Racism in the African-American Community Essay Example for Free

Racism in the African-American Community Essay Abstract Racism is today perceived as a social and baseless evil that tries to undermine certain individuals based on their skin color. It is entirely evident that the U. S. still suffers from some traces of racism, but surprisingly, a big majority of these cases come from the African-American communities. While many people hold the opinion that the African-Americans are the ones that are always on the receiving end, new polls reveal that they are the ones who show more racist behavior than the whites. This paper addresses some of the reasons that lead to racism among the African-American communities and also outlines how this transition slowly came into place after the advent of the 20th century. Additionally, this paper covers the consequences of this menace and its impact on the kind of peace that is present in today’s free states. Ultimately, this text tries to draw a line on the distinctive barrier between what African-Americans call racism and how Americans perceive the same social evil. It also explains why racism by itself is baseless and bears no meaning to the parties involved. RACISM 3 Racism in the African-American Community. Racism is a social evil that came as a result of slavery that began in the United States immediately after English colonists inhabited Virginia and remained there until the Thirteenth Amendment to the constitution of the U. S. was passed in 1865. During the 90’s more African-Americans underwent oppression from the Americans as the peak of racism was evident during these years more than ever. However, recent polls from Rasmussen reveal an entirely different perspective of the current racism situation in America. The report by Rasmussen indicated that many Americans believe that blacks are indeed more racist than Caucasians. Additionally, the report stated that a huge percent of African-Americans believe that more blacks are indeed racist than whites, and this is backed up by Norton (2011). This report, however, ended up being skewered and mocked by some people as they saw it to be untrue. This calls for a serious assessment into what is the main cause of this drift into racism in the African-American community and how this will impact people’s relationship. Also, it pushes for the need to better understand how racism itself managed to stay alive through the years despite the fact that such practices were long left behind in the recent years. Reasons for Racism Clearly, the deep trail of racism in African-Americans can be coined from the fact that blacks first faced oppression from the whites and this is what led to the ill-bred feeling among African-Americans. However, there are up to three more reasons why African-Americans are turning out to be more racist than Caucasians. These happen to be the most flagrant and thus top the list when it comes to the factors that result into racism. RACISM 4 First, racism in the African-American community may merely be as a result of different stereotypes. The media is also responsible for fueling this kind of attitude towards. African-Americans since it is through televisions, radios, and the internet that most people discover the underlying menace. Ornelas et al. (2009) maintain that whenever young African-Americans are exposed to certain stereotypes, they tend to mimic most of these traits and in turn become negative towards people from other races. In fact, most of these stereotypes are surprisingly among the influential African Americans in the country. During the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Junior’s historic speech, black activists displayed exactly this kind of behavior. This was evident through Martin Luther King III who used this opportunity to stir up racial hatred instead of honoring the work of his father. Another reason for the prevalence of racism amongst the African-American community is the unfamiliarity that is present among newborns and how they are treated in the real world. This is probably the main reason why African-Americans are slowly displaying racist behavior (Okazaki, 2009). However, this doesn’t always happen, but only after the innocent party has been brainwashed by negative stereotypes. A workaround for this is to ensure that children are exposed to people from different races at a young age so that they could get used to being around people who they deem different. This additionally helps in counterbalancing any negative and untrue stereotypes that may present themselves in the future. Selfishness, coupled with pain and anger, is also another valid reason why racism is on the rise among African-Americans (Lambert, 2009). Selfishness may have depicted itself among white people in the past, however, the case is different today. The sad truth is that this selfishness led to the creation of negative stereotypes that ultimately led to a new line of different-minded persons (Martin, 2011). Also, selfishness comes in when an African-American would feel more RACISM 5 compelled to spend more time around people of the same skin color because they he/she may have been exposed only to African-Americans during childhood age. Selfishness coupled with rage for the people who inflicted pain on their forefathers leads to hatred that is directed to white people. Why Racism among African-Americans Will Not End Soon Recently, renowned television icon Oprah Winfrey stepped up to state that racism will only end when old racists perish (Newsbusters. org, 2014). While this sounds logical from one perspective, it fails to address the fact that these stereotypes will never cease to exist any time soon. In most cases, racists will always give birth to racists and the cycle is perpetual. Therefore, despite attempts to curb racism in the African-American community, this menace is still too far from being over as new racists will always come back to replace their mothers and fathers. It is also worth noting that this doesn’t only happen among the African-Americans, but also among the whites as well. Another reason why racism among the African-Americans is far from being over is because they are seen to put so much emphasis on themselves whenever the word â€Å"racism† is mentioned. During the same interview that was conducted by BBC Friday, Winfrey’s comment â€Å"Are there places where people still get terrorized just because of the color of their black skin color? † further showed how most people only view racism in the eyes of how blacks are treated. Looking at the problem this narrowly makes it more difficult to end the menace as the racism chain won’t end if everyone simply defended their skin colors (Bonilla-Silva, 2010). In sum, it can be seen that racism in the African-American community can only be contained but certainly not dealt away with within a year. RACISM 6. How Racism Can Be Contained The fact that racism is not ending in the near future doesn’t necessarily mean that nothing can be done about it. It will certainly take years for the world to heal from this habit, but there are small but significant ways of ensuring that racism slowly fades away in the African-American communities. The first is by educating young African-Americans to reject any form of history of America that has elements of slavery in it (Shelby, 2009). By reminding the blacks about slavery may induce a feeling of resentment towards white people despite the fact that slavery ended decades ago. African Americans also bear the responsibility of desisting from using derisive words such as â€Å"nigger† or any variations associated to it (Cone, 2010). This is because when blacks utter these words, they also tend to inflict the same kind of attitude in people from other races. Additionally, African-Americans should cease supporting black-only institutions or media houses such as BET and Ebony magazine. Generally, anything that depicts the word â€Å"black† should be avoided since it strikes a line between how different Caucasians are from African-Americans, something that is not true (Boykin, 2012). Finally, African-Americans should learn to appreciate the art of decent dressing and totally avoid the use of Ebonics, an African-American slang that is widely used among black individuals. While this may seem far-fetched, it is one step away from ending racism since it shows that even African Americans are trying to fit in with the whites and simply not creating a larger barrier. Collaboration with law enforcement agencies will also be a huge step because this additionally shows that they too are concerned about the well-being of their neighbors and their security as well. RACISM 7 Consequences of Racism. Should African-American racism persist, there are a number of things that could happen. Hatred between African-Americans and whites would cause a drift between them, and this could easily spread to people from other races as well. The levels of cooperation would plummet and at the end of the day, nothing would get done (Pieterse, 2010). Other than stirred levels of cooperation, it is likely that some people might get displaced from their homes especially when lands start being claimed by the original inhabitants of a place. Discrimination also leads to poor mental health. In 2009, a Cornwell News Study conducted a study on the effects of racism and results showed that poor mental health is possible and it comes as a result of chronic exposure to discrimination (Brondolo, 2009). Ultimately, there would be total havoc if racism were to have its way for there would be zero tolerance for someone with a different skin color regardless of that person’s character. Wars could easily erupt between black individuals and white individuals, and a drift will end up crippling collaboration between people and thus resulting to a sluggish economy. In summary, there is no place for racism today. It has proved to be a social evil that discriminates individuals based on their color rather than character. Racism, however is seen to come from three main factors which include: unfamiliarity among people of different outlooks, selfishness among people of different colors who only wish for their people to benefit, and the presence of certain stereotypes that are transfixed to the racial practice. It is also mandatory to acknowledge the fact that racism is not an evil that could possibly end overnight because certain individuals have inclined it to a specific group of people and not everyone in general. As such, there will always be complaints regarding racist behavior since most individuals are readily RACISM 8 prepared to cry out for their rights without considering that other people may be facing bigger challenges than them. One way of containing racism would be to ensure that the racist stereotype is dealt away with completely or segregated from children who could easily pick up the negative racist behavior from their elders. Additionally, African-Americans also have a big role to play in ending this discrimination since they seem to be creating a drift between black individuals and white individuals when they only support their brands such as the BET channel and the popular Ebony magazine. The consequences of racism in the African-American community are also grave as they can result to a much bigger drift between whites and blacks in which it would be easy for some people to be displaced from their homes and even be denied jobs. Possibilities of wars are also very high since there would be zero tolerance to a person who doesn’t respect another person just because of their skin color. RACISM 9 Annotated Bibliography Bonilla-Silva, E. (2010). Racism Without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States;[new Chapter on the Obama Phenomenon]. Rowman Littlefield. In this book, Bonilla-Silva, E outlines how racism can persist without the presence or racists themselves. It shows the reality of racism in today’s world and explains the roots of racism and racial inequality in the United States with a lot of emphasis on U. S. president Barrack Obama and the challenges that are faced at the presidential level. Boykin, K. (2012). ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS (BLACK AND GAY IN AMERICA). Boykin, K explains the different challenges that blacks have to face when seeking their true identity in the U.S. and what life means for them in the U. S. The book goes further to explain how gay African-Americans find it challenging to fit in a world that already has more than enough hurdles to cross and enough reasons to make the weak quit. Brondolo, E. , ver Halen, N. B. , Pencille, M. , Beatty, D. , Contrada, R. J. (2009). Coping with racism: A selective review of the literature and a theoretical and methodological critique. Journal of behavioral medicine, 32(1), 64-88. This book gives an overview on the way that African Americans try to cope with the kind of racism that they are subjected to in the U.S. It greatly focuses on the impact of this kind of discrimination on the African Americans and what this means for them. Brondolo, E also highlights key factors that cause this racism. Cone, J. H. (2010). A black theology of liberation. Orbis Books. Cone’s A black theology of liberation highlights the Christian-based perspective of oppressed blacks but mainly looks at the Cone’s own reflections on black theology. The book goes ahead to explain how racism can be ridded and it also looks at some of the roots of racism itself. Cone also relives the liberation process that led to the freedom of the blacks, but the book also highlights the hidden traces of racism that are still evident today. Lambert, S. F. , Herman, K. C. , Bynum, M. S. , Ialongo, N. S. (2009). Perceptions of racism and depressive symptoms in African American adolescents: The role of perceived academic and social control. Journal of youth and adolescence, 38(4), 519-531. This book reviews some of the underlying factors that lead to depression in African American adolescents as a result of heavy subjection to discrimination from racism. The book also briefly touches on some of the causes of racism and explains how racism develops in young people and its impact as they become older. Martin, M. J. , McCarthy, B. , Conger, R. D. , Gibbons, F. X. , Simons, R. L. , Cutrona, C. E. , Brody, G. H. (2011). The enduring significance of racism: Discrimination and delinquency among black American youth. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(3), 662-676. Martin, M. J. and other writers analyze the impacts of racism in the African American community and explains its significance in cultivating the kind of peace that is evident in today’s time. His main focus, however, lies in the discrimination of black American RACISM 10 youth by the whites and what this causes in the long run. He establishes how the negative stereotypes are formed as a result of the discrimination that the youths face. Newsbusters. org. (2014). Oprah: racists have to die for racism to end | newsbusters. org [online] Retrieved from: http://newsbusters. org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/11/15/oprah-racists-have-die-racism-end [Accessed: 8 Feb 2014]. This article outlines a transcript from an interview between Oprah Winfrey and BBC Friday regarding racism. In the article, Oprah is asked about her views on racism and various ways in which she thinks would put an end to the perpetual menace that has crippled our world today. The article also outlines an important factor that shows why racism won’t end soon, and how the African Americans are fueling the perpetuating racism act. Norton, M. I. , Sommers, S. R. (2011). Whites see racism as a zero-sum game that they are now losing. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(3), 215-218. Norton, M. I. , Sommers, S. R. reveal the truth behind what whites really perceive as racism today and the effects of racism in a world that has moved way ahead of racism. The two authors go further to explain why racism among the whites is baseless and bears no real truth or inner meaning other than the fact that it is a social evil that once existed in the past. Okazaki, S. (2009). Impact of racism on ethnic minority mental health. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(1), 103-107. Okazaki explains the effects of racism on the mental health of the minority in the state. He also outlines some of the other non-health related mishaps that come as a result of social oppression. In his book, he states what would eventually happen if racism were to go on without showing any signs of ending soon. He however focuses on the effect this would have on the ethnic minority. Ornelas, I. J. , Amell, J. , Tran, A. N. , Royster, M. , Armstrong-Brown, J. , Eng, E. (2009). Understanding African American mens perceptions of racism, male gender socialization, and social capital through photovoice. Qualitative health research, 19(4), 552-565. This book tries to understand African American men’s perceptions of racism and the new trend of some African Americans feeling more racially discriminated than people of other races. It also highlights some of the reasons that lead to the prevalence of this notion among African Americans. Ornelas also explains why racism is a social evil that cannot be expelled overnight. Pieterse, A. L. , Carter, R. T. (2010). The role of racial identity in perceived racism and psychological stress among Black American adults: Exploring traditional and alternative approaches. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(5), 1028-1053. Pieterse, along with Carter seek to understand how racism is perceived by African American individuals aged over 21 years. Their book also strives to find the deeper meaning as to why racism is a bigger matter than we thought of it. It also explains reasons why getting rid of racism would be a great feat. RACISM 11 Shelby, T. (2009). We who are dark: The philosophical foundations of black solidarity. Harvard University Press. We who are dark tries to relive the African American history in an attempt to unite blacks. It emphasizes on the importance of dealing away with racism and living in unity as one big family. Shelby’s book also highlights the key differences between the perceptions of both whites and blacks with regard to racism. It also shows us how history has helped in cultivating black solidarity.

An Exploration of Conflict and Social Exchange Theory Essay -- Social

Introduction In developing my ability to analyze conflict from different theoretical perspectives, I have learned through different theories how to practice different steps to manage my reactions to them. What I hope to accomplish within my paper is a general broad overview analysis of my experience with both Interpersonal Theories and Relationship Theories. I also wish to explain how when conflicts do arise, the steps on what people should do when making choices when they communicate in conflict situations. The reason why conflict is worth examining and experiencing, is because it shows us how we can develop better communication with the foundation of our mistakes; and what we can learn from them. By learning from our mistakes we can expect to gain more knowledge on how to acquire different behaviors to manage conflict. Conflict Description Now in explaining my conflict, it involves someone who is very important to me in my life. The person I am referring to is my girlfriend Maria. Maria and I having been together for two and a half years and things seem to be going pretty well. We both enjoy each other’s company and when we do spend time together it usually involves us having fun. There is never a dull moment when we are together and we both strive for and work towards are success. When it comes to school or work we always support each other in any positive way we can. Now in explaining on who holds the power, I would say that we both hold some sort of power when deciding different things in are relationship. There is not one person who indefinitely holds all the power in my opinion. In many situations there have been many occasions where she has felt strongly in an engagement where I have stepped aside and given support. I... ...mething I may thought I have did to make her upset, didn’t. And it was something that I let my mind think that she was going to be. When studying about the complexity of a person’s behavior, you can really she how things can so easily be resolved through simple communication. The way I can benefit from both these theories is by taking into account what they both mean. For Social Exchange I can take away that social behavior is the result of an exchange process by maximizing benefits and minimize costs, and for Uncertainty I have learned that people have a need to reduce uncertainty about others by gaining information about the problem at hand. Works Cited Dudley D. Cahn, Ruth Anna Abigail. Managing Conflict through Communication. Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education , 2014. Griffith, Marquis. Conflict Analysis Paper. Lumberton, New Jersey, 2014

Stages through developmental psychology

The Life of Juan Leonardo from Birth Through Adolescence Diver University John Smith This report is based on the adolescent life of Juan Leonardo, who is 17 years old and a senior in High School. I interviewed Jean's mother Maria Leonardo. She weighs around 150 lbs and she is 5'5 inches tall. She has the ability to obtain and apply many are that she is loyal, she is devoted, she had an affectionate family upbringing, aspiring, ambitious and she has always been highly motivated. She does what she can to better her family life.She is extroverted and she enjoys social interactions and tends to be enthusiastic, verbal, assertive, and active. She told me that she enjoys large social gatherings, such as parties and cooking large meals for her family and friends. She is a nurturer and a caregiver. Her weaknesses are that Maria is very talkative and not a good listener at times. She has no history of any medical issues in her family. Maria believes that the best thing in life is family and t hat is what she values most. All through her pregnancy she had no issue with her health. She talks bout the early symptoms which include headaches, nausea and lower backaches.In the first three months of her pregnancy, Maria said she slept more often, but it was a restless sleep. She felt sleepier during the day and was having more difficulty sleeping at night than before she was pregnant. She knew that she needed to eat healthy for her and her son, so she made sure that she increased her intake of protein, folic acid, iron and calories. She was twenty six years old when she got pregnant with Juan. Maria felt that she was very active while pregnant with Juan cause she already had two other young children and she was always running around after them.She didn't smoke or drink alcohol during any of her pregnancies. She did have a lot of prenatal care from her doctor and never missed any appointments. Juan fell in the 95th percentile at 36 months on the growth chart. He was extremely br ight and he had the abilities to learn very fast. Maria said Juan did everything a little faster than an ordinary child. His cognitive abilities with memory and problem solving were above average and Maria felt he was always learning to do wings by himself. He exhibited the Piglet's seniority thinking and operational thinking.Even though during his seniority stage he had limited knowledge of the world, he still was more advanced than others is age. During his operational stage he started reading and he definitely exceeded the expected milestones. During his first stage of the Erosion's psychosocial stage, Juan was very nurtured by his mother Maria so he gained a lot of trust in her and he had a very secure attachment. Juan wanted to do everything by himself, like using the toilet by myself and brushing his teeth during the second stage. Juan became more active during the third stage always rough housing with his brothers.Maria was very involved in Jean's preschool activities. She vo lunteered to come in and help out during all the class parties and events. Maria helped Juan understand his feelings, good and bad, and he was shaped to behave almost Just like the image of Maria herself. Juan showed a lot of empathy for others and was a very loving child. Because Juan was the youngest of three he always had to share with his brothers. He as very attached to his mother, never wanting to leave her side. Maria said that Juan had lots of memories growing up.They took many vacations to the ocean and camping as a family. He was always acting more than his age, very active, and loved outdoor activities like soccer and swimming. Juan had a rapid growth in height between ages 9. 5 and 14. 5, peaking at around age 13. His motor skills begin to develop earlier, which helps explain why he always seem happy drawing, coloring, painting and cutting things out of paper and she was often more satisfied sitting still s he is somewhat stalks. During elementary school years Juan was v ery advanced in doing his schoolwork.He was very physically fit as a child and he loved playing sport with other children. Though out the processes of cognitive development he was able to master problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through to adolescence. He never lacked ideas or an opinion and he was always learning from others. Jean's father was not around after he was born so he was raised solely by his mother. They had a very close relationship and while she was very caring Maria was also very strict. She would punish her son's with timeouts and if necessary she would spank them.The lack of his father did not have any negative effects on Jean's development. Instead, Maria believes this made Juan want to be a better man for his mother and his brothers. Juan had a large circle of friends. He was never the type to stay inside playing video games or watching television. Juan loved to be outdoors and was very active, He loved soccer in basketball later in his adolesce nce and was very skilled at all physical activities he participated in, Jean's older brother's spoke tit him about sexual maturation and puberty.He developed normally and did not go through any negative effects because of this. He did not struggle with his weight because he and his brothers were so active. He was generally happy going through all the different stages in life. Maria believes in teaching a child to feels good about themselves and not to think about what others are saying. His social and emotional needs did not interfere with his way of thinking because he was always given the chance to express his feelings and thoughts with his family.Juan said that he was ware of his social status and he felt the need to behave in a way that maintains his positive image. Any behavior that may be socially unacceptable to his peers, elders, or mother was not acceptable. He was never into drugs or drinking. Juan always wanted to keep his nose clean and make Maria proud. As he was going through the four identity stage, he was most worried about his self-identity. Without a father Juan sometimes struggled making decisions that would prove he was a good young man.He questioned what was right and wrong sometimes, but he always looked to his other and thought if she would approve or not. Jean's self-esteem and values were very high, he never let any factors affects his life negatively. Juan is an honorable and respectful young man who has a bright future ahead of him. His amazing mother, Maria did a commendable Job raising him as a single mother and she is doing everything in her power to raise Juan in the right way. He is respectful and well behaved from what I learned as I was interviewing Juan and Maria. I know Juan makes his mother very proud.

Theses about Person-Centred Counselling

Person centered therapy focuses at helping clients in the growth process so that they can better cope with the difficulties they are facing and with future difficulties. A person centered counsellor will help a depressed client by creating a helping relationship that   helps the client explore ares of their life that are distorted (McLeod, 1998) Case Study of Billy Billys self analysis shows that he feels helpless, powerless and incapable to make decisions or efficiently direct his own life. On the brighter side, he has quite a good idea of what he wants for his life. The person centered therapist relies on the self analysis as it tells of Billys self -view.   The therapist will work towards understanding him from his internal frame of reference. Billy has listed goals that he hopes to achieve during therapy. He is not motivated to change and seems skeptical about therapy.   Given these situations, the person centered counselor still has faith in his ability channel his own path and trusts that he has within himself the necessary resources for personal growth. She encourages Billy to freely speak about the perceived discrepancy between the person he sees himself as being and the person he would like to become; about his feelings of being a disappointment, or not being man enough, being inadequate, about his concerns and hopelessness. The th erapist strives to create an atmosphere of freedom and security that will encourage Billy to explore the threatening aspects of himself. To achieve this, the therapist listens intently to Billy and observes the manner in which he expresses himself. She attempts to be empathic by taking time to understand what it is like to live in his world. She conveys to him the basic attitudes of understanding and accepting, and by using positive regards he may be encouraged to drop his pretenses and defenses thus he can more fully and freely explore his personal concerns. The positive regard and acceptance is unconditional hence it is not   dependent on the clients feelings and decisions. Billy has poor self esteem and a poor evaluation of his self worth. He wants to be loved although he has difficulty believing that others really like him. He hopes to feel equal to others and a sense of acceptance and belonging.   Billy needs to feel that the therapist is genuinely interested in him by creating a supportive, trusting and encouraging atmosphere. The relationship will serve as a learning tool for Billy to be more accepting of his weaknesses and strengths. He has the opportunity to openly talk about and face his reality and of being a failure, inadequate and hopelessness. He can explore how he feels judged by his family and peers. He is given a platform to explore his guilt feeling about not measuring up to his familys and his own expectations. He can explore his hurt feelings over not feeling loved and wanted. He can also explore the loneliness and isolation that he feels, and his addiction to alcohol and drugs as a means of dulling these feelings. Point out to Billy that he is no longer totally alone, for he is taking the risk of letting his therapist into his private world. By letting the therapist in, Billy gradually gets a realistic view of his experiences and is able to accept and change his own feelings and attitudes. He becomes awareness that he has the capacity to master his own strengths and make his own decisions.The care and faith, Billy receives from the therapist helps him to increase his own faith and confidence in his ability to resolve his problems and create a new way of life. Success of the therapy will be exhibited in the following ways: Billy sees himself in a more positive way and their behaviors should exhibit more flexibility and creativity. He will empower himself to direct his own life instead of looking outside or answers and using drugs and alcohol to escape from reality. He will come to appreciate itself as he is. He will be more aware of mental messages that are self defeating and less dependent on approval from others. Billy should be able to live life as he imagined,be more in touch with what he is experiencing at the present time, be less bound by the past and gradually trusting in themselves to successful manage their life (Corey, 2009) REFERENCE Gerald Corey (2009) Theory and Practice of Couseling and Psychotherapy (8th ed) Brooks/Cole. Australia. Mcleod John (1998) An introduction to Counselling (2nd ed) Open University Press. Buckingham.