Comparison Of 'Bad Boys,' The Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace

Throughout the matriculation of a black boy 's’ life, there are many, (labeled natural, yet are culturally, socially and institutionally based) factors, that govern the holistic views and beliefs entailed to the child. From that moment on, challenging the social structures that these norms entail suggest a sense of sensitivity, homosexuality or weakness, ultimately emasculating the highly regarded social stigmas attached with being a man. Despite being indoctrinated into the minds of black boys from an early age, there are many long lasting effects of masculinity that are in turn reciprocated in the role of black fathers, husbands, brothers and friends. Black masculinity is the self-deteriorating idealisms that attack the identity and social positions black men ascribe to.

Black males within American society struggle to be successful because of challenges arising from racism and oppression, lack of effective educational leadership, and adverse racial stereotypes. Toby S. Jenkins’, “Mr. Nigger: The Challenges of Educating Black Males Within American Society”, Bell Hooks’, “We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity”, and Tyrone C. Howard’s “Who Really Cares? The Disenfranchisement of African American Males in PreK-12 Schools: A Critical Race Theory Perspective” provide insight to understanding the challenges Black males face within American society and especially the educational system.

This article climbs into the struggle of young black males. Many issues that are recurring such as early school dropout, delinquency, poverty, unemployment, incarceration, fatherless, and they don’t have much of a chance to lead a successful life. Most black males are set up to fail at this rate and all this leads to a need to develop interventions to save those lost lives of the young black communities.

In the 1960s, Black masculinity was reshaped by the newly acquired political power of the Civil Rights era. Notions of the ‘good negro’ (or obedient/deferential negro) were purposefully destroyed and replaced with a more defiant/revolutionary representation. The 1960s-70s played a pivotal role in the creation of this aggressive male identity. Specifically, the combination of the media’s portrayal of the antagonistic Black Power Movement, and record crime rates in African American neighborhoods, created feared images of African American men (Milton).”

The key aspect I discovered is that black men are stereotyped as violent and not as smart as white men. They are not allowed to have a voice and stand up for themselves. In Just

For many years, black males have been betrayed to be these violent, sexual human beings and this has made it difficult for black males to get in touch with their humanity. To be able to have sex with as many girls as possible or to be this tough figure all the time, does that really make you a man? The discussion of black masculinity is an issue that’s destroying black men’s humanity. In today’s world, black males are looked upon to be the “tough guy” in their definition of masculinity. Black males have historically been associated with thugs, gangsters, and pimps. These are negative images that society portrays young black men. To some degree the media to blame for that and our youth because the radio and the T.V. keeps stereotyping black

African American men struggled throughout their lifetime with being looked down on and shunned by American. Whether it was getting a job or simply walking down the street, blacks were constantly abused and degraded just for the color of their skin.” Blindfolded, I could no longer control my motions. I had no dignity, I stumbled about like a baby or a drunken man” (184). This quote left an imagery of slavery in the story. The control the white men had over the blindfolded black men illustrated the power whites had during slavery. Because of the predicament, the boys had no choice but to obey the white individuals because of the sense of fear they installed in them. In the fighters’ mind, they were slaves to the whites no matter how far the nation has progressed from

African American males who live in poverty are the most vulnerable and oppressed population in society. Since the first slave ship set sail from Africa with hundreds of Blacks in tow headed to America, black have endured the worst treatment of any one individual race in America. Slavery lasted over three hundred years and has been illegal since 1865. However the underlying effects of slavery continue to plague Black males in society. In our modern day society there are still underlying racial injustices. Black males are racially oppressed in educational setting as they have the lowest high school graduation rates than that of any other race. Black males are racially profiled by law enforcement and are represented in prisons and jails than their white counterparts. Once Black males have paid their debts to society, their criminal records place them at higher risk of becoming underemployed or unemployed. If the American Dream is promise to all U.S. citizens then structural changes are needed to assure their survival. I believe empowering Black males using the Strength Based Perspective helps to identify individual, family and personal strengths in effective problem solving and application of the Critical Race Theory helps practitioners to understand the core issues of oppressive barriers throughout the lifespan.

In today’s society, the state of mind that African American males is constructed upon is troubling. It is not a frame of mind that develops overnight, it starts developing at a young age and manifests into adulthood. Many of these African American males that have developed this mentality “were abused as children, dropped out of school, lived in poverty, abused drugs, and served in many juvenile jails and prison sentences (Austin & Irwin, 2012).” Unfortunately, the environmental factors have dictated the lives of young black men instead of using it as a source of empowerment like women. They rather life the “ fast life” that involves them joining in gangs, selling illegal narcotics, and engaging in various types of property crimes just to

Growing up in a city with a lot of crime and illegal activity, it is hard to stay focused on what is important. Morehouse College is one of the top-ranked institutions in the country that focuses on the issue of black masculinity. Notable alumni, including Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Spike Lee once sat in the same chairs and walked the same halls. Morehouse College strives to turn boys into men. Within four years of constant work, some transform and others cannot take the pressure. Even though not all black men abuse and/or look down on women, Black men in today's generation are constantly being stereotyped based upon past situations because not all black men are criminals and not all Caucasian men are preachers.

Black males enter educational environments questioning if they belong while trying to survive. Schools reflect critical factors that impact how Black males see themselves and how they envision their futures. Brooms (2016) asserts that school culture cannot understand the context of the lived experiences of Black males within education without positioning them as victims of the system. However, it is due to “institutional racism, intergenerational poverty, and the lack of meaningfully sustained educational reform and community development (Brooms, 2016)” that disproportionately puts Black males at risk for educational failure. Polite and Davis (1999) adds that “to be an African American male in school and society places one at risk for a

Black males in America often suffer the consequences of stereotypical judgment placed upon them. Because of the conventional image given to black males, they immediately have to deal with the repercussions of social inequality. In what some consider “White America”, white males have always been thought to have white privilege. Black males have been abused for hundreds of years, dating way back to slavery which began in the 1600’s.

Black men have the consistent challenge of finding and proving their place in society with unquestionable evidence. In this, men such as: James Cone, Brent Staples, and W.E.B DuBois provide argumentative and expository techniques that aid in the constant discourse of the black man’s presence. In their respective works, Nothing But a Man, Black Men in a Public Space, and On Being Black, these men show rhetorical strategies that allow readers to explicitly recognize the common strengths, ideas, and morals that are found in today’s black men. However, James Cone takes the approach to allow the reader to not only see the power a black man can command, but also the faults he is subjected to by his community that makes him

Malcom X once said, “In the ghettos the white man has built for us, he has forced us not to aspire to greater things, but to view everyday living as survival.” This quote has a meaning some African Americans would not understand but if read to someone else who dream about a different lifestyle would understand. This quote tell that the white man do not want us to succeed in life but only for us to think that the only thing we got is the ghetto or the streets. There is lots of things people like myself can do to make the image for black males in America better than ever before. People just need to us there minds and hearts to improve the images of black male Americans in the world.

Black males in society have expectations to live up to and guidelines on how they should act. Although these expectations and guidelines vary individually from person to person, generally black men all are bound to the same rules. Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man explores the intersections of race and power, where this seemingly ideal black male is one that can outwit the white men. In Kiese Laymon’s novel Long Division, the ideal man is one that can survive white oppression by not coinciding with racial stereotypes. Although these novels introduce the same idea of the us-versus-them mentality, both have vastly differently interpretations on it and ways of fulfilling it.