differ from each other as well as the American population.

Burghardt, Du Bois William Edward, et al. The Souls of Black Folk. Bedford Books, 1997.

I often asked myself why it's so easy for me to talk about a large number of social issues with my close friends and family, yet when it comes to voicing my opinions to others, I am wary. It seems as though I'm only comfortable with voicing my opinions about controversial social issues to those who also share the same views as I do. Rather than stepping out of my comfort zone to talk about these issues directly to those who oppose my opinions, I retreat to instead reading about the opposing sides. In retrospect, I've noticed that discussing issues with those who agree with you is like “preaching to the choir.” I believe that being involved in an open dialogue with those who have different opinions from my own is a much more effective way to induce progressive thought. In attempting to discover a reason for why this may be the case, I cannot help but think that it is in part due to my upbringing. My mother has always been very reserved when it comes to discussing controversial issues with others. In addition, she would

After getting the public support for his campaign, America saw an unprecedented rise in its incarceration rate, particularly among African Americans. The “ War on Drugs ” has had a disparate impact on the black community even though blacks and whites use drugs at approximately the same levels. This is achieved through a myriad of formal and informal practices. African-Americans are targeted and prosecuted at a much higher rate even though they are not statistically any likelier to abuse or sell drugs than the white population.

I do believe that any obstacle or disadvantage can turn into something good. I know this because people learn from their mistakes. Some people give up or lose hope when they are encountering an obstacle. Anything can be make up by thinking or a wise decision.