African Americans: history, culture, and society

¶ … African-Americans." Specifically, it will discuss the central key concepts of the chapter, and how the textbook defines the concepts, along with a critical evaluation of the chapter. The key concepts of this chapter are how African-Americans suffered under slavery and continue to suffer today as second-class citizens, and that African-Americans, if they want to survive and thrive in American culture must "adapt to the values and ways of that overwhelmingly white world" (Author 159). Most African-Americans did not come to America by choice, and this is one of the most important points the author makes, as it indicates the many forces that pull African-Americans in two very different directions as they attempt to fit into a society that only wanted to own them in the first place. The textbook defines the concept of slavery as "cheap agricultural labor" that eventually helped make many rich men richer, including some of the leaders of the country like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. My definition of slavery is quite close to this, and it includes holding people in bondage against their will, by force, and with violence. The lives of the slaves show that slavery was cruel and inhumane, and the more Americans learn about it, the more they can understand what the relatives of many black Americans endured when they first were imported into our country against their will.

The reading was quite interesting for a number of reasons. First, it emphasized the point that most African-Americans came to this country against their will. This is an obvious conclusion, but one that many writers and scholars do not acknowledge. It also indicated just how juxtaposed our system is, and how black Americans still suffer in many ways, even though many laws have been passed that are supposed to make all Americans "equal." It also debunks some of the continued myths that slaves were quite happy with their lot and lives in the South. The chapter shows how blacks suffered, and how whites continued to oppress them even after the end of slavery after the Civil War. One very interesting insight into slave lives was how they struggled to keep their families together. The stories of families being sold away from each other are very common in slave history, and many researchers felt these "broken" families have continued in the black sociology today. However, this chapter indicates that slave families were close, and members worked hard to keep the families together and "persist over generations" (Author 161). Today, African-Americans celebrate their own black culture that developed as a reaction to slavery and their removal from Africa, but to fit into white society, they have also developed a white culture, and so the author maintains they are really "bicultural," which is difficult for anyone to master and keep up. The author also maintains this is why blacks have become "active resisters," and why they still have issues with white society. Their valuable culture is not recognized in most white society, and so, they must literally live two lives if they are to be successful in a society dominated by white ideals and ideas.

It was also quite interesting to contrast the white views of African-Americans and other immigrants, and to see the similarities between many of these comparisons. It is clear the majority of white Americans did not welcome any immigrants to our shores, no matter who they were, and they tended to lump them all into quite general characteristics as "apelike," uneducated, immoral, and even smelly. Sadly, many of these stereotypes still live on today, and it is hard to see why. These stereotypes based on ignorance and fear often have little to do with reality, and yet even educated and wise people tend to continue these stereotypes because of fear and ignorance. What is most amazing is that just a century or two before, the English were immigrants to America, and yet they could not recognize the commonalities between their own quest for a better life and the quest of thousands of immigrants who came to America to better themselves.

My question in relationship to this reading is quite simple. What can Americans do to erase the stereotypes and racial hatred that still exists today? This seems like a simple question, and yet, it is much more complicated than the first glance indicates. Obviously, this hatred and bigotry still exists in many (or even all) areas of the country. The fact that this problem still exists at all is a sad testament to American society. While we may pride ourselves on being one of the most progressive and successful nations on Earth, we still deny many of our citizens the same rights that whites take for granted. African-Americans are often relegated to the poorest schools, the poorest housing, and the least opportunities for advancement and betterment in our society. Sadly, most Americans do not even recognize that fact. Police forces continue to "racial profile" criminals and suspects, and African-Americans still have to conform to white society to get ahead. Can an entire society change how it looks at a people? Perhaps, but it would take a concerted and committed effort by all of society and society's leaders, and that does not seem as it will happen any time soon. The problem is not that people are black, but it is instead how whites, who still control the majority of society, including government and education, view those blacks. Blacks cannot get ahead when a majority of society is busy keeping them down and out. The saddest part of this equation is that so many Americans cannot see it or will not acknowledge it exits. As the author notes, "Seventy-one percent of white respondents in one 2001 poll thought African-Americans had at least the same opportunities as whites" (Author 172). Actually, this reading has proved that is simply not the case, and that black Americans do not have the same opportunities, because black Americans, for the most part, have to struggle with poverty, poor schools, and stereotypes even today. In truth, most white Americans are quite ignorant about the situation of blacks in America, and perhaps if more whites actually lived in black communities for a while, and saw what they have to face, they might change their minds about not only how they view blacks, but what opportunities are truly available for them. It is a sad statement that so many whites feel they know blacks so well, and actually are quite clueless about the realities of being black in America. Blacks are not the only race that face bigotry and hatred, but they are the oldest race in America, and so, they have suffered longest. Maybe someday it will be different, and the races will learn how to get along and respect each other, but that has not happened around the world, and so it makes the reader wonder how it could ever actually come true. That is a sad statement about race relations in American, but also around the world. My vision for the future would be a society that can recognize its' differences and celebrate them, rather than make them a determination about race, gender, and equality. However, this seems like a perfect society - one that has never really existed, and one that may never exist due to the innate prejudices and belief systems of humankind in general.