Personal Narrative: My African-American Experience

I am an African American female. My whole life I’ve been told this and let this one fact become my identity; but this may not be the best way to approach my race, and who I am as a person. As a child, the media and the people around me acted as if my race described my likes/dislikes, my level of intelligence, or even who I am as a person. This idea society has of African Americans is wrong for a majority of reasons, and I challenged it a long time ago. I know the idea is flawed because I have displayed and/or have seen the complete opposite of these stereotypes displayed in those around me. Even though being African American is an amazing culture I am proud to be apart of, it does not have the authority to define who

The negative treatment and pain I received as a black girl, and still into my adulthood, it amazes me how I'm still standing tall and strong. It amazes me how people have tried to break me, even my own kind, but I'm still here. Truth is I gotta to have thick skin and protect myself, because I got no choice. If I don't... who will? And that is the everyday life of living as a black woman. We are the loneliest race on earth.

The model I chose to apply to myself is the Hardiman White Racial Identity. The five stages of development are: 1. Naiveté or lack of social consciousness, 2. Acceptance, 3. Resistance, 4. Redefinition, and 5. Internalization. Stage one, naiveté is the stage of my childhood where I was not aware of races or any judgments based on race. I did not have any contact with African Americans until I was about 7 years old. My parents and friends did not have African American friends and no African American families lived in our neighborhood. At the age of seven, my mother enrolled me in dance classes at a local dance studio in the town we lived in. One of the students in my class was an African American boy. I did not think of him any differently than any of the other students in the dance class nor did I formulate any generalizations about race. He was considered a friend as well as a member of the dance team. I recall the picture that appeared in the dance recital program -- he was placed in the center of the group perhaps because he was the only boy in the class.

I identify as Black. Growing up as a minority in America has shaped my identity by making me a creative, hard working, and understanding individual. By being Black in America I realized that there is this stigma that Black kids can’t excel in certain areas of education because the majority of our neighborhood and public schools lack the proper resources for us to do so. While this stigma holds truth, I refuse to let this stigma handicap me. Growing up with less resources allowed me to be creative. If there was something I did not have I was sure that I could create an equivalent to what I did not have by using materials that I did have.

Every human being belongs to a specific type of race or possibly multiple races depending on his/her background. As a population, society views their fellow citizens according to their certain race. For some, culture and traditions of their own race means everything to them and these people are proud of who they are and where they come from. However, for some races their background and pride carries burdens. Although every race is known for distinct stereotypes, a few are worse than others and usually these stereotypes are not true. African Americans have suffered through discrimination for an extremely long time and even though it is not as severe as fifty years ago, stereotypes and racism still exists today. It becomes a fact that others

Growing up my parents instilled in me that I was beautiful and my skin was beautiful. It was clear to me that everyone else didn’t feel the same way. I went to a couple different schools throughout my life starting with a predominantly black school then a predominantly white school then a very diverse school and at each one I still experienced colorism. At the black school I was not liked because I was darkskin and my hair was kinky and I was just not as pretty as the light skinned girls. At the white school I already felt different so I changed my hair I began to straighten it and talk different. I wanted to blend in but no matter what I did I was different. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Forget having a crush because no ones likes mean angry black girls. I find myself to be a very fragile girl and I want to protect myself so I don’t walk around crying all the time. So I began to put on my hard shell. They couldn’t hurt me if I didn’t give them the chance to be near me. By the time I got to high school I was then at a very diverse school. I had my protective shell of anger with me and I was ridiculed with in the first month of school. I realized there is no where I can go that won’t make me feel this way. Not only was I darkskin but I was an oreo because of the way I talked now. I was an angry black girl because no one thought I was beautiful or that I deserved respect or that I should be treated just the same as the light skin girl with long curly hair.

The world is filled with people, and like snowflakes, each person is not the same as another. Each person identifies with different aspects of their lives to create their own personal identities. I personally identify with my Italian side of my family to help form who I am today. I have found myself connecting with this side more so than the other parts of my identity. It affects how I live my life by becoming the center to the culture surrounding me. However, my ethnic identity as an Italian American also influences how I live when it comes to my religion, and how my religion affects my life alongside my ethnicity. I will expand on this issue on how I express my ethnic and religious identity in regards to each other.

Often times today, people of other racial classes and ethnic groups are experiencing oppression as a marginalized group in society today. Racial biases and culture have become an important issue in mental health due to social constructs, racial stereotypes and racial ideology. As a result, they tend to have an impact human development, racial and cultural identity. Therefore, it has become necessary for counselors to indentify and become fully aware and competent in this area due to the changes our society has undergone in multiculturalism and globalization. Due to cultural diversity, identification of minority groups has led to major breakthrough in the field of multicultural counseling/ therapy (Sue &Sue,2014).

I grew up in a small town in Mississippi in a neighborhood about a five-minute walk from the Mississippi River. I spent the majority of my younger years growing up within this southern bubble. This place that I still call home and my experiences here helped to create the person that I am today. In my neighborhood in Greenville, MS we didn’t have much to do but staying out of trouble was the motive. Even when thinking of the activities to do they were pretty limited but that’s what caused for us to become creative. Kids in my neighborhood took joy in just running, playing sports, working out, or skipping rocks. Besides being born in such a unique place I must give create to the people who have made me who I am.

In the past I have struggled with my biracial identity. As a child I was confused about which community I belonged in because I am a mix of Navajo and Caucasian. As I got older, I began to question myself and who I was. I felt like I did not belong to either the Native or Caucasian community because in both groups I felt like someone else. I felt as if I had to live two lives that were completely separated. When I was on my reservation I felt like I had to act “Navajo” and when I was not on the reservation I had to try to blend in and not act “too native” . This situation was stressful because I was internally battling with myself. I did not want to make others uncomfortable by being “too native” or “too white” so I would change how I acted

Challenges are events that are used to change you for the better should you choose it accept it. The challenges I have faced wasn’t a matter of choice but of something that I have no control over. Some people will tell you it’s a burden, some say it’s an entitlement or free ride. Science says it’s just having a high amount of melatonin due to geographical location for survival. To me though, being black probably one of the biggest challenges a human can have in America at least I find it terribly perplexing. I say this because of what is portrayed in the media, the people I have been raised with, and racism itself in the black community. Keep in mind that this is from my own personal experiences and perspective so everything I say is just applies from my point of

Growing up african American or with any skin that holds the slightest of pigment is not easy, but that's obvious due to our nation's past. Racism and stereotypeing has always been there.In high school the typical stereotype for blacks is that we all slack and don't care about anything. It was easier to not care and fit in then to act with common sense and stand out. And that's exactly what I did, Not care.

Growing up there were many time where things would happen but I was too young to realize it or even know what was happening. As time went passed thing got better and less noticeable but that is when things normally take a turn for the worse. But most people when looking at me would say he is African American but in reality yes I am partly African American but I am also mixed with Nicaraguan, Italian and Jamaican. So growing up I did not fit in with thee Hispanic kids because I could not speak Spanish and they could so I was always grouped with all the other African American kids. Being placed under a specific group just because the color of my skin and because of the people that I know does not mean that if they do something I am right there

Life as a Native American sucks. I realized this when I was a little kid. I’ve come to accept that what other people label or describes us as are true. I’m not happy to admit this they are right. My people don’t do anything to prove these people’s claims, or better known as stereotypes, about Native Americans wrong. Instead they do the complete opposite and just give these people all the reasons why they are right about how Native Americans are. I realized how my people being called as alcoholic, poor, and uneducated are all sadly true. For example, on New Year’s eve, my family had a big party which was suppose to be fun. It was suppose to be a good get-together family party, but as expected it wasn’t like that at all. My two uncles, named Adolph and Arnold, got into a very bloody fistfight with each other due to all of the drinking that they had. As a

Heaved I ever experience racism? How did it make me feel? Yes, I have experience racism. It was not the best feeling ever it made me feel like crap. It’s funny how people make you feel if you’re a different race. I think I will always feel bad when I get judged by who I am and my culture