African American Socialization

Socialization is the process of learning in which an individual in trained to think and behave appropriately within society (Newman 2017). Socialization is an involuntary process; once an individual is born, they undergo the process of socialization and are taught how to be a male, female, or member of their ethnic group. Through socialization an individual is able to develop a sense of self, the unique set of traits, behaviors, and attitudes, that distinguish them from another person (Newman 2017). This author hopes to describe the socialization process through which the lens she did as a female African-American, belonging to the middle class of the United States of America.

Growing up in Connecticut, one of the richest states in America,

causes the process of socialization to begin differently. The median level of income in Connecticut in 2016 was $71,346 a year, compared to national median income of $55,775 yearly (Frohlich, et. al 2016); such a large disparity exists even without the addition of household value, and other assets. Because this author’s parents belonged to the middle class, they could teach lessons and talents through leisure activities such as going museums and aquariums. They were also able to have a hands-on approach with the child-raising process due to them having the time and money, which may not be afforded to all of those belonging to the working class who may not have the time or money for such things. Despite, living in a city, this author lived in the sub-urban part of the city, allowing her to revel in the better surrounding resources. For instance, there were safer parks, and better resources available at the surrounding. Also, in high school, belonging to a higher economic class allowed one to focus on applying to college and life after higher school. This author was able to learn everything that was needed in the application process and how to succeed after high school. However, children who even went to the same school, were not able to focus on such luxuries. Instead, they were focused on immediately finding a job after high school so that they could produce a stable income for their family, and not gather the debt that is associated with going to college. In some cases, the kids were simply not taught what to do, and how to apply to college, as many of them did not have parents or siblings who went to college themselves, or professionals that were willing to help guide them through the process.
Another lens through which this author experienced socialization, was through her race/ethnicity of an African-American.

One of the biggest factors that are involved with being raised a an African-American person is the inclusion of church into one’s life. Ever since slavery where many African-Americans were coerced into the religion of Christianity (Weisenfeld 2015), many still belong to the faith. In fact, African-Americans, not including the younger generations of African-Americans, are the most devoutly religious group of people in the United States (Briggs 2015). So, at a young age, respect for religion was taught in the household. The church being a part of the lives of many African-Americans has caused the group to develop a patriarchal view of society (Lindsey 2011). Many African-Americans, and other ethnic minorities, are socialized on how to deal with their status as a minority in American society (Newman 2017). Thus, because there are major race cleavages in the United States, this author was socialized to be very cautious of the police, authority, or any Caucasian-American. There is a script that is taught in almost every African-American family on how to deal with the police, or any figure of authority, to avoid punishment and repercussions. Another lesson that is taught to young African-Americans is how to be prepared for the way you may be treated by Caucasian-Americans. One such lesson is on expect to be watched and followed in department stores,

restaurants, and any other public place that has workers and security guards, regardless of how one looks, how they dress, or how much money they have and spend. This lesson is mostly known as racial profiling, but when it involves shopping it is usually referred to as ‘shopping while black’ (Harris 2003). Shopping while back was even considered to be more pervasive than the other phenomenon ‘driving while black’ (Schreer et. al. 2009). For example, this author has been involved in the shopping while black phenomenon, as have many other African-American. This author, as a result of the phenomenon, has been socialized to expect to be discriminated against in stores, and the measures needed to avoid such an event from happening, like shopping online, or have someone else go shopping. Another part of the socialization of an African-American involves the norms of how members of this race and ethnicity treat each other, as well as how they dress and look. In African-American culture, although it mostly contains a gendered and patriarchal view of society, offers more freedom and deviance from traditional American gender roles (Lindsey 2011). Women are allowed expected to take on more roles and traits that are typically considered to be masculine, effectively giving the group more freedom of expression compared to Asian and Latina women (Lindsey 2011). When hair is concerned African-American men are expected to only have short, natural hair, with only braids/dreadlocks and afros being the exception (University of Michigan 2017). Whereas women are expected to have either long, short, natural, or relaxed hair (University of Michigan 2017). Lastly, within the African-American community, because the individuals within the group are descended from slaves, a norm of extended kinship was established and maintained throughout the centuries, and is very vital to African-American culture (Robert et. al. 2013). Because slavery often separated many blood-related families, other members of the African-American community would become extended kin, and participate in that family’s functions and duties to help make up for the lack of the original family member. This practice continues on today and is reflected in small communities of African-Americans knowing one another, and often referring to each other as ‘brother,’ ‘sister,’ ‘uncle,’ ‘aunt,’ among other titles, despite not having any blood relation. This practice of giving somebody within the African-American community a family title is perpetuated in Black Churches where everyone refers to each other as ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters.’ Also, African-Americans are socialized to partake in certain traditions, such as celebrating Black History month or Mardi Gras, which would not necessarily be emphasized in a Caucasian Household.
Lastly, this author had been socialized to obey the norms, traditions, and expectations of being born a female.

As being part of being socialized as a woman, this author was mostly taught the dangers of being at places alone, especially at night, and what to do in such a dangerous situation. There were also warnings given on what constituted as dangerous situations and how they came about. Some of the norms and behavior that are associated with being a female, alone, in an unfamiliar place are having the keys ready to be used to get in the house or car before reaching them to outpace a possible attacker, always being aware of one’s surroundings, and not dressing in provocative clothes because society believes wearing such clothes invite rapists and molesters to attack. A major part of the female socialization process revolves around the education of sexual assault and rape. About one out of every five women will be raped at some point in their lives (National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2015), and about 91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female (National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2015), so education in this area is paramount to anything else. Women are also socialized to believe that they must always put on a performance so that they look their best/be pretty, as determined mostly by the mass media (Wade et. al. 2015). Many women resort to make-up, cosmetic surgery, and eating disorders in order to conform to the body images and beauty

standards presented in society (Grabe 2008).
Overall, the process of socialization is very complex, and becomes even more so when economic status, race, and gender are taken into consideration. Each characteristic and status that individuals possess leads to an almost entirely different socialization process. Then when the effects of the many agents of socialization such as the media, churches, schools, family, and peers are analyzed, the process of socialization for each individual changes once again. The factors that contributed the most to this author’s socialization process was her economic status and social class, her race, and her gender.