What It Means To Be Black In America

Talking Black In America addresses how advanced, unique, and culturally important African American English is (Hutcheson and Cullinan, 2017).

As I sit here and think about what it is to be Black in America. I realize how there are so many factors that affect African American people daily. One of the most damaging forces tearing at young black people in America today is the popular culture's image of what an "authentic" black person is supposed to look like and how that person is supposed to act. People assume all black males where raised in a single parent home. People assume that if you are a black male, that you sale drugs or you are really great in some type of sport. If you are a black female, they assume you will have kids by different men, referred to as “baby daddy” or they may not even know who the fathers of their children are. This same society expects African

Booker T. Washington was brought up with a different upbringing then most slaves during the 1800s; as he would describe as “up from slavery”. Even though he was born a slave, he had a better chance of “equal access” and equality in main stream America. He had a chance to gain an education part time during his younger years as well as working. Booker T, believed the best way to ensure progress and peace was,”for the whites to respect the blacks desire for improved economic opportunities and for blacks to respect the whites desire for social separation of the races.” I agree with this ideology because everyone was getting a piece of

McCrae’s “ America Gives Its Blackness Back To Me” is a clear and a standard example of the Petrarchan sonnet form. This is poem is Petrarchan sonnet form by the use of the fourteen lines and the flexible rhyme scheme. Just like in a traditional Petrarchan Sonnet form this poem has the sections broken up into an octave and a sestet. Also, another thing I noticed was how McCrea doesn’t use periods so it’s like one long statement that doesn’t officially end, and with some of lines there is an extra space between certain words like, “ I” and “ was” and “ “I” and “ should” just to give a few examples. McCrea use of structure of stanzas and enjambment really emphasizes the use of how he just wants to have his “Blackness” again and regaining back the power that took his “Blackness” away.

One aspect of life for black people in the United States of America that has always remained consistent is white racial hostility. A history of slavery, segregation, unequal protection of the law, and second class citizenship inflicted by a white power structure that dominates on a national level has created a harmful reality for black people. Every aspect of black public life must either be under the control of or in opposition to white supremacy. Every state-sanctioned institution works to use black bodies as tools for the production of capital in any form, yet simultaneously exploits and maltreats black people so that they cannot fully participate in and benefit from the systems which they are indoctrinated to invest in. White America leverages its money, comfort, and tyranny on Black America. It is for this reason that separate spaces are not merely essential to the viability of black counter-publics but inherent to their existence, since black involvement in white spaces and systems typically leads to black assimilation or marginalization. Within these black counter-publics, hip hop and mass connection through new media forms direct attention and allow for personal expression which shapes black worldview and public opinion, but this simply makes black people more comfortable with their oppression and less involved in politics.

The Unites States is a true melting pot of ethnicities and cultures. For many members of minority groups a certain hybridity is readily adopted, but for others, cultural assimilation can be quite difficult. Chicana author, Sandra Cisneros described this phenomenon as “always straddling two countries… but not belonging to either culture” (Doyle. 54). African American author, Alice Walker shared Cisneros’ sentiment, but focused her attention on the assimilation of black cultures and subcultures within the United States. Cisneros and Walker make the same poignant statement about the strains of cultural assimilation, with reconciliation of split identities as the goal, in their respective works, 1991’s “Woman Hollering Creek,” and 1973’s “Everyday Use,” yet their unique ethnic perspectives allow them to make it in surprisingly different ways.

Understanding that the poverty of black Americans did not just stay within the home is a big step in understanding urban poverty. Urban poverty reached outside the home, into the parks, schools and playgrounds. With poverties reach being that extensive, there was something other than adversity causing this. Louis Gates wrote an article about this called “Black America and The Class Divide.” (Jr.)

The media shouldn’t be owned by corporations or viewership numbers. The television is a power platform that is broadcasted directly into the homes, and minds, of almost every American. It has the ability to come into people’s lives to

“Lawrence Burney between the world and me soberly details what it's like to be black in America.” I wonder what it's going to be like to have to make that decision whether I should have “the talk with my child or I shouldn't have the talk. As a future black father I believe that It is with out a doubt my responsibility to have the talk with my child. The talk gives an outlook on race , it teaches one how society views them, and it could save a person from lots of pain because they are being treated differently just because they are black. The article the talk is basically about being a black in America is so unethical. There's with out a doubt that a target is out on a black persons life.

Diversity is now, more than ever before, at the forefront of the American conversation. Black people have been slowly but surely making gains in today’s society and in ways that were not possible before. African Americans are more educated and more affluent, and more important as consumers than ever before. By 2017, they are expected to have a spending power of 1.3 trillion dollars (Resilient, 2013). Young, influential, and brand loyal, this group should be the target of many companies. Interestingly enough, there has not been much of an effort on the part of marketers to appeal to this growing group. Additionally, the lack of diversity as well as the alienation of black people in the media is not doing much to allow a wider range of companies to reach them. Black Americans are a powerful group, and smart marketers will put a focus on investing in them to increase their market share.

Amiri Baraka’s play the “Dutchman” is a portrayal about the interactions between the two major characters Lula and Clay. The two came from different races, whereas Clay is a twenty year old African American, while Lula on her thirties is a white woman. It all started when Lula had the courage to approach Clay, accusing the latter intent of staring from the window of a train. In their conversation, it demonstrates how Lula was trying to manipulate the situation, depicting the relationship between the two races and the problem about stereotyping. In the play, Lula first appeared as a beautiful and attractive white woman with an apple at her hand (Baraka, 1). Somehow, if her character will be interpreted based on Biblical teaching, it appears that she is more like a temptress like Eve. Although, Lula only met Clay for the first time, but she acted like knowing everything about the latter. She even mocked and insulted Clay, especially with regards to his intellect and clothing. Through this portrayal, the Lula was trying to reveal her true nature as a rude individual, and there is no way Clay could approach her on the same footing.

As professors teaching Black Studies today will tell you, the socialization of blacks into the American traditional culture failed. We have failed to bring the vast majority of the offspring of the slaves into the culture of Western Civilization, the culture of Abraham Lincoln. While part of the black community is Christian and has been socialized for years, the dominant black majority in America is led by the Democratic Party and rejects Western Civilization.

The relationship between the United States and Black America can best be compared to an unbalanced scale. Some would argue that the majority take regular advantage of the minority, creating a distinct schism between the two groups. The actions taken by each group adversely shape the behavior of one another. While the oppressed lash out because of the unfair conditions of society, the oppressors continue to dish out what they consider to be the appropriate punishment. The oppressed continue to become marginalized and therefore begin to lose hope for the future, often turning to lifestyles that would otherwise be considered to be dysfunctional and self-destructive. In terms of the aforementioned, unbalanced scale, Black America continues to be outweighed in favor for the desires and wants of the majority, White America. This cycle can best be described by the term nihilism, which shares similar Latin roots with other English words such as “annihilate” or “null”, meaning a pervasive sense of hopelessness and despair that characterizes many parts of contemporary black American life (West, 1993). In his writing, Nihilism in Black America, Cornel West argues that nihilism acts as a disease to black Americans, in that today’s disproportionate corporate markets have led black Americans to live pleasure filled lives; neglecting values of love, care, and service once handed down by generation’s past (West,1993). West goes on to say that the threat of nihilism can be conquered by

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun encompasses all the ideals of the American Dream through her characters: Walter, who embodies the quest for an opportunity for prosperity, Beneatha who wants the freedom to be herself and embrace her African heritage, and Lena (Mama) who buys a home in a white neighborhood pushing the boundaries of social mobility during that time. The Youngers are in a state of poverty, because of this as suggested by Lloyd Brown “their deprivations expose the gap between the American Dream and the Black American reality” (241). However the Youngers attempt to close this gap, challenging the status quo in an effort to better themselves.

In today’s society, media is present in our lives 24/7 allowing it to have a major influence on our culture in both positive and negative ways.