I Am African American
I am an African American female. My whole life I’ve been told this and let this one fact become my identity; but this may not be the best way to approach my race, and who I am as a person. As a child, the media and the people around me acted as if my race described my likes/dislikes, my level of intelligence, or even who I am as a person. This idea society has of African Americans is wrong for a majority of reasons, and I challenged it a long time ago. I know the idea is flawed because I have displayed and/or have seen the complete opposite of these stereotypes displayed in those around me. Even though being African American is an amazing culture I am proud to be apart of, it does not have the authority to define who
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One of the main stereotypes about black people that are completely incorrect is that African Americans make everything about race. This idea of ‘a black card’, that African Americans play to surpass anyone else is an idiotic and frankly, a childish way to view the situation. African Americans do not play ‘the black card’; we are discriminated against in an abundance public situations and are expected to ignore this mistreatment. When we don’t people say we are just playing ‘the black card’ and dismiss all we were saying completely. Another stereotype is that black people don’t tip. Every single time my family has gone to a restaurant we have tipped no matter how much our meal was, or how rude our waiter/waitress was. We tip, as a result of what we believe is proper etiquette for eating out. Lastly, it’s no secret some black people can sing, but the notion that we all can just isn’t true. On occasion a talented African American with a phenomenal voice is born, but that does not mean all black people can. These are just a few stereotypes out of the thousands that have been accepted in our society about African Americans. I accepted the idea that these and plenty more stereotypes defined me for an exceptionally long time, even though they are obviously