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Against Stereotyping of Young African American Males
Stereotyping is a generalization about a person or group of people. Basically, it is a belief that everybody from a group likes and dislikes the same things. Research supports my definition of stereotyping." Stereotypes are sets of beliefs, usually stated as categorical generalizations that people hold about the members of their own and other groups" (Rinehart 137). I think the stereotypes are developed because some people know little about those groups so they rely on stereotypes instead of making fair judgments about people and mostly often than not, stereotypes allow them to "fill in the blanks". Now, the question that most have is what group is stereotyped the most and I believe that young African American males are often the victims of this.

For example, if you are walking through an unfamiliar area at night and you see a group of old ladies walking right on the side of you. Would you get scared? The answer is probably not. Now, how about instead of a group of old ladies, it was a group of young African American males. Would you be afraid then? The answer most often than not is yes because society associates violence and crime with young African American males and by stereotyping, we assume that a person or group has certain characteristics. So when one sees a group of African Americans walking down the street at night, they will get scared. Is this ethical? What about all the other stereotypes that African American males receive is that ethical as well? Is that fair? How can you judge someone or some group that you have never met before? My take on this is that stereotyping anyone is wrong and something that none of us should do. I hope by providing examples and the victims' perspective of this will show you how stereotyping is something that needs to be stopped.

What are some stereotypes of African American males? Sadly, there are a lot of them. Some think that are African American males are poor, illiterate, ignorant, dangerous, violent, thieves, athletic, lazy, loud, refer to their girlfriend or spouse as their "baby mama", wear braids, and of course listen to rap music. These characteristics are not a representative of all African American men. Yes, there are some who fit perfectly under these characteristics but surely not all of them. Research also shows how some people see African Americans especially African American males. "There is much evidence that the cultural stereo- types of African Americans remain largely negative. Even though privately held beliefs about African Americans have become more positive over the last 50 years, studies of cultural stereotypes continue to show that respondents associate being Black (and male) with hostility, aggressive- ness, violence, and danger" (Graham, and Lowery 484).

In my life, I am facing these stereotypes. There are people out there that see me as criminal and not a smart guy, which I am. I remember once walking into a store and the clerk followed me around the entire store. I did not know what to do. I just quickly got what I wanted and left. I just could not believe that she had done that to me. I had money and had no intentions on stealing anything.

Sadly, this was not the first time that I have been stereotyped. The worst time was when one of the school officials called the cops on me. He told the cops that there was a suspicious black male in the building and he did not know what I was doing. The cops came and found me reading and writing note cards so I could study. The cops called me outside and asked me lots of questions. I had not done anything and was actually doing something positive. The question that I have is when did reading and writing on note cards become suspicious behavior? Another event that I remember vividly happened at LSUE and involved the Chancellor. Every year, LSUE has an honor convocation to honor their top students and in 2009, I was upset that I was not invited. So, I approached the Chancellor and asked why I was not invited and he said, "You gotta do more than make baskets to make it to my honor convocation". One problem with his statement is that I don't basketball. I enjoy watching it, but not playing it. I could not believe that the Chancellor had just stereotyped me. Didn't Martin Luther King say, "Don't judge me on the color of my skin, but the content of my character?"

Now, something that most people never take into account the perspective of the victims of stereotyping. How do these feel about being stereotyped? What negative effects does stereotyping have? Well, I don't think that these people are happy. "Of course, I don't like being stereotyped. I don't think it is right. It makes me hate myself. I am not a thug or a thief and I never will be. So don't judge me base on what others do", said Travis Broussard, a student a Baton Rouge Community College. By stereotyping someone, you can damage their self esteem, caused them mental problems, and cause them to hate who they are.

Now the question that I go back to is it ethical to stereotype someone based on what others do? Is it ethical to do something that will cause people to hate and or harm themselves? I have been stereotyped so much that I hate that I was born a black male. If figure if I was born another race I would be treated better and would not be stereotyped as often as I am today. I can say that I think stereotyping anyone is wrong because stereotypes are simply not accurate because not everyone in a particular group behaves the same way. People are different. I have been stereotyped my whole life. At first, I was naive believing that everyone in this world judge and treat everyone solely on how they behave. However, I now know that everyone does not do this. Some people will judge you on how people who you are similar to act. The question that I have is what is the best way to deal with this? I am tired of getting mad every time someone stereotypes me. Some days, I just feel like quitting, but I know that is not the right thing to do. Some say just ignore it. "Sticks and stones can break my bone but words can never hurt me. I don't know if this statement is correct because words can hurt mentally and physically.