Analysis: Minority Lives Matter

MLM: Minority Lives Matter

. We live in a society where people of color continuously feel left out and abandoned, all different people of color. People of color are judged on a daily basis, expected to act a certain way because of their skin color rather than based off who they really are. Two articles, Courtney’s “Freedom from Choice” and Brent Staples “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space.”, both show first hand how people of color are subjected to harsh judgment of today’s society.

In today's era people of color face discrimination, police brutality, and unfair judgment on an everyday basis in the United States. You look at the news at each day, it's a new case of police brutality or discrimination. Look no further than the

Society tends to have a certain stereotype they meet for all black people, and when you're different from that your “blackness” is questioned. Growing up in a majority white area, Courtney grew up doing things that his other white friends liked to do, but was steadily reminded that he is different. His childhood consisted his white friends would tell him he’s a “better” black person than the other ones they know because he speaks proper and carries himself a certain way.(Courtney 1) Courtney spoke about how he is more accepted by his white friends only because he is half black and not bad like the rest of the black people their accustomed too.(2) His African American friends also pick him for “dressing white” and “not being black enough” for their liking and tend to hang out with too many white people. He gives a prime example when talks about when he was walking with a black acquaintance and stopped to hug one of his white friends from class. His friend he had been walking with gave him a dirty look and asked him if he had a fever or feeling sick (referring to jungle fever.), due to the color of the other friend's skin, as if it was unheard of behavior.(1) This shows the stereotypes that the United States can have on people of color, expecting all of them to be ghetto, and trashy while “acting white” is being classy and speaking

I personally experienced most of the things Courtney went through with most of my white friends asking me why am I so different from other black people I know, and things like “are you adopted” when they’d see me with my white mother. I also had other African American kids asking me why I was so light and “why you talk so proper” (sic). I also experienced the same discrimination as Staples, being viewed as a black man I tend to have people give me the occasional side-eye when I'm walking by or having people follow me whenever I walk in a nice department store in my