Escaping A Stereotype and Living Outside of It
Society has given this perceived idea of African American men. The stereotype for these men is usually a violent male, who is probably dressed unpresentable, being ignorant and disrespectful. Society has already said that all African American men fit into this stereotype and will most likely not succeed in life. Are there men who fit this particular stereotype? Yes, however every African American male shouldn’t be labeled by it. Society overlooks the successful African American male and those who set good examples. Society’s oversight of successful African American males make it harder for younger men to escape fulfillment of the negative stereotype. Examples of this are shown all around us in …show more content…
They express how they have to set a good example for their race since everyone already thinks badly of it. For example a boy named Jamal explains “When I hang out with my black friends, I got to watch what they do” (p.232) Jamal says this to explain how he has to set the example when his friends are doing foolish things. He encourages them to stop acting this way and pushes them to behave correctly. “..I have something to prove, to show since I do have so many white people around me, show them that not every black person is like what they see on TV.” ( Jamal, pg.231) This quote is an example of why Jamal wants his friends to act right. He wants to prove that their are black men who have ambition and goals. Another student, Arnold tells the author that unlike other students he doesn’t like seeing or being involved with drama. He says that he often break up fights instead of encouraging them like everyone else. He says that it’s hard for him to find peer groups because he is afraid of being labeled as deviant. Arnold’s problems cause a lot of stress that he shouldn’t have to worry about. He shouldn’t try to fit into groups that are doing the wrong things, Instead start a group of people who like doing the right
Society has given this perceived idea of African American men. The stereotype for these men is usually a violent male, who is probably dressed unpresentable, being ignorant and disrespectful. Society has already said that all African American men fit into this stereotype and will most likely not succeed in life. Are there men who fit this particular stereotype? Yes, however every African American male shouldn’t be labeled by it. Society overlooks the successful African American male and those who set good examples. Society’s oversight of successful African American males make it harder for younger men to escape fulfillment of the negative stereotype. Examples of this are shown all around us in …show more content…
They express how they have to set a good example for their race since everyone already thinks badly of it. For example a boy named Jamal explains “When I hang out with my black friends, I got to watch what they do” (p.232) Jamal says this to explain how he has to set the example when his friends are doing foolish things. He encourages them to stop acting this way and pushes them to behave correctly. “..I have something to prove, to show since I do have so many white people around me, show them that not every black person is like what they see on TV.” ( Jamal, pg.231) This quote is an example of why Jamal wants his friends to act right. He wants to prove that their are black men who have ambition and goals. Another student, Arnold tells the author that unlike other students he doesn’t like seeing or being involved with drama. He says that he often break up fights instead of encouraging them like everyone else. He says that it’s hard for him to find peer groups because he is afraid of being labeled as deviant. Arnold’s problems cause a lot of stress that he shouldn’t have to worry about. He shouldn’t try to fit into groups that are doing the wrong things, Instead start a group of people who like doing the right