African American Stereotypes Research Paper

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Are you a stereotypical person? Many people may answer this question with a no, but their intuition may say otherwise. A stereotype is a large fixed idea or image of a person, group, or thing in society. It is evident in modern society that people stereotype other individuals, groups, or things in the world. Stereotypes have deteriorated society, and the word itself has brought upon a negative connotation. Stereotypes are formed form a pre-judged idea before a person is educated on the topic. According to US News, many people do not feel comfortable in society because of the stereotypes of their race, religion, gender, or class. They have effected people for the worse, and caused people to commit hate crimes upon other people. Many people …show more content…

The stereotype of blacks being criminals is evident in society. Black people are typical known as thugs, thieves, or gang members. The stereotype has only brought negativity to the black community because many people of other races sometimes fear being around blacks because they may think they will be robbed. It is easy for people to point to the statistics of the majority (38%) race in prison is African-American or black, but many influential people in the government have admitted a black male is more likely to go to jail than a white male for the same crime. In a study from Newsone.com, their results from the study were that blacks receive a 60% longer sentence for the same crimes. Many judges may have the belief that blacks are criminals so consequently they want them to be in jail longer so they do not commit the crime again. In many ads or commercials black people are portrayed as the criminal because in society blacks are often known for criminals so the audience can relate easily. For example, Mountain Dew had a commercial that portrayed for 3 black male criminals being charged; the director purposely chose black males because of the reputation they have made for …show more content…

From the FBI crime stats in 2010, 66% of all rape were committed by whites and 64.8% of thieves were white while 31.9% are black. While many people carry the stereotype that blacks are thieves and criminals, whites carry higher percentages in rape and thievery. From the statistics, chart it represents to show more white gang members are committing crimes and murders than black gang members. Black people being depicted as criminals in the world has led to negativity and hate crimes. Not all blacks are criminals because blacks have been helping for a change in the world. For example, Barack Obama has been a person that has “debunked” the stereotype of blacks being criminals because he was able to preserve to success with the stereotypes of

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