Research Essay
Being Black
There is a reason for everything that we do. The actions we commit weather voluntary or involuntary has a psychological reasoning to it. Discrimination, racism, sexism, heterosexism, agism, all the isms in society are all in effect from psychological reasoning. Why must blacks hide in fear of getting killed or change themselves to fit in with society? Why must anyone change to fit in? In 2020 the Black Lives Matter movement came to a rise because everyone was tired of the police brutality. Going from 996 shootings to 1004 shootings done by police. This why many people shout, “Black Lives Matter” and this is not a new “trend”, this is a renewed movement.
Well why does the “Black Lives Matter” movement even exist? This movement or idea dates back all the way to the 1950s to the 1960s but during this time the action was called the civil rights movement. Both had the same reasoning. According to the article “Civil Rights Movement” by adl.org (Anti-Defamation League), “The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and the 1960s came about out of the need and desire for equality and freedom for African Americans and other people of color. Nearly one hundred years after slavery was abolished, there was widespread segregation, discrimination, disenfranchisement and racially motivated violence that permeated all personal and structural aspects of life for black people.” Sadly, yet gladly a few of these things changed for black people in America as in widespread segregation and disenfranchisement, black people are allowed to walk into any establishment that they please but are they welcomed? Not all the time, but that’s another story for another time. According to blacklivesmatter.com in the section entitled “About”, it was stated that, “We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise. We affirm our humanity, our contribution to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” And “#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013…” Around 50 years after the Civil Rights Movement, Blacks had to start fighting again for their rights against discrimination and racially motivated violence and that’s the sad truth. Surprisingly, even in 2020 where social media plays a huge role, your place in societies class doesn’t matter, you can be one of the richest black people on Earth and still be discriminated against.
In the CNN article entitled “Oprah Winfrey Racism Row Over Switzerland Shop Incident” written by Nick Thompson and Diana Magnay, they show a clip of Oprah Winfrey, a black woman with a net worth of 2.6 billion USD, speaking on her personal experience of being racially discriminated against in a Switzerland boutique. Oprah Winfrey states in the interview, “…And I say to the woman “Excuse me, may I see that bag right over your head” and she says to me “No, It’s too expensive”. Please tell me what’s bag could possibly be too expensive for Ms. Winfrey, obviously showing that this was an act of discrimination, the lady in the store automatically though Oprah was broke or poor or not able to afford “a $38,000 crocodile skin number by Tom Ford” because she’s black. It wasn’t even like Ms. Winfrey went into the boutique with sweatpants a hoodie and scarf on, whereas others can say the way she presented herself Is the reasoning she was denied access to the bag, even though this should never be a factor, but Oprah Winfrey had on her “Donna Karan skirt and sandals”. Oprah however doesn’t take this experience as racism but more as a lack of knowledge of who she was, she states “I could’ve had the big blow up thing and throw down the black card and all that, but why do that?” If you can get the bag else where no need for a scene. There’s many other instances when other celebrities were racially discriminated against, such as Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, Gemma Chan, John Legend, both Michelle and Barack Obama, and the list continues with all their stories expressed on “harpersbazaar.com.au”. If these things can happen to people in a First class position imagine how regular people, educated and uneducated, deal with racism each day, even before 2020.
Brent Staples, a well-known black man with a PHD in psychology, in his essay “Black Men Public Space”, implies that racism in the United States has driven blacks to change in presentation to avoid any issues, however, no matter what we change we would still be viewed as dangerous. Staples supports his implication by describing his personal experiences as a black male scholar and the fear of a white women running away from him down a dark street with thought that he had bad intentions for her when he was innocent. His purpose is to bring attention to stereotypes about black men especially when it comes to the female white community in order to draw awareness so we could avoid situations in the best possible way. He establishes a surprisingly not angry but sad tone with his audience of racist whites, and innocent black people whom work or go to school when speaking of his experiences being a Black man in a public space.
Staples mentions his main argument which is no matter your changes in presentation as in baggy jeans to suits, they will still be sacred of us. He states in his essay that “Over the years, I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal. I now take precautions to make myself less threatening.” Sadly, this isn’t only an issue that he has faced himself. Monica Anderson, a well-known director of research at the Pew Research center, in her research paper, “For black Americans, experiences of racial discrimination vary by education level, gender” gives explicit information on Blacks whom have experienced racism. Anderson uses Statistics and personal experiences about educated and innocent black people that have been racially profiled especially black men. Her purpose to bring awareness to racism not only with personal experiences but with statistics. She establishes a formal tone and highly analytical tone with her audience of people of all color, society in general, and fellow researchers.
In Ms. Anderson’s research paper, she states that “Personal experiences with racial discrimination are common for black Americans. But certain segments within this group – most notably, those who are college educated or male – are more likely to say they’ve faced certain situations because of their race” then she goes to show a statistical chart that basically says “People acted as if they were suspicious of them” “ 65/100 black and educated”. Both authors are very well educated and deal with discrimination. However, Anderson brings up more ways of discrimination other than public fear.
Overall, no matter how you present yourself as a black person you are more likely to be judged upon bias more than who you are as a person. You could be a peacemaker, businessman or women, millionaire, or a medical school student. But because of your skin color you’re in danger at times because there are many people who discriminate.
