What do you think when you hear the term "black
culture"? Does your mind automatically think of a low income
household of a single mom with 3 children? Do you think about a rundown
neighborhood with broke down cars and people selling drugs on the corner? What
about the sound of gun shots firing in the background? Is that what you
think when you think about my culture? Well I'm here to tell you that you
are wrong.
I am a 19 year old African American. I currently live
with my mother and father, both high school graduates. My mother recently
graduated from college with her nursing degree and my father is an
electrician. We are not on welfare, food stamps, or any other form of
government aid. Although we live in a
predominately black neighborhood, it is not because we are "too lazy"
to move. It is simply because we associate more with the people in our
community here than in a predominately white neighborhood. In my community I do
not have to worry about walking down the street and being judged by the color
of my skin. I do not have to worry about going to the store and someone
looking at me like I am a criminal. Here I am just like everyone else and
no one judges me for that.
Once I step out of my community it is a completely
different story. At the mall people look at me as if I am going to snatch
their purse right out of their arms. In fact I have often witnessed
couples trading places while walking so the man is the one walking closest to
me. Women constantly tuck their purses tighter under their arms and grab
their children by the hand as if I am going to kidnap them. If I walk
into a store it only gets worse. I constantly have sales people staring at me
afraid I am going to steal everything I touch. Outside my community I am judged
before I open my mouth to speak, just because the color of my skin.
Although I am negatively judged every day, I do strive to
overcome the stereotypes placed on me. I am currently a freshman in
college majoring in business finance. I work part-time at the local
grocery store, not because my parents are poor but because they are trying to
teach me the value of a dollar. I attend church every Sunday and I am
involved in a program to educate teens in low income households about their
options in life.
Although some people believe that "I can act
like a white person... and do it with finesse and elegance, and two seconds
later I can become super Black” (Koppelman 2011, p. 45). I do
not believe this is true. I was raised
to say “Yes Mam” and “No Sir.” I was
raised to say “please” and “thank you.” And I was raised to say these things no
matter who was around. I was taught to respect my elders, my teachers, police
officers, waiters, peers, and anyone else I come in contact with. I was raised not to judge a book by its cover
or a person by their skin color. I was
taught that I will go nowhere in life without education. My parents never presented college to me as
an option in my life. Instead they
presented the opportunities I would have in life after college.
Although many educators, political
officials, and even my peers do not believe it, I am going somewhere with my
life. I will graduate from college and I
will start a career of my own. I am
determined not become the stereotypes that people place on me.
Koppelman, Kent L. (2011). Perspectives on Human Differences.
Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
