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.
Racial Disparities and the Effects on African American Males in Poverty
In my work with the Department of Social Services, I have the opportunity to work with people
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.
Is it racism or economics which hinders many African American communities from progressing economically in the 21st Century? This research proposal will address this question by examining the social and psychological impact caused by racism and the economic impact it’s had on the African American community. This proposal will further investigate whether the emotional scars of slavery continue to hamper African American progress or if racism is actually the cause.
Social work professions need to understand the importance of how individuals interact both with other people and their environment, to have an understanding how individuals are affected by these interactions (Rogers, p. 2). According to Rogers (2016), “Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development (p. 2). Their work with clients begins with assessments to evaluations of intervention and is based in and supports of the core value system of the profession.
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.
The successful education process starts with the family in the home and community, and continues in school and throughout life. The extent to which Black parents become actively involved in the education of Black male children is the extent to which the destruction of potentially millions of young Black men will stop. When young Black men realize they have become expendable, are we ready for their reaction? The United States does not tolerate young Black men being unproductive or counter-productive to the goals of mainstream society. Black males are suspended, expelled and failed in schools at rates that are two to five times higher than students of other races and go to jail at rates five to ten times higher than people of other races ().Jackson, Phillip. “The Massive Failure of
There is no single overriding factor to explain this lack of success, but most scholars and researchers point out that beginning in the colonial era and continuing through most of our nation's history, the experiences of Black males in White society have been so negative and psychologically damaging (Pinkney, 2000; Staples, 1982) that they have given birth to and nurtured a deep-seated and tenacious belief in their own, and the entire Black community's, inferiority. At the beginning of this history, Black male slaves were looked upon by White society as the most undesirable and least trust worthy of people, and they were treated accordingly. Black male slaves were closely associated with and compared to animals, and were said to have a deceptive and violent nature and to be uncontrollable and in need of the whip (Kunjufu, 1986). Given this formative experience in slavery, the fact that Black males have continued to be disadvantaged from birth to death throughout our nation's short history hardly seems to need explanation.
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
Clearly, there is a need to make communities safe and assist a population of African American male youth, that are headed towards a continued self destruction path, of criminal life. Causes such as lack of employment, lack of education, social disparities and an injustice justice system, leads to high recidivism rates among African-American juvenile offenders. It is imperative that programs are implemented in areas such as rehabilitation, intervention, job ready skills, substance abuse treatment, educational skills and anti-social behavior programs, to help move the African American male juvenile youth into a positive direction. In a direction of not having to make life criminal choices, from living in communities of disparities and
Despite changes in the landscape for treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States over the past 200 years, issues with racism has never stopped being an issue and continues to tarnish and tatter the very fabric of our nation. There has been a history of violence against Black people that dates back 400 years, to a time when the first slave was forcefully brought here to the USA (Rogers, 2015). From that time on, people of African descent have been dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens and this has become an ongoing community issue (Diversi, 2016). Racial classification was created as a way to condone slavery and maintain the primacy of the white race (Tolliver, Hadden, Snowden, & Manning, 2016). Aymer (2016) explains that the Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a way to understand that the violence that Blacks face in America originates from the societal belief in White superiority and, when trying to understand the Black reality, centuries of racial oppression must be discussed (Aymer, 2016). CRT acknowledges that racism is primarily a problem in America and has contributed to the social disparities in the U.S. In addition, it notes other forms of oppression that are important to discuss and work through. CRT does not believe in the legal rhetoric that there is an impartial, equal way of dealing with individuals in the community that has nothing to do with color and everything to do with achievement and hard work. It also takes on an interdisciplinary
Intro: The American Dream attracts many people from all over the world, people have an image that living in America grants them the life of their dreams, but does living in america really grant people the perfect life? The Case For Reparations by Coates explains how African Americans have struggled in the past with racism and discrimination. He goes on to talk about their lives during slavery and post slavery, and how African Americans are unemployed and undereducated. Aja ET AL.’s essay From A Tangle Of Pathology To A Race Fair America also talks about the lives of African Americans, the discrimination, segregation, and unemployment. They both go on explaining how Blacks are always discriminated against and are not given equal
Over the last one hundred and thirty years African Americans have little by little-gained freedom for themselves as slaves and domestic servants. Now as a culture they are legally capable of obtaining jobs and positions in all areas of private and public organizations, (Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J., 2010). This particular ethnic group are known to be instrumental in holding their cultures together through times of constant struggle. They have used rallies, protests, silent marches and received help from volunteer organizations to fight for rights as well as obtain justice in a racist and sexist society. This work explores the troubles African Americans face in Americas society today, through stereotypes and how gender roles as African Americans differ from each other as well as the American population.
Intergenerational trauma, or historical trauma, is “the cumulative psychological damage that specific groups of people suffer throughout multiple generations” (Hanser & Gomila, 2015). African Americans, as well as Native Americans, are one of the groups said to suffer from the most historical trauma in the United States, most of it stemming from centuries of slavery and subjugation. This paper seeks to show how slavery has continued to affect black people in the United States, starting with slavery and ending with the present. This paper will look at issues that seem to plague the black community in particular, including higher rates of both incarceration and poverty, as well as continued stereotypical and racial profiling, in an attempt
The embedment of racism into American society has created severe disadvantages for African Americans. In addition to the negative effects of individual racism, systemic racism 's crushing discrimination has devastated the African Americans in this country. Due to the horrors of systemic racism many African Americans find themselves at economic and social disadvantages. The education opportunities they encounter are far more limited than the ones White Americans do. As a result, African Americans often achieve fewer educational successes than their white counterparts. The lack of opportunities for African Americans leads to higher rates of crime. Furthermore, the discrimination faced by African Americans, in particular males, attributes to the exceptionally high incarceration rate of blacks in the prison systems. These negative effects can also lead to many mental health issues. The problems of racism, both systemic and individual, represent systems that inherently benefit White Americans over African Americans. Thus, this paper intends to convey the presence of racism that permeates American society.
The views on discrimination against African American males haven't changed greatly since the slavery era. For these males the discrimination has become more worse than ever before in modern society. The African American males are treated unfairly than white males such as from workplace to dealing with the police.There are more African American males in prisons and they got killed by white police officers more than any other races because of the racial profiling. According to Daniel B. Lee, who is a researcher at University of Michigan, "African American males faced different types of racial discrimination in their lives and these impact on their health issue" (2). For African Aamerican males the goal of racial equality remains very difficult to achieve.
Congressman David Scott once said, “Racism, unfortunately, is part of the fabric of America's society” (David Scott Quotes). As a black state representative of Georgia, Scott has seen his fair share of how race can divide a nation. Although the Jim Crow laws were abolished in 1968, the racial divide between black and white people in the United States is still very much present. Among the African American population, gender and economic inequality negatively affects their daily struggles. Therefore, the United States is not living up to its national credo, “all men are created equal.”