African American Stereotypes Research Paper

Are you a stereotypical person? Many people may answer this question with a no, but their intuition may say otherwise. A stereotype is a large fixed idea or image of a person, group, or thing in society. It is evident in modern society that people stereotype other individuals, groups, or things in the world. Stereotypes have deteriorated society, and the word itself has brought upon a negative connotation. Stereotypes are formed form a pre-judged idea before a person is educated on the topic. According to US News, many people do not feel comfortable in society because of the stereotypes of their race, religion, gender, or class. They have effected people for the worse, and caused people to commit hate crimes upon other people. Many people

question the individual, group, or race if they do not “live up” or meet the expectations of the stereotype. For example, if one black male or female is listening to country music they may be judged as acting like a white person or not acting black. People are being judged if they are a certain race based off of their actions, rather than ones looks. The common cliché stereotypes are: all Muslims are terrorists, all blondes are uneducated, all blacks are ignorant, or all Mexicans do drugs have not been proven true with facts. People have recognized a select group of individuals, and failed to recognize the other majority who do not follow the stereotype.
Stereotypes on blacks, in particular, have hurt society, and lead to people prejudging them before being educated on how they actually live.

The stereotype of blacks being criminals is evident in society. Black people are typical known as thugs, thieves, or gang members. The stereotype has only brought negativity to the black community because many people of other races sometimes fear being around blacks because they may think they will be robbed. It is easy for people to point to the statistics of the majority (38%) race in prison is African-American or black, but many influential people in the government have admitted a black male is more likely to go to jail than a white male for the same crime. In a study from Newsone.com, their results from the study were that blacks receive a 60% longer sentence for the same crimes. Many judges may have the belief that blacks are criminals so consequently they want them to be in jail longer so they do not commit the crime again. In many ads or commercials black people are portrayed as the criminal because in society blacks are often known for criminals so the audience can relate easily. For example, Mountain Dew had a commercial that portrayed for 3 black male criminals being charged; the director purposely chose black males because of the reputation they have made for

themselves.
The unforeseen reality behind the stereotype is that black men and women are looked at as criminals; not all blacks in the world are criminals. In fact, according to Naacp.org, five times as many whites are using drugs as African-Americans, yet African-Americans are sent to prison for drug offenses at ten times the rate of whites. Blacks are mostly portrayed of being as being criminals because the majority race at 38% is black or African-American.
The truth in society is that white people commit more crimes, but more blacks are caught and arrested.

From the FBI crime stats in 2010, 66% of all rape were committed by whites and 64.8% of thieves were white while 31.9% are black. While many people carry the stereotype that blacks are thieves and criminals, whites carry higher percentages in rape and thievery. From the statistics, chart it represents to show more white gang members are committing crimes and murders than black gang members. Black people being depicted as criminals in the world has led to negativity and hate crimes. Not all blacks are criminals because blacks have been helping for a change in the world. For example, Barack Obama has been a person that has “debunked” the stereotype of blacks being criminals because he was able to preserve to success with the stereotypes of

him.
Stereotyping is only an internal battle because one can believe or disbelieve a myth because they are merely myths or thoughts that humans obtain. A person does not have to believe any stereotype because they have not been proven true, and everyone was born the same. Blacks are not inherently criminals, Mexicans are not inherently “drug lords”, or blondes are not inherently dumb. Reality is that humans form ideas to dehumanize a group or individuals to make themselves feel superior to the opposition.