The Affect of Negative Stereotypes of African-Americans Ability to be Regarded as Useful Contributors to Society

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Can we ever achieve perfect equality if there is never an even playing field from which we all get our start in life? If my appearance has any impact on my ability to be viewed as valued or trustworthy, is there any reason to even try to be more than what others have already determined of me? This documentation is intended to give an overview to a much deeper problem that plagues our societies; more importantly though, we will focus on the influence of stereotypes on the African-America. I will make the argument that stereotypes have had a dramatic impact on the ability for African-Americans to be viewed as valuable contributing resources/asset to all area such as the economy and society. God has called for an equal playing field for all His people, yet we still live as if one race is more important than the other. While Israel was chosen first, their selection was only to make us aware of who God was and why we needed a Savior. Not to make them better than us. Nevertheless, I will argue that racial stereotypes have had a powerful impact on the lives of African-Americans as it relates to how the world sees their worth in this modern day society.
So what is a stereotype and how is this concept applied to our lives? A stereotype can be described as something conforming to a fixed or general pattern. Especially a mental picture that is held in common by members of a group an that represents a oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment (Merriam-Webster, 2003). Stereotypes are often used as means for casting a negative shadow on a situation, but not all stereotypes are considered immoral or cruel. Our discussion centers on the study of Pathological Stereotypes, which are ideas about groups of people that exis...

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... (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc
Plous, S. and Williams, T. (1995). Racial stereotypes from the days of American slavery: a continuing legacy. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 25, 795-817.
Steele, C. (2010). Whistling Vivaldi: And other clues to how stereotypes affect us. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Stereotypes Survey Statistics at Survelum Public Data Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved May 06, 2014, from http://www.survelum.com/survey-results/chris_i/filter-3-1/
Williams, M. T., Ph.D. (2011, December 26). African Americans and Pathological Stereotypes. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/african-americans-and-pathological-stereotypes
Understanding Stereotypes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2014, from http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/understanding-stereotypes/

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