The Negative Stereotypes Of African Americans

For many years African Americans have been judged and stereotype based on their appearance. African American women have been stereotyped as women that are angry, loud, argumentative, entitled, and hypersexual. More simply, people tend to associate African American women with negative stereotypes. Although women experience stereotypes women that have lighter skin tend to have more privileges. Women with light skin tend to be more attractive, sophisticated, and successful.

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.

How are African American men portrayed? They have many stereotypes under their race and specifically the men of African Americans. There are numerous reasons why African Americans have dominant racial stereotypes. However, it does not make it right that African American men should be the scapegoat for every problem. Being a scapegoat is taking the sins of others. How can African Americans get equal rights and respect if all they get is racism, disrespect, and get blamed? They do not get equal rights in education, job force, etc. Some African Americans may be in a lower class than Caucasians but often time African Americans make it to the high-class hierarchy but they are still not appreciated or respected as much. This other stereotype that African American men may be boxed into is black masculinity. Conversely, if an African American man acts different from usual African Americans, their own people and Caucasians judge them for being different. African American men are getting blamed way too often for many things and even crimes they did not commit. The society needs to stop view African American men as the scapegoat because it is absolutely not fair to them. Even if those men are purely innocent, people think they are not masculine. African American men should not be blamed or deal with punishment that they did not commit.

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.

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,

As an African-American, being group into a category has always been a dilemma. Stereotyping the black community is something that United States society has grown accustom to without the perception of bias. For example, they are a variety of African that resides in the United States comparable African-Caribbean, and countless other ethnicity that are from the African descendant. Subsequently, furthermost of society is under the assumption that blacks are just what they are “Blacks”. Meanwhile, stereotyping been around for decades, therefore the perceptions of “blacks are the same” isn’t a new statement. Contrary, to the mere fact, this assumption is completely wrong. Meanwhile, the media will illustrate the African ethnicity/race all under the same parasol. Although, Africans may have things in common like phenotype features, our beliefs, values, fashion, religion, music, and food are completely opposite.

Furthermore, the men sing the Roustabout song with the lyrics, “We work all day, we work all night, we have no life to read or write, we’re happy. We don’t know when we get our pay, and we do we throw our money away (Towbin et al. 32).” Not only are the lyrics are false, but also references negative stereotypes about black people from the era. Moreover, Joffe states that this scene subtly replication slaves singing on the plantation back in the times of slavery.

Whether it manifests itself in microaggressive images a la the recent Dove and Pepsi commercials that caused a stir on social media causing the brands to apologize for their lack of sensitivity or in crude portrayals of marginalized groups seen in old Disney animations that elicit feelings ranging from shock and anger to nostalgia racism is undoubtedly visible in the media. Although media has seen drastic changes over the years as a result of changes in culture racist stereotypes are unfortunately still present. People of color in America have become all too familiar with negative imagery that only serves to put them in a subordinate and inferior role or in some cases leave them out completely. As of late both young people of color and white

Over the years, stereotyping has reached an all-time high especially in this contemporary society. Everyone is stereotyped in different ways whether it is their race, religion,  gender or culture  and unfortunately this only results in negative outcomes.For example African Americans are stereotyped as violent and wild individuals that are uneducated gang bangers, but the real question is how did this stereotype come about and why is it still relevant today? In the movie "Crash it gives great examples of stereotyping and prejudice behavior towards different racial groups. They had two different examples of  a group of people that are the same race living completely different lifestyles. What people fail to realize

Despite the emancipation of slavery at the end of the Civil War, white Americans still viewed and treated Africans as inhuman. This is best shown through African American caricatures, Minstrel shows, and the cultural phenomenon of Blackface. Mid nineteen hundreds cartoon images depicted Africans Americans much differently than they actually appeared in real life. Taken for granted these incorrect and misrepresentative images worked their way into the mainstream of American life. Of all ethnic caricatures in America, the ones showing African Americans have been the most enduring. These images helped shape the most gut level feeling about black members of society. Because these images were so prevalent in society, Africans began to live under

People naturally categorize themselves, this allows people to fit into social groups. Also people naturally categorize others, this is how social norms and stereotypes are made. Historically, African Americans have been stereotyped in a way to make them seem inferior to the white people around them. Using media as a main outlet for portraying black people, caricatures developed. The longest lasting and most easily recognizable today are Sambo, Mammy and Sapphire.