Afro

The Black Lives Matter movement has swept the nation ever since the unjustified murdering of Trayvon Martin in 2012. During this time African Americans and other minorities were vulnerable and frightened yet came together across the world to make a drastic difference for the justice of these innocent young and old lives. This harmless phenomenon has been recently targeted as being “racist” and a “hate group” yet the whole meaning of the name and purpose is to remind everyone that black lives…

Imagine growing up with 19 siblings and being the youngest of your entire crazy family. Of course it’s going to be arguing, sisters stealing clothes, or fighting about who gets to use the bathroom first. It’s also when your older sibling hit you too hard and try to bribe you to get you to shut up or stop crying before you can go tell mom. For instance, when I was five, my siblings and I always argued; whether it was from them stealing my fruit snacks or me going into their room when they weren’t…

Nowadays, children are growing up in homes where one parent is absent, particular the fathers and is commonly found among the African- American homes. Their absence has generated many female-headed household. African- American families consist of single-parent mothers than marriage homes with both parent and therefore cannot be recognized as a nuclear family (only truly healthy family system) because their family structure. This research is based on why African- American men are seen as absent…

Since September of 2015, I’ve been interning with the Quaker-based, non-violent, social justice group, the American Friends Service Committee. During this time, I’ve learned so much about myself, as well as Kansas City’s youth. I’ve helped organize a city-wide high school poster art project and a poetry workshop of the same — giving students a platform to speak out on social issues. This consisted of conducting interactive lecture style classes in Kansas City metro schools such as Paseo,…

Ever since the early years of America, black men and women have been the victims of numerous cases of racial discrimination and hatred. Conditions eventually changed as African Americans were able to win equal rights. Today, we even have an African American elected as president of the United States. However, this journey was never easy, as shown through the events of “Black Boy”, an autobiography written by Richard Wright. Richard Wright was an African American man, born after the Civil War, but…

Introduction: Thesis statement: The Media’s portrayal of African American’s is racially biased, reinforcing the misconception that people of colour in the United States are inferior to those of other ethnicities and perpetuating self-hate within the African American community. Divided Topic: African Americans are criminals. They are the most dangerous race in all of the United States. African Americans are unintelligent in comparison to White Americans. African Americans are unattractive…

With so much production and consumption of a plethora of different forms of media, too many people never need to need for it to be any different than how it is, never have to wish it would change. Too many people, unknowingly, take for granted something another group of people would weep with joy at finding. This is what being represented in the media can feel like. African Americans experience anywhere from negative representation to erasure from television, film, literature, and even the…

What does it mean to be African American or Black? The word “black” has negative atmosphere around it, people say things such as “black” talk, “black” walk etc. but when told they talk or write “black” they will get offended and will change so they don’t want to be labeled. That’s same with colored people they don’t want to be label with the word “black.” Stereotype is a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.…

Invisible Man: The Life of a Black American in Harlem What is in a life? Do we exist as merely a conglomerate of memories and experiences, or are we also defined by the views of others? In The Invisible Man, our narrator finds that all of his experiences - everything that defines him - are informed by the views and manipulations of others. This is obviously a very troubling conclusion, so troubling in fact that the narrator must hide underground with nothing but dim lights and sad music for…

“Black Identity” What defines one as being “black enough?” It is the color of your skin? How nappy your hair is? How street smart are you? The way you talk? What are the qualifications exactly for being “black enough?” As I sat in the cafeteria waiting on the Girl Scouts interesting meeting to start and my mom to arrive, I noticed that the Girls Scouts were divided. There was a Black Girl scouts group and a white Girl Scouts group, instead of being one. I was young back then in Elementary School…