Bang! Another black man dead in the street. Another cop, walking around proud, knowing that he is protected through the law. Why is it that our lives are worth nothing in America? Why is it that as a seventeen year old adolescent I am already in fear of what my un-conceived son will have to face being a black man in America? Why is it that we face racial profiling, self-hate and unaware incompetent racists? The existence of racism in America is beyond factual. The people who say otherwise have obviously never experienced the mental exhaustion of being something other in America.
In commencement, living in the United States of America, if you are black especially if you are a man of color, you will most likely experience racial profiling in your life. The case we know all too well is a story of seventeen year old Trayvon Martin. This is just an average day for some minority men in America. They are followed around in shopping centers, offices, and upper-class neighborhoods. In America the fear of the unknown is at the point that our men are at the brink of death every time they step outside. The portrayal of black men in the media has become increasingly negative since the insurgece of the hip hop community came onto the scene. Do not misunderstand, hip- hop is a beautiful craft, poetry at best. This all the outsiders see us as though. They do not see the doctors, politicians, outside of Obama, lawyers, activists, all of the prominent black men that form our society. So, because of popular belief, those same politicians, professors, and doctors will get racially profiled, stopped and patted down when all they're doing is driving home from a long shift. We are profiled as animals; specifically, gorillas. The Vogue photoshoot prove this. Photo editors used the King Kong movie poster as a model. Even if we take away the obvious relation to King Kong, we still get an angry faced black man, armed with a smiling white woman. Also take notice of the clothes, this portrait portrays to the customers of Vogue magazine that a good majority of black men play basketball and it is innate for us to have all this anger within us. This proves that racism still exist even if its sneakiest forms.
Continuing on, in America black people are having an issue with self hate. We are letting the seed that the media plants in our head get to us. We are losing our identities, in the process neglecting the fact that our main goal is trying to unite our race. All over social media there has been a wave of, #teamlightskin/ #teamdarkskin/ #teambrownskin. What happened to the Angela Davis afros, the black and proud chants heard so often through the 1960s and 1970s? We are dividing our race and whilst we do that caucasians are laughing and we are giving them a reason to laugh! We will never conquer the race issue if we continue to split our race into subraces. Since the early twentieth century there have been advertisements that have been broadcasting that having dark skin in society automatically means you're less than. This issue began many years prior. We as Africans, are naturally very dark skinned. It was through intermixing of the races that the variety in our complexions came about. Unfortunately, our ancestors were more likely than not, raped and impregnated by white men. So as Africans magically became lighter and lighter, it was the fair complexioned slaves that were chosen to work in the house. The dark skinned ones were subjected to the field. This may be where the irrational notion that light skin is better came from. Not only did they get to work in the cool walls of the mansion, but they were more accepted by the whites. In 2013, people still have the mentality that one skin tone is inferior to the other. It is sad that 400+ years later, we still have this idea putting a division in our race. Racism does not only exist from the outer forces, but from the forces within as well.
Furthermore, in Jenny Yamato's writing, she had mentioned a form of racism she called unaware racism. Adding to the idea of that, these unaware races may also be ill-informed or do not care to be informed. From my own personal collection of going to a predominantly white school, I have been called nigger too many times to count. In my speech, I refrain from using the word nigger, in public settings. My argument to that is that if you don't hear me say nigger, then what would give you the inclination that it is okay to use it around me? Unsurprisingly, that has not worked. I would say the things that hurt the most are the words that come from my peers, that up until high school they treated me like a regular person, and not just a black person. "It's okay to be a black man in society because lots of girls like black guys, but it's not okay to be a black girl", that was coming from a 'friend'. My favorite was, "Why don't you just wear weave all the time, you're real hair is ugly", also from a 'friend'. Should I get mad and unleash the stereotypical angry black woman, or should I try to educate the ill-informed? I've tried the ladder, and have been told I'm overreacting. So instead, I keep it inside and break down every few months. It is unfortunate that I let these unaware peoples words get to me, but as illiterate as they are I do let them inside. My school is nothing compared to what little Ruby Bridges must have felt. Norman Rockwell crafted her struggle so perfectly in his painting. The unaware/ ill-informed part of the painting was the part we couldn't see. The person who threw the tomato was not aware or did not care that black children have just as much as right to learn as their white counterparts. They were numb to the fact that they were mentally scarring a six year old child for what could possibly be the rest of her life. Racism is based off of fear. They fear that if we give blacks the same education as whites, we may prosper and become something other than sharecroppers and house maids. Many still have this fear of the unknown. Racism is still an issue that is still relevant and of vast importance.
In conclusion, racism is still here. It is evident through the racial profiling, the self-hate we continue to harbor, and unaware/ ill- informed racist. As a member of the black race, I suggest we join together and beat this infection, find a cure for this disease. We must mend a world where our grandchildren do not have to worry about being shot based off of what they're wearing and the color underneath their clothes. We must start with us though. We must eliminate the holes in our own race. So one day, we can once and for all rid ourselves of the negative connotations of being black in America.
