The contrasts I see through the windows of the train are disturbing. It is not disturbing in the sense that it is gross or vomit-inducing, simply disturbing to think about. It disturbs and disrupts the impressions you hold of the people living in poor minority communities and predominantly wealthy, white communities when you see them placed beside one another. The buildings change, dilapidated and old to historic and old. The people change, their hair getting lighter, as their skin got lighter. And while I get on the bus with people who look like me, I usually get off the bus with people who look at me. I’ve gotten used to it though. The corollary of it all had become a part of my life and my everyday. My mom hated my school for the reasons …show more content…
I had accepted. My father worried about me taking the bus to school everyday, but for the reasons I had learned to be comfortable with. I’m not sure it was parental worry or personal insecurity. Though I suppose the parental worry would not be unwarranted, because everyone’s heard the stories that created that anxiety. It seemed to bother them how I got along with my classmates or how I could befriend the kids I went to school with.I think it was a discomfort more than anything. I think it was a similar discomfort my friends felt when I talked about rap music or my family. When I spoke of things that reminded them that I was African American. They would squirm uncomfortably and shift their weight back and forth. They would respond with short agreement. Vibrant exchange would fade to the occasional ‘Hmm..”. It bothered me, but it was just another reality I had to eventually accept. Being the only black kid in the majority of my classes, I had to balance representation of my background and honest efforts to avoid confrontation, even when others didn’t. I was used to pushing down frustrations for the sake of my race. It is as if every action I take and every word that falls from my mouth is reflective of the millions of people worldwide who share in my melanin. It is a lot of pressure. That seems unfair to all involved, does it not? Imagine if every time a white person in America was, essentially, held accountable for each other's’ crimes, legally and morally. This is my reality being an African American youth in America today.
It is not the reality, but it is mine. It certainly isn’t desirable, but it is my truth. Now, contrary to popular belief every black person reality differs. It may not differ greatly, but background and personal experiences with shape your reality as an African American. In recent years discrimination, poor treatment, and racism against African-American people has been a heated issue. I would argue it has been brought to the forefront of political discussion lately. The root of all this racialism fascinates me and upsets me. What do other African-Americans experience? What is their reality as a result of racial tensions? How do white people in America today feel about the racial tensions? Is there disagreement about the state of race relations today? It is essentially my obligation to be educated about these things. I want to understand why every time an African American man in America commits a crime is reflected back on my father, brother, and uncles negatively. It is as if they went out committed these crimes themselves even though they did not. I feel a moral duty to know and understand the struggles of my people as a whole. I wish to be educated and aware. As a fairly privileged young person, I want to know the what all have had to overcome because I am aware that I have been set to begin journey through life a few spaces ahead of many others. We all have different hurdles, but if we are ever going to remove them we must all be aware of them. My purpose in embarking on this influential and controversial issues is to be as educated as possible about the reality of race relations in America today between African Americans and Whites. Despite my feelings, I’m after the big picture. Everyone knows racism still exists and that poor relations can fuel tensions between races. Is that the root of current tensions? What are the real-world, everyday
effects?
In Africans In America Terrible Transformation written by PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) writes an article stating the historical background of African Americans that were captured and enslaved from Western Africa from 1450-1750. About 200,000 Africans were transported to Europe Islands in the Atlantic. But after Columbus excursion, Slave traders found a new market for slaves: New World plantations. From this, they were used for the planting crops for the Europeans that were uneducated how farm such as, rice, cotton, tobacco, and sugar in the south. It wasn’t till the American Revolution where they protest against “enslavement” from the British and demands from American “liberty” for some hope of being free from bondage . After reading
In “On the Subway” by Sharon Olds, the author contrasts two divergent people. Olds come to many conclusions as a result of the experience. Sharon Olds utilizes tone, poetic devices such as metaphor, and finally imagery.
Dinesh D’Souza‘s assertion that racial discrimination against African Americans has diminish due to culture rather than racism is contradicted by Derrick Bell argument that “black people will never gain full equality in this country”. Derrick firmly feels that a meticulous examination of African American and Caucasian associations supports that racism is a permanent feature of American society. Both Derrick and Dinesh made valid points and used examples throughout history to get their point across. Although both made valid points, I agree, and maintain that racism still exist in modern society. Growing up I have witnessed racism with my own eyes and have personally went through it. With everything taking into account, I personally feel that racism still exist in today’s society because, white people see African Americans as an inferior race. Their actions show it as they continue to patrol our communities like we are uncivilized animals. Furthermore, African Americans that are making progress such as being successful in the corporate business still have to deal with “the plight of our less fortunate brethren who struggle for existence in what some social scientist call the underclass”. The African American culture in this case study is perceived as being the reason why blacks have not progress from racial discrimination, according to Dinesh D’Souza. There’s a
Throughout the years, the black community has been looked down upon as a community of criminals and a community of lesser educated and poor who have a lesser purpose in life. Journalist Brent Staples, the author of Black Men And Public Spaces, takes us into his own thoughts as a young black man growing up in Chester, Pennsylvania to becoming a journalist in New York City. He tells us his own challenges that he faces on a daily basis along with challenges that many black men his own age faced and the way he changed in order to minimize the tension between himself and the common white person. Growing up in the post-segregation era was a challenge for most blacks. Having the same rights and privileges as many white Americans, but still fighting for the sense of equality, was a brick wall that many blacks had to overcome.
Being a resident of South Carolina, African-American Culture was chosen as part of the applied learning project for the Intercultural Nursing class, because African-Americans make up more than a quarter of this state’s population. According to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, the total population for South Carolina (S.C.) is 4,625,364, with 27.9% being of African-American descent. The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding and sensitivity to issues and cultural variances or phenomena that are unique to the African-American Culture. Another goal is to identify nursing interventions that are important for the nurse to consider in caring for this population. These phenomena’s include variances in social organization, communication, space, perception of time, environmental control, and biological variations associated with the African-American culture. (Giger, 2013 and South Carolina minority, n.d.)
Nevertheless, we must have empathy and put ourselves in this situation. How well would you do if you lived in a world where there’s no freedom? Where are your dreams only an illusion? A world where you are less than everybody else? This is just not a story to show the failures of a human being, but a story of enlightenment into the lives and thoughts of an African-American man living in that kind of world.
African American Hardships During pre-colonial African kinship and inheritance, it provided the basis of organization of many African American communities. African American men were recognized for the purpose of inheritance. They also inherited their clan names based on their accomplishments, as well as other things when one died. Land was not owned in many parts of Africa during the pre-colonial period. It was yet held and distributed by African American men.
This time in the post World War II era, many African Americans had began to become a more urbanized center of population, around 1970. (Inmotionaame, pg. 1) The regular population included about 70 percent of just the natural population to live in more urbanized cities. (Inmotionaame, pg. 1) Soon African Americans dominated, having 80 percent of their community to live and take the same benefits in more urbanized centers of the Unites States. (Inmotionaame, pg. 2) Only about 53 percent of African Americans and others who seemed to migrate stayed in the same area around the South. (Inmotionaame, pg. 2)
Slavery. Many people today would like to forget that part of America 's past but, for African Americans, it is not so easily forgotten. For African Americans, life in America has been tumultuous to say the least. Since those first few horrendous centuries, African Americans have been making strides towards a better existence. Things are better now because of the countless African Americans who strived and believed that things could be better for their people. Even though African Americans still have a ways to go, African Americans have come a long way over the course of 100 years because the foundation of the NAACP, the Harlem Renaissance, the "I Have A Dream" speech, and the fact that an
Have you ever wondered what being black in America is like from the perspective of a black man? In the book “Between the World and Me” Ta-Nehisi Coates expresses how systemic racism still affects African Americans in various ways. Systemic racism: “is defined as policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race or ethnic group.” Coates, a 39-year-old man, writes to his son about the substantial effect of how “the Dream” masks racism, and often talks about 3 points: the impact on the body, the struggle for racial equality and the long-lasting physical effects. Fear plays a big part in each of these points as fear is embedded in their blood as Black
As I reflect on who I am and which culture I identify with, I am met with reservation. My parents are both Black Americans, they were both born and raised in the United States, their parent were also born and raised in the US. It is obvious that we derive from African descent; our skin color and physical features yet I find it difficult to relate or identify with my African heritage as slavery has played a pivotal role in separating us from our African origin. African enslavement left us devoid of a way to define ourselves. It severed familial ties and deprived us of any viable opportunity to reclaim them.(www.huffpost.com) We are descendants of African slaves but when I speak to someone who was born in Africa or research African culture, I
The African American people of South Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma are descendants of the enslaved Africans from the coast of West Africa, Sierra Leone. There are many documented similarities between the two people and the cultures. The nation of Sierra Leone is known for making rice on the swamp coast, and creating intricate basket weaving. The national language of the people is English, but with over 100 different ethnic groups there has to be a way that the people communicate among each other. They came up with the broken English language Krio, a mixture of the people’s native tongue and English, which is very similar to the language of the Gullah, Creole.
It is no secret that for many, many years, the African-American community was seen as nothing more than simply dispensable hand help. These people were placed in fields and regarded as something less than what they were: human beings. It is no secret that there are still forms of discrimination in the twenty-first century. Simply turn on the news one night and I guarantee you will be bombarded with the consequences of this racial discrimination. While there are people that are stuck in the old ways, a majority of people are now on the move to make steps of progression past the era of inequality. But in this fight, there is a long list of questions. Heading off the list, is that of what to do with this background? Do we use this history to be a constant reminder of what we have done and encourage the youth to realize what wrong has been done by our kind? Or do we move past this and try to look forward and know that it happened, but not dabble with it in our lives? Is this history that happened, or do we allow it to be a prevalent part of our everyday
Education in any manner is the most important aspect any person can obtain in their lifetime for a brighter future. Education for the African American community was even more important because once slavery had ended, the African American community felt the need to be able to educate themselves in reading and writing (Anderson, 1988, pg.5) so that they could be able to prosper in a world that held them at arm’s length. Gaining an education in the early twentieth century at the time of the Jim Crow laws and when the south became segregated would seem to be all but a distant dream for the African Americans. When the Jim Crow laws became really into effect in the early twentieth century, these laws had a vast impact on education for African Americans
Ever since slavery came to America, the whites had placed African Americans below their social status. After their placement as property to white men that many leaders in the African American community fight for their rights as a free man. Throughout the years, the black identity had many issues that struggle for equality from their own identity, constitutional rights they argued with radical white men and the secondary education that many leaders of African American to prove their education they needed.