African American Stereotypes Essay
For as long as I can remember, the concept that African American people are expected and assumed to act differently because of our race has often left me bewildered. On multiple occasions, I've been told by both my African American and Caucasian peers in school that I was "acting white" because I was articulate, and I took my education seriously. Making assumptions about how a person should think or act based on their race pigeonholes both the person making the generalization and the person being generalized. It says that based on our skin color, we must accept certain stereotypes about ourselves no matter how wrong they are. For me, education is important, as I see it as a gateway to a better future; for this reason, I do not compromise my
…show more content…
Young, black males are expected to be very disrespectful, speak slang, behave aggressively, and we are expected to either be uneducated or to not take our education serious, but so far, I have lived my life not accepting these stereotypes. When I was younger, I was told that in order to rebel against stereotypes, I had to work very hard in order to not be what some expected of me. That is lots of pressure to place on a young child; I remember feeling fearful because of the stereotypes. Rebelling against the stereotypes may not always be an easy thing to do, but it must be done on a large scale in order to put an end to the assumptions that all African Americans are supposed to act in a certain type of way. Despite being the only African American male in most of my advance courses since middle school, I chose to work harder as a way of disproving what society may have thought of me, and although my grades could still be better, I believe that I have done a great job so far because of my hard work and devotion to improving the world. My experience challenged the perceptions often viewed by the world, and I encourage others who wish to defy the stereotypes to act in similar ways I have. The experience also taught me that I do not have to let a stereotype define me, as I am solely in charge of my own
Young, black males are expected to be very disrespectful, speak slang, behave aggressively, and we are expected to either be uneducated or to not take our education serious, but so far, I have lived my life not accepting these stereotypes. When I was younger, I was told that in order to rebel against stereotypes, I had to work very hard in order to not be what some expected of me. That is lots of pressure to place on a young child; I remember feeling fearful because of the stereotypes. Rebelling against the stereotypes may not always be an easy thing to do, but it must be done on a large scale in order to put an end to the assumptions that all African Americans are supposed to act in a certain type of way. Despite being the only African American male in most of my advance courses since middle school, I chose to work harder as a way of disproving what society may have thought of me, and although my grades could still be better, I believe that I have done a great job so far because of my hard work and devotion to improving the world. My experience challenged the perceptions often viewed by the world, and I encourage others who wish to defy the stereotypes to act in similar ways I have. The experience also taught me that I do not have to let a stereotype define me, as I am solely in charge of my own