Black Men in America

Black men have often struggled in American society due to the negative perceptions placed upon them. Many false representations shape the way we are viewed by the general public. Upon coming to America, Africa was known to be the most advanced civilization in the world. Black people were slaves in America and were considered to be less than human. Jim crow laws were introduced in 1876 and were abolished in 1965. They were created to segregate people of color from people who were not of color. It is true that Jim Crow Laws have ended but as black males in America we are mentally trapped and conformed to a false representation and image of us. “African Americans make up 13.6% of the United States population” (Cnn.com). There are many obstacles to overcome to prove we are worthy here in American society and to be a Black man in American society is to be socially aware and know your value in America.

            The recent shooting of a Florida teen, Trayvon Martin, caused uproar in the African American community. After decades of being socially oppressed black men have found a reflection of themselves in a Florida teen by the name of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was a teen who was gunned down by neighborhood watch guard volunteer who accused Martin of Threatening him. Zimmerman, neighborhood watch guard, was stated to be following martin around but audio tapes and witnesses clearly show martin has become another victim to a senseless killing. Killings such as martins are nothing new to the African American community. For years the black community has been dealing with injustice and senseless killings. Martin has just become another example of white on black killing. African American men have fallen victimized to the American society’s ways of how we treat each other. White are the superior race, Asians are models of what we should be, pacific islanders are rarely seen in media and are unheard of, Latinos/Hispanics are not welcomed here in America society under any circumstances, Middle Easterns are seen as terrorist and a harm to Americas national security, and Black/African Americans are seen as the worse of the worse. “Criminals, Thugs, products of poor neighborhood, examples of school dropouts, and raising a family off of welfare checks every month.”(Womack,121) “Celebrities John Legend and Spike Lee have joined the effort for police official to take action”. (New York Times, March 2012) Black people are viewed as society’s example of what not to be like and as a result African American men have become more socially aware of the world around them. Whether it is police brutality or a new presidential election.

            As previously stated, African American men are generalized and put into society boxes. Times have changed and people are put in situations where communication and mixes of races are necessary. Even though as black men attempt to redefine their identity there are many barriers that are in the way of completely redefining the image of a black man in America. Many young black men want to look like or imitate their favorite rappers on television but little do they know that being seen as dangerous is a hazard in its self. An article written by Brent Staples gives its readers an insight on what it is like to be black and live in a pre-dominantly white America. Staples viewed his self as an average human being, he knew early on he was not like everybody else. “Youngish black man…I was indistinguishable from the muggers. On less traveled streets after dark, I grew accustomed to but never comfortable with people crossing to the other side of the street rather than pass me” (Staples, 1). Staples has experienced mistaken identity and his most memorable experience was when he was mistaken for a burglar at his own work place. To avoid negative notions from other people, he began to whistle classical music tunes in public to show people he means no harm. Staples admits to learning to suppress his anger and to take precautions to make his self less threatening. Staples experiences suggest that it is important to know your value as a black man in America because he knew he was no harm to society. He was just an average day to day person living his life. Staples knew he was worth more than the mugger or anything seen as a dangerous threat. In order to break down barriers, he began to define his self and show people he was more than what people thought of him.

            The Oakland museum has an exhibit titled ‘Question Bridge: Black Males’ and it was a in depth view of the experience of being black in America. One of the things that stood out but commonly said amongst each other in the black community “Many black people live with P.T.S.S or Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. Many things have been taken from the black community therefore many black people feel there is a need to take from other people” (an excerpt from Question Bridge: Black Males). I had a conversation with someone older than me about P.T.S.S and the elderly black man thought the whole ‘P.T.S.S’ was really dumb but when I asked someone around the same age as I he saw no wrong with the thought of P.T.S.S. he felt if people took a lot from black people, in the time where blacks are making advancements in society, we are rightfully taking back what was ours. Seen such as mental modern day slavery. In society we are conformed to act a certain way. Whites are superior to all races and mentally we are already put into a box of how we should act and as black men we are taking back our pride and self-worth. For example, the election of Obama proved a lot to and for the African American black male community. It was proof of what can really happen if black men got serious about education and stepped out of social norms. The election of Obama taught many black men to know their worth in America and in order to be successful you do not have to compromise yourself or sell yourself short. The election of Obama ties into PTSS because many people saw Obama as a stepping stone into a new American society where a person’s character and value would be noticed. Many black people feel Obama being in the white house made a statement because the white house was built by black slaves and many people never thought they would see a black man as president.

            In conclusion, there are many obstacles to overcome in order to redefine the black man’s experience in America. Being socially aware and knowing your value in America are key factors in self-identification and self-definition because as stated before depending on television to create an image of what you are supposed to be can cause you to lose yourself in a false image. The miseducation of what a black man is plays a big role in identifying the black man because if he is not educated about the society around him and aware of what is going in the African American community, he will lose the ability to self-identify due to the fact of unknown knowledge of knowing where you came from and how you got where you are today. Those who are not socially aware do not realize what media outlets are doing to black men in America and those who are not sure of their self-worth are not aware of the intentions to destroy the African American male community.