Negative Stereo Of Black Men in America?
 

Whassup ladies, well this question is very dear to me, because being a black man in today society isn't a very easy thing. Now one day at work this young Caucassion girl and I got into this conversation about race. This girl had the audasity to say "well expect for your hair(i have cornrows) you don't act like the typical african american male, Now my first reaction was to go off and defend my people, but being the UPSTANDIND young african american man that I am, i took a deep breathe and asked her well what is the typical black male? She explained to me that her image of black men was slang talking, gangbanging, drug dealers. Now I am sayin to my self, this broad gotta be out of her mind. She is telling a black man, that he doesn't in a sense act black, and that his fellow black brothers are basically HOODLUMS. I explained to the chick that she needs to broaden her horizons on race issues and explained to her that all black man as she could see doesn't embody those stereotype. But that conversation left me with a numb feeling. Is that really the stereotype of black men? And what can be done to change it.

Re: Negative Stereo Of Black Men in America?
 

In a way I do not blame her for her ignorance. Many peoples exposure to other races or ethnic groups is limited to media depictions and what their friends and associates have told them either directly or indirectly. Therefore I would not fault her completely. That is unfortunately the stereotype of black men. . . . even among some black men and women. If it was advantageous to promote a positive image of black men, then that is the image that would be held as the standard.

Yeah, I think that it is a terrible stigma that has been attached to us as African American males. I think that the best way for us to get rid of this horrible stereotype is to carry ourselves as the respectful gentlemen that we are and try to show some of the younger brothers the way.