Debbie Adadevoh has been married to her husband, Kodjo Adadevoh for over 20 years. They have three boys. Debbie has a BA in Journalism and an MA in Mass Communication from Penn State University. Debbie currently works for a non-profit social organization in New Jersey. Debbie enjoys mentoring and guiding young people through challenges and helping them to set goals in order to realize their own potential. Debbie believes that many of our youth are simply looking for someone to encourage them to believe in themselves.
This book takes a look at the current state of minorities in America through the lens of the past, present and the future and offers some perspectives on the current state of affairs. We examine causes and effects and touch on the responsibility of individuals, parents, government and of course society at large. We take a critical look at the paths young people take, why they take such paths and the missteps, and any corrective actions that those of influence can take to help them along the way. We all have a collective responsibility, in this critical analysis, this book forces us to look at our own role, it encourages us to own our roles and to contribute to the well-being of our fellow human citizens.
Excerpt
Preface
This book takes a look at the current state of minorities in America, focusing specifically on black minorities, evaluating their plight through the lens of significant past events, present day events and the future, and offers perspectives on the current state of affairs.
The authors examine the root causes of persistent poverty, underemployment and poor health in black minority neighborhoods. The authors examine the systemic causes of persistent poverty, including the role that slavery has played even in the aftermaths of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation proclamation; the book examines the forces that have led to persistent economic disenfranchisement amongst these groups.
The structural problems in black neighborhoods; drugs, guns, unprotected sex, poor health, and unemployment are examined. The root causes for these structural problems are evaluated with an eye to understanding why the problems have persisted for so long despite several efforts within the black community, the government and non-profit organizations to stem this tide.
The impact of subliminal messaging, propaganda and the conscious role some members of society and organizations have played in keeping the minority down are examined. The roles and responsibilities of individuals, parents, government organizations, non-profit and of course society at large are looked at and special emphasis is made to the role of black leaders in addressing the long standing inequities & inequalities in America.
The authors are first generation Americans. Kodjo was raised in Lagos, Nigeria, where he obtained his first degree in Chemistry, coming to America at age 25. Debbie was raised in Antigua W.I. and came to America at the age of 18. The unique backgrounds of the author’s vis-à-vis their upbringing in countries that were run by black leaders and the absence of racial divisions provided a unique perspective for both of them. Further, both authors had historically been exposed to peoples of difference races all over the world, Debbie having worked as a Diplomat for 10 years and Kodjo having been raised by a father who did work with organizations such as the Ford Foundation and World Health Organization, and hence travelled the world extensively, exposing his children to peoples all over the world. With these unique backgrounds, the authors have pondered for years how in such a great country such as the United States, there are groups that still live at the margins and are disenfranchised. The authors were curious about the structural causes of the persistent poverty especially amongst blacks born and raised in American inner-cities and pondered the root causes of this persistent poverty.
The authors hope to educate all readers as to the genesis of the problem; how societies inadvertently create inequalities amongst their people and the role that each group and individual has played or is playing in the persistence of intolerance, racism and prejudice. The authors provide a very detailed analysis of the problem faced by black minorities, explaining how and why things are the way they are what it will take to create an even playing field for all Americans. The authors address the complex nature of the socioeconomic problems faced by minorities but hasten to point out the huge economic and social loss that the US faces by not fully engaging all citizens.
This book will open the mind of the readers, by introducing them to different aspects of the problem. Things that they may not have considered and addressed in detail; specific examples are given of how and why things happened and why economic plight of black Americans is still in a deplorable state. The book challenges all readers to examine the facts and arrive at their own conclusions.
Acknowledgements
To our parents, Babatunde, Kwaku & Deborah, Regina Adadevoh and Raymond and Nora Prosper for all of their love and support and most of all for their belief in us. How can a blade of grass every repay the warmth of the summer sun?
Introduction
Minorities in America have historically faced a myriad of challenges as a result of a legacy of disdain, prejudice and the power of subliminal messaging. Such challenges have persisted over the years and are threatening to destroy the social fabric of America. The powerful effects of these cumulative factors have led some to the view that the legacy of slavery and racism in America today is still a threat to the union. Prejudice in America is born out of cultural and historical factors that have persisted, often leading to irrational attitudes and behaviors and to many injustices. A significant social and political problem in America is the diametrically opposing views held by whites and blacks on the issue of racism. Today Racism in America is no longer as overt as it used to be. Currently there are many civil rights laws on the books, so many are blinded to the fact that racism has taken on a much more subtle but equally dangerous form. A cogent example of today’s subtle racism is the fact that although most whites in certain neighborhoods will be tolerant if a black family moved into their neighborhood; they might be less so if a second and a third family were to move in after the first one. Many in the neighborhood might become nervous and perceive their new neighbor as a threat to their security and their neighborhood. There might be the perception that these new entrants will somehow degrade the neighborhood and/or suppress property prices. Clearly, this phenomenon is not pervasive in all communities in the United States and the level of tolerance will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, but it is a fair statement to say that this perception, when held, is quite real in the minds of the people who hold such views. This said, it must be emphasized that, overall, residential segregation in the United States has continued to decline since the 1960s.
Over the last fifty years progress has been made in the black community with significant increases in the aggregate number of black middle-class; however the number of successful or middle class blacks is small relative to the total black population in the U.S. and the black lower class is growing at a much faster rate than the black middle class. Minorities in the United States have travelled a path that is riddled with turmoil, struggle, denigration and systemic isolation. Historically, they have been relegated to the background of the main stream economy. This is a well-documented historical fact for both the African American and Hispanic minorities in the US. The plight of these marginal groups has led to a historical systemic problem that continues to plague these groups to this day.
Chapter 1
In all societies the world over, the idea of equality is clearly bankrupt. The goal in any given society should be to allow every citizen the opportunity to have an equitable stake in their country’s political, social and economic future. They (citizens) should be able to have an impact on others, and in turn, their own lives. Having done an analysis of the prevailing forces that continue to shape race relations in the United States, some suggestions for the empowerment and equitable participation of minorities in the American society will be discussed.
For more than a hundred years now, the United States has been pursuing the ideal of equality. In recent years the new political environment in American has re-awakened this discussion. Equality assumes that by some form of social engineering, we have the ability to make people equal. Imagine a situation in which a couple has three sons, the physical, social and educational abilities of the three sons will naturally vary. Their choice of clothing, friends and even their perception of the world will differ. No matter how close these boys appear as brothers, from a genetic and social standpoint, they will always remain as different individuals. The parents for their own part cannot in good conscience wish anything else on these boys. If three kids from the same genetic gene pool, one family can end up as such vastly different individuals, even after being exposed to the same environment. How can society or the government for that matter, expect to engineer people to be equal? This point is precisely one of the failures of certain political systems. One of the roles of any government is to ensure that each citizen is equal before the law and legally has the right to purse a productive and happy life. This however, is quite different from the concept of a government engineering an equal outcome for all citizens. Provision of equal opportunity suffices. It is the absence of equal opportunity and the discriminatory actions by some against minorities that derails the dream for a productive and prosperous union amongst all Americans. This is not to say that efforts should not be made to correct society’s injustices. This simply means that any effort by the government or from private citizens to address societal injustices has to be focused on the opening up of opportunities for minorities, a hand up and not a handout. This would mean providing them opportunities to survive, to thrive and to contribute positively to society. Imagine how much more prosperous the United States would be if all of the minorities who are at the fringes of society were gainfully employed and being utilized to increase the productive forces of the country.
Some of the more obvious paths or solutions out of the vicious cycle of poverty, crime, indolence and denigration continue to elude minorities in the United States. The question is when and how do minorities break out of the routine paths or molds that society appears to have relegated them to? One could argue that education, economic empowerment, individual responsibility and hard work are obvious solutions to the plight of the underclass. However, a careful analysis of the issues, faced by most minorities, points to a more complex situation that requires an even more careful analysis into what some may describe as cultural poverty.
Education is a critical part of the solution to the myriad of problems plaguing minorities and other marginalized groups in society. In fact, some would argue that education is the single most import objective on the road to emancipation. However, the schools in the inner cities and poorer neighborhoods are underfunded and tend not to attract the most qualified, or more experienced teachers. Such disadvantages create complexities for the young people in these neighborhoods. This problem is amplified by the fact that a disproportionate number of the children in these neighborhoods are growing up in dysfunctional homes and are exposed to violence, crime and poverty at a very young age.
However, it must be pointed out that poverty can never be an excuse for not learning or not being given the opportunity to learn, especially in a country as endowed as the United States. This simply means that the challenges faced by young people in poorer minority neighborhoods are quite unique and present some very significant obstacles, not just for these young boys and girls, but to the American society as a whole. Gladly we all know that these obstacles are not insurmountable; education is the key to solving these problems.
For most of society education usually starts, at least informally, in the home. A child’s first exposure to learning language is usually in the home. Such learning is usually in the form of routine parental interactions. We have learned that reading to our children is an important part of the learning process. Some parents read stories and sing songs to their children. Parents intuitively teach their children through some of their most basic interactions. From infancy, parents encourage language development through vocal interactions with their infants. When mothers and fathers “talk” to their infants and speak in the high pitch voices, that babies seem to like, and in turn, when they respond to their baby’s vocalization, they work on developing their child’s interest in the world around them through interactions with nature. They foster investigation in science even if it is just done by giving the child an opportunity to play with their food. In essence children learn from this common interaction, through the normal interaction they learn about love and empathy from the very nurturing that they receive from their parents they learn to receive love and to give love in return. Also, once they receive appropriate nourishment and proper care they can continue to develop normally. However, many kids in poorer neighborhoods at a very young age are often forced to fend for themselves and grow up under very difficult circumstances. Kids from dysfunctional homes who grow up without a role model, be it a parent, an uncle or auntie, a grandparent, a sister or brother are at a significant disadvantage and often end up in trouble.
In our society we often see a troubled minority kid as an individual challenge, however, the scourges that such individuals develop often leaches out onto others in society. One lost child who drops out of school and pursues a life of crime can quickly become your problem and mine. How does society remedy this problem? We must first recognize the importance of education, and not only formal education, but the quest for knowledge in general. While it may be true that society may not owe everyone the same level of education, society does owe its citizens a stake in the country in which they were born or have adopted as their homeland. This level of obligation is achieved by ensuring that at an early age, all citizens learn how to read and write.
At a minimum reading and writing must be a mandatory requirement for individuals to be accepted as part of a larger society. Literacy should be an obligation and not a privilege. We often hear stories of black athletes who are pushed through the educational system because of their athletic prowess and are not even given the obligation to be literate. Some of these athletes have graduated high school and some even college only to come out to reveal that they are barely literate. This is not fair to the athlete, their families and even to society at large. Literacy rates must improve. After all, how can individuals who are eligible to vote and participate in the political process contribute in any significant way if they cannot read, and do not understand the issues? Can they even advocate for themselves in society? What kind of future could they possibly have?
The alarming dropout rate of minority high school students is a significant contributing factor to the plight of minorities in this country. About one in every two minority children leaves high school without graduating. These teens end up not being able to compete in the ever increasing competitive environment that they find themselves, many are functionally illiterate, hence their prospects for living above the poverty level is largely diminished. These individuals will potentially become a liability to society, depending on the government, and in turn tax payers, for support and tapping into the healthcare system more significantly than the average working person. This is largely because we know that poor Americans and those who are the working poor tend to demand more healthcare than the average working American.
Statistically, the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the black community is quite alarming. A lot of young minority teenagers are making babies, these teens are ill equipped to take care of the children they bring into this world. As a consequence, the teens, as well as their offspring suffer far reaching consequences. About 5% of all female teenagers between the ages of 15 to 19 will give birth as a result of unintended pregnancies. Birth rates for teenage women in this age group by race in 2006 was approximately 8.2% for Hispanics, 6.5% for blacks and 3.6% for whites.1 Many of these teens will not obtain a high school diploma and furthermore the effects of the unintended pregnancies on their future are confounding. In many cases, the children raised to these parents will live in poverty and the parents will be challenged by the fact that it will become even more difficult for many of them to complete their high school education as they juggle the responsibilities of being a parent with the necessity of working to earn an income to take care of their families. However, it is interesting to note that “Black teen mothers are more likely than Hispanic or white teen mothers to earn a diploma or GED by age 22. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of black women who had a child before the age of 18 went on to earn either a high school diploma or GED, compared with 55 percent of white women and 46 percent of Hispanic women in this category.2” In spite of this, we should not rest on these laurels, we should be striving to eradicate teen pregnancies and at the minimum, increase the number of teen parents who complete high school or their GED.
One could argue that young people today are not being fully sensitized or educated on the dangers of having sex at an early age. The dangers of having premature sexual encounters should be emphasized in schools, by including and designing classes that depict the dangers of unprotected sex. These classes should emphasize the dangers and consequences of teenage pregnancy, the associate responsibilities and consequences of bringing a child to the world and sexually transmitted diseases and even the possibility of death from diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
The challenge facing most teenagers is far more complicated than what is portrayed by popular television. Teen parents face problems that are not only a consequence of a lack of education but also a reflection of their immaturity. Many teens are not mature enough to make the many sacrifices that are needed to be made when raising a child or building a family. For some teen parents the child is seen as an obstacle to their ability to enjoy themselves and quite often the child is not their priority. As a result, children that are raised by teenage parents are at a very high risk of going astray and running into trouble.
The challenge to society is how best to address the issue of unintended teenage pregnancies and to develop appropriate resources to help to alleviate the problem. Sex education is a critical first step; some have even advocated community centers and the more controversial experiment in which some school health programs have even provided contraceptives such as condoms to students. For some, the latter is considered to be an indulgent and encouraging practice; however, many believe that these are practical solutions to a problem that has far reaching ramifications. Once teenagers have babies, their lives tend to go in a different direction and a lot of their dreams and aspirations might have to be put on hold as they struggle to raise their child.
The responsibility of society in addressing and stemming the tide of the very high dropout rates amongst high school teens should be viewed as a national priority. Teens who drop out of high school tend to do so for various reasons, some of the reasons include: a lack of commitment and discipline on the part of their own parents, many of these parents lack education themselves or were too young to have children when they did; some teens complain about being bored and disengaged from the school system, while others complain about their inability to comprehend the material being taught. There are a myriad of reasons why young people do not complete their high school education, but the most significant influence or cause appears to be related to the homes they come from and the communities in which they live. The school systems nationwide can be improved but the primary responsibility for a child’s education should start in the home and this is the responsibility of the child’s family.
The federal and state governments can improve schools by working more diligently on identifying their student’s strengths and weaknesses and ensuring that there is a career path for each and every student in their school system. Some children thrive through the traditional path of a science or liberal arts education while others may be better suited to a technical school. The school system should celebrate these divergent types of students and promote their particular path as important and viable alternatives.
Many young people, some of whom have already dropped out of high school, could benefit from technical schools. Many of them could gain the necessary education to become, HVAC technicians, carpenters, mechanics, draftsmen, plumbers, electricians and a host of other professions that give them the opportunity to support not only themselves, but their families as well. However, for many, a failure down the traditional educational path seems to lead to a life of failure as they settle in dead end jobs and do not acquire any tangible skills.
Most of the best elementary, middle and high schools in the country are in the wealthier neighborhoods where there is significant funding, mostly due to the higher tax base. On the flipside, a lot of the schools in the poorer neighborhoods tend to be underfunded and as a result have difficulty attracting talented teachers. The No Child Left behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a government initiative intended to ensure that the quality of education in America is enhanced and that all children benefit from the school system not just the wealthy. The key aspect of NCLB was the institution of mandatory state testing for every student in order for the states to continue to receive federal funding. NCLB is a step in the right direction but it does not go far enough in resolving the gap in educational standards between communities with wealth and those in the poorer neighborhoods.
As a practical solution, charter schools are cropping up all over the country and there is ample evidence to show that we may be headed in the right direction. Many of these schools are providing a very good educational experience for many children who would otherwise be marginalized in the traditional public school system. Charter schools are institutions that result from a charter which is essentially a contract between the school and a local agency or the state government that provides public funding for the school for a specified time. In return, the schools are held accountable to achieve pre-stipulated achievement goals that are spelled out in the charter. In return, charter schools are given autonomy in the day to day running of the school while keeping them accountable for meeting stated objectives. 3 This is not to say that the performance of all charter schools have been stellar, in fact, in relation to their performance against public schools, charter schools have received mixed reviews. However, there is convincing evidence that in poorer neighborhoods minority students have benefitted more from charter schools than they have from attending the public school systems in their neighborhoods. 4
One critical aspect that is missing in the education of the future leaders of America is that there is a disconnection between the funding for schools and the educational outcomes, measured by the performance of schools in both state and national standardized exams. The discussion and the process should include outcome based school incentives and increases for teachers. Teachers that are incapable of achieving at least an 80 to 90 percent success rate for each of their students should be held accountable. Rewards have to be tied very closely to performance and the measurement of performance can only be determined by the number of students who succeed in the classroom.
However, this is not to say that parents should be left out of the equation. By no means should parents be left off the hook. In fact parents have an integral role to play in this equation. This is because the responsibility of parents in the educational outcome of their children cannot be overstated. Our homes create the foundation for all of our future endeavors and ultimately who we become and what we end up doing in our lives.
Other factors play an important role in the development of our young people. The role of communities, churches and the school systems, are also a critical component in this equation. The brightest child on earth who happens to unfortunately be born to poor parents, living in a crime ridden neighborhood, is at a significant disadvantage when it comes to cultivating her or his talents and may very well be relegated to a life of substandard performance and even to a life of crime. Should society as a whole accept this outcome? Should children be destined to a life of poverty and non-inclusion even when they could potentially be the next Einstein, Gates or Jobs, simply because they were born poor? The answer to this question is obvious and the solutions to the problem are not too radical or abstract in nature. All great nations decide on what they want to focus on and how they want to utilize their resources and human resources are the most important and valuable resource any nation possesses.
Chapter 2
A society that systemically excludes any group from the mainstream, inadvertently or deliberately, is destined for trouble and ultimate failure. Those who believe that they have no stake in their country’s future tend not to place a value on what goes on in that society. Consequently, these individuals may choose a life of crime and denigration.
The big divide between the races in America is of course founded on historical events. The British were the first to colonize the continental United States, and did so by oppressing the Native Americans. After the British came, all other immigrants that followed them, including the Irish, Italians and Chinese as examples, suffered significant discrimination at the hands of the British who came here first. As a result, these groups were relegated to a second rate status and subjected to abuse by the original settlers, the British.
It is important to note that there is a critical difference between these groups, namely the British, Irish, Italian, Chinese and Africans that ended up in the Americas. The fact is that all of these other groups came to America of their own free will, while the Africans were brought to the Americas against their will. . In contrast, the European immigrants came specifically to improve their own lot. The Africans came as slaves and were used to enrich their captors while the Europeans came for self-enrichment. Slavery was mainly an economic venture. In America the motivation for slavery was profit driven. The attraction was the desire for cheap labor and its propensity to give a boost to the industrial revolution. However, the most dangerous legacy of slavery is the damage it has done to the psyche of the country as a whole. The white majority, for over 200 years, subjected the black minority to sub-human conditions, systemically abusing them not only physically but also psychologically as well. To effectively carry out their acts of human denigration and systemic sub-humanization, they indoctrinated other whites to think of blacks as savages and being less than human. This is a akin to the treatment that the Jews received in Nazi Germany where they were systemically labeled as being evil and a curse to the country; the government instruments of propaganda labeled the Jews as a menace to society and a force for evil, thereby generating a general anti-Jew sentiment amongst most Germans. These kinds of forces are evil and are often utilitarian in nature. The focus of the animosity is illogical and the victim is demonized. In Germany, the motivation was strictly a distraction from all of the political and economic woes that the country was experiencing; while in America the motivation was simply profit.
As Human beings, the sum total of who we are is often a result of our upbringing and our environments. This is why we often find that people in society who would be considered to be “nice people” and in some cases may even be highly educated, might harbor irrational or distorted views of people of different races or religions. Numerous high profile individuals have lost jobs, suffered public ridicule, in some cases, as a result of publicly airing bigoted views. The best way to understand these individuals is to first examine their upbringing and the exposures they might have had to views of intolerance and superiority. A lot of highly educated people are plagued by views that are irrational and when challenged, they often have a lot of difficulty logically articulating their point of view. In many cases, these individuals put forth very convincing arguments to justify their points of view; however, their views are usually biased towards historically privileged groups without any consideration for the circumstances that have led to the plight of the less fortunate, many of whom are minorities.
To get a good perspective on how the economic and political systems have failed and continue to fail minorities, one simply has to examine the disparities in society and the systemic disenfranchisement of minorities. Some very common and prevalent issues that are challenging to minorities include: health disparities precipitated sometimes by differential insurance rates for minorities in particular parts of the country; difficulty in gaining access to capital, jobs, or loans; negative depiction in the media; difficulty in accessing quality healthcare and the disproportionate number of incarcerations among black men.
There is a direct correlation between the economic plight of minorities and other complications such as unequal access to quality health care, jobs and schools. The majority of working people get their health coverage through their employers and these individuals are often those who are fortunate enough to work for the bigger firms. Many minorities who are unemployed or underemployed cannot gain access to quality healthcare. A significant number of blacks live in poorer neighborhoods; they may have substandard care and little or no access to quality education. To be truly successful, cultures and societies must celebrate the diversity of their people and the unique attributes of each member of their society. All members have to feel a sense of belonging. People must feel like they have a stake in the future of the country, their country. They have to see the connection between their personal dreams and aspirations, the dreams and aspiration of their relatives and friends and the health and welfare of the nation. They must be able to connect the dots, and see how their role in society has an impact on the future of their families and on society at large.
The conscious or subconscious exclusion of any group in a society can have devastating effects. These effects have ramifications, not only for the excluded group, but also on the character and fabric of the nation as a whole. Dialectically, it should be obvious that if all citizens are educated, gainfully employed and productive, the society as a whole will be safer and more prosperous. Putting all of the productive forces of a society to use can only make the society more competitive in a global world. In the United States, not every citizen is given an opportunity to participate as a full member of the union. The power structure in America is evident when one looks at the makeup of the Senate, Congress or even the Supreme Court for that matter. Some will argue that there are not enough qualified minorities to present to these prestigious bodies; however, a closer analysis will reveal the fact that even when very well qualified candidates are presented, the threshold they have to meet far exceeds what any of their white counterparts or peers have been subjected to. Very often, minorities have to be so much more qualified or even way over qualify to attain jobs that other groups with far less qualifications can obtain. In 2009, against all odds Sonia Sotomayor won the nomination as the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court justice. Similarly, in 1991 Clarence Thomas, who is African American, was nominated to the Supreme Court after a very contentious proceeding.
Fast forward to 2008 and, against all odds, Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States on November 4th 2008. Most people, many of whom were black people, thought that the country was not ready for a black president. People of all races all over the world did not believe that America could or would elect a black person as president. Barack Obama’s election to presidency in the United States is testimony to the spirit of America and speaks volumes about the hearts of Americans.
Most people in America are fair and seek fairness in everything they do; however, there are individuals and groups out there that are working very hard to retain their so called superiority. They refuse to yield their positions of power to any other group besides their own. Somehow, they consider America to be their own and as belonging solely to their own kind, all other races or religions in their mind, do not belong in the United States, and in fact they believe these groups are diluting the culture in America and bringing the standards down. Remember, this was the same view that Hitler held about the Jews.
So how is society helping to perpetuate the negative stereotypes and biases that stand in the way of race relations in America and what is its motivation for doing this? What exactly is at the root of this problem?
The worst type of hurt that any person or group can inflict on another person or group is psychological harm. This not only damages the person’s physical being but attacks their very psyche. This causes the destruction of a people’s spirit through a systemic erosion of everything that makes them human beings; this type of harm cannot be anything less than a crime against humanity. All people seek individuality and all human beings like being unique. It is this innate need to identify ourselves as unique that sometimes leads to the identification of us as being better or superior to someone else. The fear of others can be a true fear. A natural tendency is for people to surround themselves with people who think like them, behave like them and share the same beliefs and values as they do. Does this mean that anyone who isn’t like us is not worthy or is an alien? The answer is a resounding no. The founding fathers recognized some of these natural tendencies and for that reason separated church and state in the constitution and the inclusion of the phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” in the declaration of independence. Group think and the pack mentality are very dangerous forces in society and are very often used for evil. Pack mentality blinds the group from being able to objectively assess situations and logically approach problems. The two major political parties in America, the Democrats and the Republicans often fall victim to pack mentality, holding on to ideas that are part of the platform of their party, even though the individuals within the party do not necessarily agree with the views of the majority. Many sins and crimes are committed daily as a result of this very powerful force, the force of group think.
Chapter 3
The psychological effects of the historical depiction of black people in movies cannot be easily quantified. These movies often stereotype blacks as servile, lazy, fat or as criminals. This depiction is damaging. We all know that life often imitates art and vice versa. However, this depiction of blacks was conjured up in the minds of writers and is a reflection of how society sees them. Gladly this depiction of blacks in movies is slowly changing. As more blacks are gaining wealth, owning their own studios and can produce their own films; society at large is also changing as the younger generations do not necessarily share all of the views and biases of the generations before them. To fully appreciate the negative effect of this systemic denigration of a people, one simply has to take the situation of a family as an example. In a family with two sons, where one son is always favored over the other, and the favored son is often showered with gifts and is always told how special or smart he is. The son that is not shown much affection stops developing in certain areas, his parents view or perception of him becomes a reality and he starts to act out. He loses confidence in himself and begins to perform at a sub-standard level. This scenario is no different from the profound effect that the negative depiction of black people has, not only on adult blacks but on the younger generation as well. The destruction of their self-image and connectivity to society is sad.
The media in America often depicts young black men as a menace to society that must be contained. Very often, black men are portrayed as drug dealers and violent gangsters. This perception which many white people have of black people comes largely from what they see on television news and on television sitcoms. In the larger society, many of the perceptions of blacks are a reflection of these stereotypes. When crimes occur, the black race is always mentioned versus silence on the issue of race when other races commit similar crimes. The repetitive nature of stereotypes in the media serve only to overly sensitize the races, hence when they are dealing with black people the stereotypes often come to mind, whether subconsciously or consciously. The racial divide in America has created this vacuum that is being filled by the media, people who watch a lot of television tend to form racially biased views of society from what they see on television, hence the more negative the depictions of black people, the more likely a white person is to fear, detest, mistrust or disrespect a black person.
Mainstream media predominantly depict poor people as African Americans; however, according to data from the census bureau, the majority of people on welfare are white. These depictions of blacks as the predominant welfare recipients was exacerbated by comments made in 1976 by the presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, when he described a black woman from the south side of Chicago as a “welfare queen.” These perceptions tend to undermine public support for antipoverty programs and especially for black people. Not only are black families adversely affected by these acts, but so also are future generations of poor black children. Several studies have shown that when mothers take their daughters to stores to buy dolls, the little black girls tend to pick white dolls over black dolls about 60% of the time. In some interviews with these black kids, they express what they perceive as a white doll being more beautiful or nicer than the black doll. These are very disturbing findings and they clearly demonstrate the damage that is being done to these kids and the long lasting scars that they have to live with. Clearly, these trends are changing as witnessed by the number of young white girls who are showing an interest in black dolls; however, the negative role that the media plays in creating distorted images of African Americans, cannot be overemphasized.
Many news stories have reported crimes in which the victims of the crimes were asked to describe the perpetrators of the crime. Even in cases where the victim did not get a good view of the person who committed the crime, very often the criminal is described as black. There are other cases when the crimes have been committed by a member of the family, even in these cases; the family members have concocted stories describing a black person as the perpetrator when they themselves committed the crime. The assumption on their part is, if I say it was a black person, most people will believe it, after all, isn’t that a common theme for black people to commit crimes. Imagine how much of a challenge these stereotypes are for progressive black families who are raising young boys and girls in a country in which many of these young people are judged merely by the color of their skins. The ingrained prejudices in society resulting from the Medias depiction of black people cannot be underestimated.
The majority despises the so called hip-hop culture glorification of violence; this so called culture is believed to propagate misogyny, sexism, and violence. Many of the consumers of hip-hop music are from the post-segregation generation and are not connected to the civil rights generations. Many believe that the hip-hop generation is using music and art as a way to express themselves in a society that has totally emasculated them. For many young black people, hip-hop has not only been a medium for them to express themselves but has also been a way for them to make a very good living. The so called hip-hop culture has been a curse for many and also a blessing to many as well. For this reason Hip-hop appeals not only to young black people but also to children of all races and people all over the world.
There are clearly some negative aspects to the hip-hop culture, but this is not new in the arts, rock and roll had and still has its fair share of negative influences on youth. Further, not all hip-hop artists subscribe to the negative aspects of the music or culture, many artists are pure in their approach to hip-hop, and to take a brush and brush all hip-hop artists with the same brush is a very simplistic approach. Some artists are actually delivering a good sound message and are working hard to make the world a better place through their art. However, the good that these individuals are doing could be completely lost in all of the negative stereotypes of the so called black music or hip-hop.
Even the American justice system is often perceived as being biased against the black man. In all major cities in America, the tension between police officers and the minority groups has persisted and numerous incidences of excessive force against minorities have been well documented. The case of Amadou Diablo and Abner Louima in New York are two classic examples of police brutality and the prejudicial treatment that black people often get at the hands of the police force. Other prominent cases of police brutality have been recorded in Los Angeles; one of the most publicized cases is the beating of Rodney King. Under the guise of fighting crime and terrorism, many minority groups, including Hispanic, Asian and Black youth are reportedly targeted by the police who no doubt feel empowered to exterminate these young people who are perceived to be nothing more than trouble. In many neighborhoods, black and Hispanic men are profiled and harassed by the police for no other reason than for the fact that they believe these individuals do not belong in these neighborhoods or, they just don’t have enough work to do. Instead of looking for real criminals, they choose instead to systemically profile, harass, injure and arrest individuals that they have no just course to arrest or injure.
Curiously enough, the African Americans are not the only group that has suffered under the repressive conditions imposed by the majority. Many tend to forget the plight of the Native Americans, since they have largely been relegated to the reservations. Over 25% of Native Americans are poor and belong to sovereign tribal nations with a recognized status under the United States Constitution. Native American poverty derives not only from a history of wars, forced relocations, and broken treaties by the United States but also from ongoing breaches of trust and discrimination.
Aberash has been driven from the world by the tormenting of the dragons she released and now they threaten the balance of power. The Crimean War has broken out. Zabella is sent to Rehema, the exiled queen, to learn the secrets of the dragons. But can
