The Theory Of The Victim Mentality Essay

In the late 19th and 20th century, African Americans were going through hardships. At this period of time, they wanted improvement and wanted to be treated equality but no one had the political background to fight with the Whites. However, two great leaders named Booker Washington and W.E.B Du Bois took the stance and fought for improvement. But, even though they had the goals, they had different strategies for the community.

How many different types of mindsets are there? According to Dr. Skip Downing there are at least two major mindsets. He refers to them as Victims and Creators. What are the definitions of these types of mindsets? A Victim is someone who feels that they cannot influence their own outcomes in life and let things happen without trying to shape the result. A Creator is someone who consistently make choices that result in the outcome that they want. David Mirman has written an article that provides this clear example of Victim and Creator mindsets using the example of two college students searching for a textbook “The instructor asked them if they had the text. The first said “No, I do not have the textbook. I was not able to get it because the

According to history.com staff, 2010; “The rise of African American leaders during the Reconstruction in political life was a quest for autonomy and equal rights under the law, not only as individuals, but also as black community as a whole.”

There is no shortage of layman debates and emotional activity; however, there is very little in the way of strategic engagement of the enigmatic issues that are incessantly pressing against the peace and livelihood of blacks across this country. On a national level, in 2014, the nation experienced significant struggles in the area of education, income, employment and socioeconomic advancement, and the

There have been many indications that lead to conclude that African Americans vote differently than those of the Caucasian race. From past knowledge and own understanding, many black citizens have a tendency to vote democratic, especially in the recent presidential elections. On page three of a ProQuest Dissertation done by Leonard David Thomas, he states, “… that for blacks there has been a long term and consistent struggle (i.e. social movements)” (Thomas 2010). Based on self interpretation, these struggles may have a reason on the way they vote and identify as a race. In America, there have been many issues with slavery and racism, creating a “race-based” ideology platform with more democratic views, wanting the government to have less social order on their lives. Leonard David Thomas also explained, “Racial domination means that based on race, individual and group movement are controlled. For the controlled, full participation in society is restricted. Roles and activities are determined by stereotypes and norms that sort people of color into less powerful positions. In addition, dominated groups organize to oppose their domination. By interpreting the social system as radicalized, the focus must be on the social structure” (Thomas 2010). This statement explains that, since the African American race has been oppressed and made feel lesser in politics, usually creating them to be Democratic and more liberal, or even making them less likely to vote in elections

This article is entitled, “The Problem Behind the Problem: Creating Economic Well Being for Young Men of Color,” and was published in the International Journal of Business and Public Administration. It argues that there is a need for groundwork to be established to create and maintain future economic well being for African American men. In creating this groundwork, the author, Dr. Melvinia Turner-King, believes that this foundation starts with the social responsibility of scholars, political leaders and administrators, and so on. King puts her passion for her position in this matter into play with a pilot leadership program she proposed for African American male college students, which asserts ethically and socially responsible solutions designed to fit the current cultural and economic realities of our global environment. The results also reveal the importance of public administrators and educational institutions serving in collaborative leadership enterprises. Essentially, King argues that the results from her study illustrate that the “problem behind the problem” is that successful predecessors are not reaching back and helping undereducated black males to ensure future economic stability.

effort to support and build the African Americans progress in politics, law and strong business

For the purpose of this essay I will be considering Nils Christie’s (1986) concept of the ‘ideal victim’. In considering this concept, I will discuss what is meant by an ‘ideal victim’ and will also be focusing on the high profile Australian criminal case of Anita Cobby in Blacktown on 2nd of February 1986. Anita Cobby was only 26 years old when she was abducted, brutally raped and murdered by four ‘ideal offenders’. This essay will also consider, the ways in which the media and criminal justice system have constructed Anita Cobby as an ‘ideal victim’.

Reconstruction failed for African Americans. By the 1890’s all optimism that came as a result of the Constitutional rights guaranteed to them by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments was gone. Their reality, particularly for those in the South, was one of lynchings, Jim Crowe laws, and voting restrictions. They faced discrimination, segregation, limited educational opportunities, and a tenant farming system that only slightly differed from slavery. In the early twentieth century, visionaries such as Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey recognized the urgent need for change. These great leaders were in agreement that action was required to uplift the African American race. However, their philosophies on how to approach it were vastly different.

Two great leaders of the black community in the late 19th and 20th century were W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. However, they sharply disagreed on strategies for black social and economic progress. Their opposing philosophies can be found in much of today's discussions over how to end class and racial injustice, what is the role of black leadership, and what do the 'haves' owe the 'have-nots' in the black community.

Following the Civil War in the 1860s, African Americans were freed and given suffrage. However, following events such as Plessy v. Ferguson and the end of Reconstruction, much of what they gained was taken from them. African American leaders tried to earn them back in a number of different ways, but with similar goals in mind. Although African American leaders from the 1890s to the 1920s and from the 1950s to the 1960s had different strategies such as the Talented Tenth compared the March on Washington, both time period’s leader sought the same goals, namely suffrage and the end of segregation therefore, they are significantly different in strategy and majorly similar in goals.

The African Americans will have to show that they are useful beings that can both excel and perform at challenging jobs. In essence, Washington’s plan was for African Americans to prove themselves to the dominant white race by acquiring high economic status. (Gibson, "78.02.02: Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois: The Problem of Negro Leadership.”) However, Booker T. Washington’s job of accepting white supremacy place African Americans in an inferior position. Civil rights leaders should be working for equality. By mainly going after jobs, African Americans will gain economic status but they will forever be considered inferior because of their skin color. Civil rights will not come along because of economic status.

The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s

The article titled, Black Women Thought; Matrix of Domination, by Patricia Hill Collins explores the oppression of African-American women. While there is also a theme of individual empowerment, Collins’ ends the article by stating, “only collective action can effectively generate lasting social transformation of political and economic institutions” (cite). I believe Collins’ motivation for this article was to bring awareness and to inspire change.

The history of the struggle for the advancement and progression of African Americans is a larger-than-life story. It reveals their endeavors for the initiation of change in political, financial, educational, and societal conditions. They did everything to shape their future and that of their country i.e. the United States of America. This struggle for the attainment of equal rights has helped them to determine the path and the pace of their improvement and development (Taylor & Mungazi, 2001, p. 1).