Demonization Of Young African American Men: Article Analysis

Introduction

Today’s society cannot escape the deep-rooted emotions and experiences related to racial tensions, specifically those concerning unpleasant interactions between African-Americans and Caucasians. It seems as though young African-American men are consistently violently murdered by Caucasian law enforcement officials at epidemic proportions. These violent murders warrant miniscule rationale, and it is rare that perpetrating law enforcement officials receive repercussions for their treacherous negligent actions. On Monday, January 11, 2016 at 6:00pm, the opportunity was presented to attend an lecture entitled Race, Social Justice, and the Demonization of Young: African American Men: Implications for Leadership in Social Work presented

This false philosophy perpetuates the excuse of specific methods of unnecessary violence utilized toward them (Bernasconi, 2014). Supporters of law enforcement officials murdering innocent young African American men, appear to approve of sadistic behaviors. Specifically, those pertaining to exerting power over a group of individuals that are viewed as dangerous not based on realities, but on race. The aforementioned cognitive distortions have enabled a significant amount of Caucasians to hold the belief that there is no issue surrounding the vicious murder of Trayvon Martin. Concluding a Newsweek/ Daily Beast poll, results revealed that 10% of Caucasians feel as though racism is a problem in the United States in comparison to 69% of African-Americans feeling as though racism is a significant issue in the United States (Schoen, 2012). These suppositions cause the violent murders of racialized young African-American men. Furthermore, when law enforcement officials, security guards, or vigilantes are involved young African American men are considered “collateral damage”, further prompting insufficient repercussions (Bernasconi,

In addition, providing assistance with social justice issues such as discrimination, disparities of African-American men within the criminal justice system, and senseless violence toward young African-American men would prove to be significantly beneficial to leadership in the social work profession. Moreover, adhering to social work profession core values specifically, service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, and competency will further assist social work professionals with leadership capabilities related to the demonization of young African-American males (National Association of Social Workers, 1999). At this time, social workers ought to insist that the United States shift to a dwelling that encompasses the added maintenance of social justice. In addition, social workers need to become unified before and after racial tragedies occur while simultaneously challenging their colleagues and the unjust traditions within our current society (Alexander,