Colorism In African Americans Essay

Society has made African Americans dislike each other because of the color of their skin. The media, television, and magazines mostly show African Americans who have lighter skin. Lighter skin meaning skin closest to the color of white. If you were not light skin, you were thought to be ugly. On a more personal level, I am African American.

If it weren't for these prejudice thoughts, many people would be together united as one fighting to better one another. As Brent states in “Black Men and Public Space,” “the hatred he feels for blacks makes itself known to him through a variety of avenues - one being his discomfort with that ‘special brand of paranoid touchiness’ to which he says blacks are prone.” (514). Due to this fear of one another, it has brought much tension among many. This discrimination has been going on for many years and is what makes the United States divided. These many examples provided by Brent proved these exact points and showed the belitting of African Americans within Americas society.

In today’s world, the topic of race is evaded. It’s not talked about because we all assume that we have progressed from segregation. That now we do not focus on skin color as much as the early 1900’s.But those are false thoughts, or a thought that we have not accomplished to its entirety. The ones that suffer from this silent attack are the African Americans. Our society perceives African Americans negatively thus inflicting pressure on their daily lives.

However, what those who oppose Black Lives Matter fail to recognize is that the movement was created to elevate the status of the black community in society, not bring down everyone else that is not black. Reverberating the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. of the Civil Rights movement, Black Lives Matter calls for further equity, attempting to deconstruct institutional racism in America. The revival of movements for black empowerment has brought back a civil unrest to the public that needs answers. The presence of racism never left America, it hid in the shadows and stayed silent for decades. For these reasons, in order to fully stop racism in America, the public must be ready to awaken itself to a reality of negligence.

We are oppressed because we are black. “ Stokely said this because he wanted people to realize that blacks were all put into the same category just because they are black. There was no other reason to not like blacks besides the fact that they were black . People's minds were manipulated by society and what other people thought. Many whites looked down on black men and women without getting to know them for who they really were.

However, in the Black community, the N-word has changed into a word that means a type of endearment to those around you. Based on their race, they have decided that this word has "nothing to do with they way they...live their lives." This signify's that although their skin color is hated by society, and society has a judgement on how they look like, they have decided to act oblivious to the true meaning of the word and use it in a positive term. Thus, showing that based on their race, it shapes their identity because race is the first thing that others would notice about a person; how light or how dark their skin color

Racism has deep roots in American history. Slavery, segregation, and unnecessary police charges are just a few examples of racism. But, why does racism exist? Many people believe that their race and ethnicity is superior than others, and that those who are “different” are inferior. Those who are considered, “inferior,” have to be treated differently, which results in unfairness and discrimination.

Cultural Identity for African Americans (Comparison and contrast between Hughes, Clifton and McElroy and their ideas of cultural identity.) People have different ideas as to what it means to be of another race. Many individuals believe that race should have no affect on their lives today. People who have the same qualifications shouldn't be persecuted because of their skin color. Cultural identity is how people live in response to their surroundings and beliefs.

The two sides were already at each other’s throats with civil idea differences, land ownership issues, and a passion for the same subject: slavery. This convoluted case only made the water boil more. Tension throughout America tightened as yet another civil rights case went in favor of the white man. As previously stated, racism has been a part of America’s history since our ancestors settled here years ago. African Americans used as slaves and not recognized as real people was a daily behavior.

Like many other problems, Racism has existed throughout the history of mankind. The definition of Racism is being discriminant and disrespectful towards a racial group with the belief that your own race is superior. Racism has changed the world and how people view each other. This belief that ones race is superior has lead to create violence, stereotypes, health problems and hatred in the world. White Americans’ support for segregation sprang from a widespread belief in black inferiority and that blacks’ disadvantaged status tended to reinforce this sentiment (Harris and Leiberman).