Race and my Community
My viewpoint concurs with Kaun (2008) and Andersen and Taylor (2007) conclusions which indicate that at all levels of the community, African Americans remain vulnerable but rarely evident in public due to the existing legislations. To what level does race affect my life, access to resources, democracy and representation of African Americans in my community It is from this consideration that this paper intrinsically evaluates my race as a black American in relation to the community I live in.
Do members of your community look like you In what ways do they look the same or different
From the physical appearance point of view, my community is different from me in several ways. To begin with, my skin pigmentation is darker a consideration that is often used to directly tell between African Americans and white Americans. Though at the younger age the notion of skin color was not emphatic amongst us as kids and students, it latter came out more strongly at the older age. I my first year at the University, I was once denied a chance to work in a local supermarket through I had the same qualifications with other white Americans. Secondly, I also look different in that I tend to keep my hair shorter compared to the whites. In his study, Diana (1997) found out that African American hairs are often hard to maintain and therefore requires constant care compared to that of white Americans. As a result many of the African Americans keep their hair short which is easier to manage compared to the whites who prefer longer styles.
On the other hand, the body size tends to be similar especially for the men as they are engaged in the same types of activities. From a distance, it might be hard to tell between my friends and me. Though genetic factors contribute to the overall size of the body, Andersen and Taylor (2007) argue that it is the environment that has the overriding force.
How do leaders of your community treat people who are like you How do they treat people who are different
Over the years, much have changed due to massive legislations that dictate the expected relationship at all levels. For instance, legislations such as Civil Rights Aft of 1991, Executive Order 131166 and No Fear Act seek to create the same operating platform for all (Terrell and Lindsey, 2008). However, African Americans are still treated differently but not publicly by the leaders. To begin with, there is preference by the community leaders that small groups and other teams be led by a white as opposed by a person of African-American origin. From this consideration, it appears in order when any initiative is led by a white as opposed to an African-American.
Though indirectly, preference of whites in accessing resources is further evident from the leaders. While the role of leaders is to facilitate impartiality, they encourage by guaranteeing our white counterparts easier access to education and healthcare among other resources at the community level. At this point, African Americans have to become more assertive to receive equal treatment and access to resources (Andersen and Taylor, 2007). However, it is evident that the reception is indeed very cold especially when African Americans threaten to take legal actions.
African-Americans mistakes are usually taken with a lot of emphasis compared to those of the whites. For juvenile and other simple cases involving African-Americans, I agree with Umphress et al (2008) who indicated that leaders prefer that the cases are addressed from the highest possible punitive consideration. However, issues that are even greater in magnitude relating to whites are often locally settled. Analysts have concurred on this impartial aspect being a major factor in contributing to high numbers of incarcerated African Americans in the correction centers.
How do members of your community treat people who are like you How do they treat people who are different
Brendesha, Neville and Utsey (2008) explain that with white Americans forming the majority in the United States, the ability of the African Americans to curve an equal niche will take long to achieve. The community is indeed very polarized as members tend to associate more with their white colleagues as opposed to the blacks. Developmental groups, except those that call for all members participation, are highly divided as whites largely associate with other whites.
Notably, the whites consider themselves superior at the community level. This viewpoint is further reinforced by the fact that they occupy higher social economic status in the society. As a result, they look down African Americans and at times ridicule them directly. As a result abusive language and brutal attacks have not been uncommon. Though coming to law of different equality legislations have led to reduction in direct discrimination I agree with Brendesha et al (2008) argument that the problem is not fully eliminated.
Other groups such as Europeans origin are not segregated as those of African-American origin. However, they are not incorporated in community development circles. Besides, they are considered to be at a higher social economic status compared to the African-Americans. However, Latinos and people of Asians origin receive similar negative treatment to that of African Americans.
Do your text or work manuals contain information by or about people like you
Notably, the American society has been described as one of the most diverse and therefore attracting vast researchers. As a result, my text contains texts about people of African-American descent. Indeed, though people from African-American Diaspora have been lowly regarded, their contribution to scholarly work has been immense. Great African American authors such as Walter Mosley, Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison have contributed to my texts with great revelations on social-cultural and political setting of the United States (Bertha, 2009). In his literary work, James Emmanuel brought out the inspiring collection of African-American literature such as the dark symphony Negro literature in America (Kalte, 2005). My work manuals also include information by the following recognized African-Americans Richard Wright, Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks. It is no doubt that African Americans continue contributing immensely to the scholarly world.
Do the local media represent people like you If so in what ways
Though people of African-American descent have been represented in the media, there is needed greater space to create the correct impression of their culture, professionalism and holistic capacity in contributing to economic growth and prosperity. In 1950s, African Americans were almost non-existent in the local media however, the trend had greatly changed by with recent times. Between years 2003 and 2004, Catherine (2009) reports that African Americans made up about 16 of characters in the prime-time. Catherine (2008) continues to say that during the same period, there was an equal representation for white Americans, Latinos and African Americans of the characters playing major roles in most storylines.
In the television, various channels have increasingly found that harmonizing representation creates a wider market and promotes societal cohesion. Disney channel has in the recent past included programs that incorporate greater integration of African-American descent in programs such as Everybody hates Chris, Thats so raven and Cory in the house (Romer and Jamieson, 2008). Other African American presenters such as Oprah Winfrey and Jemima have outdone their white counterparts and largely influenced the number of TV African Americans in the last three decades (Catherine, 2009).
In the music video, African-American culture is greatly misrepresented with their involvement in the pop music being associated with violence, drugs, alcohol and violence (Brendesha et al, 2008). The local media stereotypically links African Americans men to be sex-driven while women of the same descent are portrayed as sex objects.
In the movies on the other hand, the representation has been effective. Indeed, movies have not only captured the need to shun racism, but emphatically indicated the blacks ability in the entertainment industry. Movie characters such as Will Smith, Jimmie Fox, Gridiron Gang and Martin Lawrence have sent clear messages on the abilities of the blacks.
What are some similarities and differences between you and the people who are in leadership positions in your community Do you think minority group interests are represented within your community
Notably, leaders and I appear to share so much in common but we equally have great differences. To begin with I concur with the local leadership that development is critical and should cut across all communities. By incorporating all communities the force to address the problems goes up while the overall resistance from the people decreases. Besides, I agree with our leaders that community must be able to coexist and reduce their overall differences if its development is to be harmonic with other national and global communities. The emphasis on continued learning and improvement from other communities is particularly noble and I fully agree with it. With recent derivation from President Obamas famous saying that yes we can, continued improvement creates a room for greater visionary focus towards the future (Bertha, 2009).
However, I differ with the leaders on their views regarding dominant cultures. Though they rarely express it openly, most of them would prefer to have a homogeneous society for easier administration. However, I consider diversity to be very crucial in providing divergent views on community issues and therefore more comprehensive solutions to them. I further differ with my leaders on the viewpoint that African Americans are more crime oriented compared to the whites. Some contributions to this viewpoint include stereotypes and selective administration of justice which make it therefore incorrect. Though both blacks and whites broke into houses to get food and water after hurricane Katrina, blacks were referred to as hoodlums while whites were indicated to have done everything for survival (Kaun, 2008).
In my community, minority groups interests representations are satisfactory. Though there is needed great improvement, most African Americans have effective access to healthcare facilities and education which are very critical in creating a healthy community. Besides, their economic status is satisfactory mainly due to accessibility of employment opportunities with reduced levels of discrimination at the workplaces. Besides, we have major African American scholars and teachers in different schools while accessibility of education has improved drastically since the passing of No Child Left Behind legislation in the year 2001.
If you could resolve any inequities within your community, what would you change How and why
If I were to resolve the problem of inequality in my community, I would change the leadership style and its administration. To begin with, I would advocate for cultural diversity where all the members feel represented and therefore part of the extended community. Diversity would promote pride for all and therefore increase openness and commitment towards greater development. Then, I would advocate and establish a democratic model of choosing the leaders who are highly qualified and have effective vision for the community. Democracy would create greater cohesion, acceptability of different decisions and faster development (Terrell and Lindsey, 2008). Besides, I would encourage the community to from other societies that are fast developing. This would generate new ideas on how to address emergent problems and improving our own progresses. Finally, I would seek justice at all levels as a platform for reducing societal problems and creating better focus on more productive activities in the society by all.
From the above discussion, this paper conclude by supporting the thesis statement, the ability to shun discrimination, promote cultural diversity and embrace democracy among the different races in a community is critical in facilitating greater commitment, justice, innovation and faster development. African Americans in my community came out as highly committed and development oriented, but they are often misrepresented. However, due to the current legislations on discrimination, overall discrimination and especially on the open has greatly reduced. However, there is needed great change at al levels of the community to promote cultural diversity, respect integrity for all and cooperation for faster development.
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