Effects Of Racial Stereotyping

TOPIC: Racial Stereotyping and its effect on achieving success among 'black' people.

INTRODUCTION

For centuries, ever since the first slavers ship landed off the coast of West Africa, the 'black' people as a race have been criticized, discriminated against and deemed inferior to other races, cultures and religions. Considered chattel or property by colonizers, the 'colored' people have been perceived as unsuccessful, underachieving, socially deviant miscreants. This is a racial stereotype developed during slavery and emphasized through racial inequality and stratification. This occurred during post-Emancipation where the society was categorized hierarchically into different groups based merely on color, the 'blacks' of course at the bottom.

(Solorzana, 1997). This is not always the result of every racial stereotyping case however, as many 'black' people have been driven to success and achievement BECAUSE of racial stereotyping. There are the obvious names such as

Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Ben Carson, but in the Caribbean region there have been many nameless faces that have attained their own level of success despite the hindrances presented to them due to racial stereotyping. As a result, the writer questions the effect whether negative or positive that racial stereotyping has on achieving success among 'black'

Recent research has shown that racial stereotyping can alter a person's professional identities by redirecting their aspirations and career paths. (Steele, James & Barnett, 2002). In an effort to remove themselves from under a stereotype threat, individuals sometimes aim to follow a profession different in its entirety from what the stereotype has presented. For example, when the racially stereotyped professional domain is something as fundamental as mathematics, domain avoidance essentially produces careers in sciences, engineering and technology. This allows for an expansion and diversion from the regulated path which encourages creativity and an emphasis placed on an individual's talent. Initially, one may assume that a radical shift in career choices may not be wise or necessarily a positive decision for an individual under Stereotype threat yet research has proven otherwise. (Gupta & Browne, 2007). Racial Stereotypes therefore, can cause individuals enough discomfort pursuing the stereotyped career leading them to drop out of the domain and redefine their professional