Why Are Black American Men Against Homosexuality?

In the essay “Just Walk on By”, by Brent Staples, Staples makes the generalized claim that both caucasians and african americans, including Staples himself, contribute to the stereotyping of black men, as all around shady characters, in their own way, however, not all black men fit the stereotype.

The language needed to change this paradigm is seen as “sensitive and feminine” and using this language risks being “emasculated”. Black portrays men sympathetically, showing that he is not aggressive towards men, but rather understands the cause of the problem, and recognizes that it is not necessarily the fault of men. Instead, this “toxic masculinity” is the fault of old stereotypes and masculinity being “strength”and “aggression and competitiveness.”

Black American churches have been the most important social institution in the black community and serves as a center for health screening, promotion and counseling. Many blacks hold their church with high esteem, therefore being an important coping resource for the African Americana community. To African Americans God is thought to be the spiritual healer.

Religion plays an important role in people’s daily life. It gives them a sense of belonging and brings communities together. After doing research, it is clear that for African Americans religion brings them a great sense of comfort, belonging and brings them together as one; it has played a big role in helping African American’s be where they are today and it continually fights for their freedom and rights.

The media has misrepresented African-American men by consistently headlining negative news, therefore causing unjust fear and treatment from society which has led to serious and sometimes fatal consequences, now African-American men must alter their public persona so that they aren’t viewed as a threat.

In society today African American men are portrayed as musicians (rappers), athletes (basketball or football), criminals, uneducated, unemployed, lazy and are seen as very religious. African American women are seen as having daddy issues, being angry at all times,

1. I chose Bad Boys Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity because I felt an immediate connection once I read the title. The title seems to resonate with me, and I wanted to understand further the negative stigma associated with African American adolescents. Before coming to Auburn, I worked as a paraprofessional at a Title I school as well as a Track Coach. I devoted a great deal of time with young “at-risk” African American men. Furthermore, I was raised in an underserved community and was aware of the negative press African American adolescents receive. The central issue in underserved communities is providing the resources and motivation necessary to cultivate young African Americans in the public school system. Often educators and school officials are not prepared to serve at schools with diverse populations. These schools are often dubbed as the “prison pipeline” and boast high attrition rates. Bad Boys Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity provides perspective from the so-called “monsters” society perceives. The book aims to provide transparency on the issues of our young

Ever since the beginning of slavery in America, the existence of the black male population has been compromised and they had to live their lives under the power of white supremacy. Society’s institutions use systematic oppression to create the identity of black males. This “monstrous” identity is created to excuse the unlawful acts of the privileged. From the murder of Laquan McDonald and Michael Brown, black males often face harsh racial prejudices the moment they are introduced to the world. The bodies of black males has been taken advantage of, where the people accept this institutionalized racism.

People of African descent in North America tend to view life as a single system, their worship is integrative, holistic, and experiential. Traditionally, it has been inextricably woven into the stuff of their life. Born in slavery, weaned under Jim Crow segregation, and reared in discrimination, African-American worship is inseparably linked with Black life.

In this current era of time Black men have evolved in their form of masculinity. In the past Black men were men that carried themselves with pride, intelligence, and a sense of respect for another man. In these current days some Black men still carry those traits but everyday those traits are diminishing amongst the society, which is what the public assumes. A recent observation has been recorded that a new form of masculinity is being established in the Black culture, and it is considered a more harmful, misogynistic, and greedy perspective of the culture. This observation in deed is false because Black Masculinity is a black man with strength, intelligence, respect, and honor for his community that is determined to be the best at any task

Due to slavery, segregation, and the countless acts of racial discrimination in our society, African Americans have placed their reliance and faith in religion. During difficult periods, the only perceived and genuine alliance has been found in God himself. For these reasons, religion has become the fundamental set of moral rules and values followed inside a typical Black household. However, one essential factor to understanding human life is acknowledging sexuality, whether it pertains to heterosexuality, homosexuality or transsexuality. Unfortunately, other forms of sexuality remain silenced in the Black community, as it is believed homosexuality is a “white man’s disease”. Silence, judgement, and denial fail to acknowledge the sexual

Media over the years has shown african males are one of the most dangerous men alive and due to recent controversy there has been a major amount of mixed opinions on the stance of a black man's position in the world. Ranging from the showcase of the African American Male population of the world as Hyper Sexualized, Hyper Masculine due to the appearance and acts of other black males etc, The innocent part of the population of black males get profiled and society views them as a threat.

Considering the dominant heterosexual culture that dominated the conservative south throughout Jennings’ childhood, tolerance for homosexuality was seemingly non-existent, as beliefs were fueled by deep-rooted religious beliefs. The concept of societal discrimination explains that homosexual prejudice originates from an illogical fear of sexual minorities. Such discrimination produces a sense of concern and segregation for those populations that are not treated as equals (Lum, 2011). With the southern Baptist church serving as the central institution of Jennings’ community, he felt hate toward the institution as early as grade school when he was targeted with the words, “faggot” and “queer.” Despite this constant battle for acceptance, Jennings received no help from his school’s administrative leaders. He writes, “I’d better not count on authorities to do the right thing because they tended to side with those who had power already” (Jennings, 2006, p. 61).

In recent years, homosexuality has become almost fully accepted throughout the United States. But that’s not the case in all communities, it’s become nearly fully accepted in the white community. In the African American community, though it’s looked at as a taboo. The largest community that rejects homosexuals in the African American community is the African American church community. Many African American churches preach as if being gay is an unforgivable sin and is a bad thing. That wouldn’t make any sense, although with my Christian background, I know that the bible says that all sins are forgivable. “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven” (Mark, 3:28). Knowing this verse and the verse about how people should love

Homosexuality has, in recent times, asserted the position of being a topic of much heated debate. Simple opinion has divided the line between many and summed up the factions of those that stand for traditional values and those who take a progressive stance with civil rights. While the nation has become a buzz of opinions and perspectives, many arguments that have been made have been left off of a leash unchecked. Ultimately, there is nothing inherently wrong with homosexuality, and despite even the best arguments made against the principle, little carry any weight.