Why Do People Codeswitch?

In “The roots of racism,” according to Lance Selfa, the origin of racism began with the growth of slavery. The latter was initially used for profit means only, free from racist ideas, as it was a cheaper alternative for labor; however, it eventually became an ethical and racial issue. Mass media, that once was a vehicle to spread culture and competent journalism, began to be used to reinforce racist stereotypes and black subordination in relation to white people. New black characters began to rise, inside and outside of the screen, portrayed in degrading roles linked with their dark skin color. For the most part, this negative association has remained unchanged through the years, if not inside films and books, inside the public’s subconscious.

Most black men dating white women and most white men dating black women did not plan it. They just fell in love with someone from a different race. Think of it, race is usually the last thing you will look for in a spouse. Most times, people concentrate on body chemistry, honesty, faithfulness and being caring.

Racism throughout time has had a powerful negative force in society. There have been many efforts made to relieve racism. Racism is still present in America, although many people are doing their best to put a stop to racism and its somewhat devastating effects on young black males in society. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee) The negative stereotypes and racial profiling that Americans hand down from generation to generation are damaging not only to the minorities but to those perpetuating them as well. The behaviors that are kept alive because of these negative stereotypes and the behaviors associated with them, create an emotional and social struggle as well as presenting obstacles when receiving an education and employment opportunities.

For example in the book “Leon's Story”, Leon says that when African American kids would be walking back from school the white bus would come by and all of African American kids would start running looking for a good place to hide. But if they could not hide and the bus driver stopped the bus it was not a good sign,that meant the white kids would get off of the bus and start throwing anything that they could throw at African American kids and calling them names. They did this because they were taught that African American or Negroes had no feeling and you could not hurt them. The older African American kids would be standing in front of the little kids protecting them. Another example of violence was that on leon's 15 birthday his parents were walking to get something when a car with a teenage boy driving headed straight for leons parents. Leons dad shoved his mother into the ditch, but sadley car plowed over Mr. Tillage then while he was trying to get up the car turned around and ran over him again, this time Mr. Tillage got stuck under the car they

Black people will get you into trouble. Not because they want to, but because they don’t know any better. They value things that others would find meaningless, they do things that others would know better than to do and their actions and mental attitude towards their futures are anything but progressive. Black youths are focused more on their attire than their education and they seem to have forgotten that they weren’t able to receive such a thing before. The black youth are hypocrites, raising hell for white people, believing that they’re doing their ancestor’s justice for the 300 years of oppression that they went through.

People have words they use with their family that would be hurtful had they come from outsiders. Gloria Naylor makes a great point when she articulates, “So there must have been dozens of times that the word “nigger” was spoken in front of me before I reached the third grade. But I didn’t “hear” it until it was said by a small pair of lips that had already learned it could be a way to humiliate me” (483). Naylor grew up hearing “nigger” everywhere she went. It was used as a term of endearment. It was used to describe people with great achievement. Occasionally it was used to describe a small group in the community who were not great people (481). However,

People could live in the same country but still have a language barrier, this could be because they may be from a different region. For example: Britain i.e. Bristol, Essex or Glasgow. People from a different region may use the same word but can have a different meaning known as “slang”. When talking to someone, we must use the correct intonation (gestures and body language) so that others know that we are friendly towards them and show that we’re listening.

When being around white people, members of the black race were always to act tacitly in a form of admission of inferiority.

Race has been a part of people's judgement since its inception. We've heard many different situations of times where race has affected what people can do, how they're treated, and much more. A lot of the time, race is the first thing you notice about a person. When describing a person, race is often the first thing you tell someone. For a bulk of the 20th century, people in the United States were seperated by race. There were water fountains for just white people or an area of the buses just for black people. A lot of the times, this was because the majority of white people didn't want to mix with the black people. The black schools were often worse, as were the entrances and areas of the bus. This was eventually ended and is no longer around

b. “Coded language” and its use in perpetuating a negative attitude toward Mexico and Mexicans in this country. - Negativity,”coded language has usually been away for the oppressed to disguise their criticism of those in power” (pg. 349). Coded language is a form of control and oppressing others who do not speak English. Coded language uses code words to label people with saying it, these follow with racist sentiments that target specific people or groups or people.

Racism can occur in different ways, the most common is the use of offensive words, for example “nigger boy” to refer to the color of the skin in a derogatory and rude way. “Don’t you listen to that Quaker Abolitionist and that free nigger boy," he cries out as he whips the men in chains."They got evil in their words and destruction in their

We are taught not to see this type of racism growing up in a white dominated country. We are taught that racism is an act that is intentional and seen as blatantly racist, such as accusing a black man of shoplifting over a white man, or a white woman getting a job over a black women strictly based on race. But we overlook the small things in our daily life that effect Black people in our culture every single

During the 1950’s, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka court case came down and declared state laws that encouraged the segregation of public schools for black and white students were illegal according to the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. Formerly all-black schools and all-white schools resisted integration for a long time until it was finally instituted. The segregation from before and shows that made fun of black people made white people believe that they are way better than African Americans, causing a skin-color prejudice. Parents, friends, teachers, minstrels, and the environment were all significant influences that resulted in white people expecting all black people to be filthy and act dumb.

Aside from your community, the issue goes more into depth when entering the household. As young children, blacks and whites played together but as they grew up, the whites were taught a life changing word, “nigger.” Slowly but surely, they grew up being presurred with the mind set that they were superior

Historically, humans have always been separated into groups based on appearance, whether that is concerning body shape, the clothes we wear, or the color of our skin. Stereotyping is a natural instinct that humans have because they feel the need to classify people in order to not feel threatened by them. Humans feel an obligation to know and understand people but do not necessarily want to be associated with them, thus they place people into specific groups, labeling them. One of the primary ways that we stereotype people is by their race. Being a minority that has always been prejudiced against in America, African Americans are often judged because of the way that they speak. Black students have struggled in academic settings that use Standard English, such as in the common American classroom. African American Vernacular English (AAVE) harms Black students through discrimination on standardized tests and in classroom environments.