African American Education Research Paper

712 Words3 Pages

The African American is a beautiful, intelligent, and strong human being. Yet, no one seems to understand their importance since their history has been colored with oppression, prejudice, and racism. The white American’s apparent superiority stems from their deeming that dark skinned people are automatically lower than them, since they do not fit their norm. In this society, African Americans today still face injustices throughout their daily lives, whether the problem be relating to economics, education, or their social standing. In the economic field, African Americans face many problems that prevent them from receiving an appropriate income. This is because their unemployment rates are higher, and their income is less than the white American. …show more content…

African American students gain an understanding about the meaning of their existence through symbols of American culture. This includes television, literature, and school. They are taught through the view of the white American, who does not consider the African American’s history, or culture to be significant. It’s crazy to think how much superiority can impact a group of people. Through this type of education, the inevitable question that black students will start to possess is “Am I invisible?”. Is this something that a student should be taking away at the end of the day? Absolutely not. The white American’s history is projected unto the students as the dominant history that shaped their culture. They seem to undermine the history and significance of the African American. Many teachers also generalize and treat African Americans as one group, yet they differentiate ethnicities of white Americans with no problem. I believe that the African American’s history should be highlighted as much as the white person’s; there should not be any erasure of their culture. This includes everything they’ve been through, like the harsh treatment they have received from the white American. Students should not be given a false or bias view of the African American. They should not be generalized as a people, when they have all gone through different experiences. At the end of …show more content…

I hate knowing that cultural appropriation is still occurring. The fact that white people are able to take the African American’s originality without going through the same negative reaction as black people is unfair, and this goes for all the “trends” they decide to copy. White people are privileged. They take aspects of the African American culture, yet they do not receive the harsh feedback that African Americans would get when they do the same thing. I believe that white people should stop using the excuse that it’s “just a hairstyle” or “just a trend” and realize that African American people wear what they wear for a reason. There is meaning to their dreads, there is meaning to their hair. People need to understand that it is not okay to take away from a culture and deem it their own. It is hard for black people to proceed with daily functions without others relying on stereotypes to understand them. There are not enough open minded people in society. Their judgement on an African American leads them to act in negative ways. People need to gain a personal understanding of one another, instead of relying on a generalized view. Not all perspectives are the same, and this needs to be

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