Stereotypes are characteristics imposed upon groups of people because of their race, nationality, sexual orientation and other attributes (Nittle, 2018). Generalizations such as these do not allow for diversity within groups and may result in the stigmatization and discrimination of said groups if the stereotypes linked to them are largely negative (Nittle, 2018). Unfortunately in this day and age we are still judged by the color of our skin and not by who we are as a person. I feel as if discrimination and racism will always be prevalent because of the past racial tensions between African Americans and white people. It is almost impossible to forget about the past struggles that my people went through in order to achieve equal rights. Slavery, the Jim Crow laws, and segregation are just some of the hardships that African Americans had to face everyday. The United States of America is supposed to be the land of the free, a place where its citizens are all equal and where they all can enjoy their freedom. However it is my personal belief that, the United States is quite the opposite. Since arriving on this land nearly 400 years ago, African Americans have never obtained true equality (Ingram, 2015). Just because slavery has been abolished and Jim Crow laws have been somewhat abandoned, the systematic discrimination and racism that has been set in place for decades continue to haunt us as people, some more than others. We are constantly treated as less than equal to white people and this will continue for generations and generations to come.
Racism is more prevalent in the south because of the past history with slavery and the Jim Crow laws. One thing that I have noticed while living down here in the south is that I see confederate flags everywhere. I remember when my grandparents used to live up in New York and when I used to visit them during the summer I have never seen a confederate flag there. I feel like confederate flags are more part of southern culture and whenever I see them it makes me feel very uncomfortable. I know that I was not alive during slavery but seeing confederate flags remind me of, it reminds me of the families being torn apart, cultures being stolen, family histories being wiped away and all the atrocities,pain and suffering that my ancestors endured.
Racism and discrimination against African Americans is an ongoing issue all over this country because of the belief of black inferiority and white superiority that was established during the founding of this nation. In the North where slavery did not exist, blacks were still treated poorly. Northerners said that slavery was wrong because it was immoral and un-Christian however, nowhere in their anti-slavery rallies did the mention civil rights or integrating blacks into society (Higginbotham, 1996). I do believe that it is more prevalent in the south or at least more extreme due to the past history of slavery. When these notions and principles of white superiority are are passed down from generation to generation then it isn’t surprising that in 2018 there are still people who believe in these ideals.
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A couple of years ago I was wrongfully stereotyped by a white man who thought that I was selling drugs. The incident occured when my family and I went to visit my uncle at his new house. My uncle lives on the “rich” side of Greensboro where every house on the block is at least two stories tall with a huge front yard and backyard. Well my cousin and I decided to walk around the neighborhood just to get a feel for the new scenery. As we were walking I noticed that this black toyota kept driving past us every time we went down a different street. This made me feel uneasy so I told my cousin that we need to turn around and go back to his house. As we were walking back to the house, I looked behind me and saw the toyota creeping up behind us. The car then pulled up a few in front of us and a white man proceeded to step out of the car. He came up to us and told us that he didn’t need our “kind” messing up his neighborhood because he believed that we were selling drugs or gang affiliated. I tried to explain to him that my uncle just moved into his new house down the block and that we were just checking out the neighborhood but he just wasn’t trying to listen to my plea. Then he threatened to call the police on us, telling us that we need to get out of his neighborhood because we were disturbing the peace. After hearing this, my cousin and I ran back to my uncle’s house as fast as we could. This experience made me view white people differently. I know that there some white people out there that aren’t as ignorant as that man but that situation made me think twice about how my self image may appear to others.
People stereotype because it can be an easy way to categorize things or other people. Although the term stereotype has a negative meaning, it is something that we all do whether we are conscious or not. The issue with stereotypes is when they are applied to all situations or all people. Instead of taking the time out to get to know someone or a culture, it is easier for some people to take a shortcut and apply a stereotype, which can be extremely harmful. Stereotyping is not something that is exclusive to adults. At early ages, certain stereotypes can be ingrained in the minds of children, who do not yet have the experiences to know better or to think otherwise.a For instance, there was a study put together by 20/20 on a group of kids. The kids were shown two different pictures of men, one man was white while the other man was black. One child commented and said that the white man looks like a nice guy (Stossel & Kendall, 2006). One child commented on the black man and said that he looks mean, while another said that he looks like he is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list (Stossel & Kendall, 2006). Here’s the catch, the photo of the white man was Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the photo of the black man was Harvard University professor Roland Fryer (Stossel & Kendall, 2006). This is a prime example of how African Americans tend to be negatively stereotyped because of how they appear to others but looks can be deceiving.
The most common form of racism that I have encountered while living in the south is subtle racism. Subtle racism is described as a person who has implicit racial or other negative attitudes towards another group (Voices, 2018). When a person ignores you because of your skin color or even when you receive a lesser form of service because of your skin color, it can be classified as subtle racism. I remember when I was a junior in high school, I had an experience with subtle racism. The school that I went to had a student base that was majority white and the white kids there were very privileged. I was in my english class and I sat behind a group of white girls who would always talk to each other during class. My teacher gave us an assignment to do but I left my pencil in my last class so I did not have anything to write with. I asked my friend who sat beside me if he had an extra pencil to spare but he didn’t. Then I turned and asked one of the girls that sat in front of me if they had a pencil but she pretended to not hear me and kept talking to her friend. I asked her once more and she just looked at me, rolled her eyes and told me no she didn’t have nothing for me. I don’t know what I did to make her aggravated with me but I just left her alone and got a pencil from my english teacher. Later on in class I saw another white girl asking her for a pencil, she then pulled out a bag full of markers, pens, and pencils and gave her a pencil. I looked at my friend and he looked at me and said, “that’s crazy how they treat us bro”. Although this might not seem like a big deal because it was just over a pencil, the fact still remained that she chose to ignore and then deny me something so simple while willingly giving the same thing to someone else. Who knows who else she might have done this to or on what larger scale.
Being stereotyped by the people I previously mentioned has really changed how I view white people today. I know that not all white people are racist or believe in the unequal treatment of African Americans. Unfortunately I have come in contact with too many of them that do. Even the ones that come off as being nice and sincere, I still think that they either have a hidden motive. Maybe they are nice to be because they want to feel good about themselves or portray themselves as a good person, not because they truly believe it is the right thing to do. White privilege is something that most definitely exists so it makes me wonder if there are white people who are truly in favor of equality among all races, even if it means taking away their white privilege. When I come in contact with a white person, in my eyes I believe that they probably think I am just another black kid that has not become a statistic yet. With this thought in mind I always try to act “different” when I am around them because I don’t want them to think of me differently. I want people to judge me by who I am as a person, not because of the color of my skin. DIfferent situations call for different actions, there is time to be professional and there are times where you can be more relaxed. However, I should be comfortable being who I am and not have to put up a front just to be accepted or not dismissed by another race.
In a world where we know it is wrong to stereotype others, you would think this is something that should have been eliminated by now. Sadly, this is not the case. People still continue to stereotype others, consciously or subconsciously. I think the reason that we still do it is because there is no immediate negative consequence of doing so. The negativity comes from acting upon those stereotypes. If you see someone and in your head classify them as belonging to a certain group or race without acting upon that stereotype, there is no harm done. When you start treating people differently or a certain way based upon that classification is where a problem might come. Another reason I think we stereotype is because it is convenient. It helps us remember information without putting that much effort into it. This is also an issue because not everyone one belonging to a certain group is the same. Until we make the conscious effort to stop stereotyping others, or at least not to act upon those stereotypes, this will stay an issue that hurts us as a society.
