The Effect of Racism on the Self-Esteem of African Americans and the Health Risks Associated with Racism

The topics of race and discrimination in the journal article show disturbing data of African Americans who are more likely to have physical and mental health issues. The constant exposure to racism that African Americans face leads to serious health issues such as hypertension, depression, and feelings of unworthiness. In Du Bois’s article “Du Bois stressed the role of socioeconomic inequality, such as unit housing, unsanitary living conditions, and poor food quality”. (Monk 397) It seems as if African Americans are going through these socioeconomic inequalities because of race and how they less fortunate because of societal views. Going back to the history of slavery, light skinned blacks were favored more than darker skinned field slaves.

Racial Discrimination is a detrimental stressor among African Americans (Sellers et al., 2003). As a result, African Americans are more likely to be faced with poorer mental and physical health outcomes. There has been research conducted relating to African Americans’ experience with racial discrimination. Specifically African Americans exposed to racial discrimination are likely to experience multiple externalizing outcomes, including anger aggressive behavior and delinquency (e.g., Kang & Burton, 2014). Given these negative outcomes of racial discrimination, it is important to identify factors that are protective against racial discrimination.

Berkeley, CA: Cobb & Henry Publishers. Longshore, D. , Grills, C. , Annon, K. , & Grady, R. (1998). Promoting recovery from drug abuse: An africentric intervention.Journal of Black Studies,28(3), 319-333. Nobles, W.W. (1972) "African philosophy: foundations for Black Psychology," in R. L. Jones (ed. ), Black Psychology (47-64).

(American Geriatrics Society & American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2003). The literature also states that depression goes untreated very often among African-Americans. One of the reasons for this may be that cultural differences in the way depression symptoms are manifested, defined, interpreted and labeled may in part explain some of these racial differences in help-seeking behaviors. (O’Connor et al., 2010). In fact, depression looks different for the typical black patient, than the typical white depressed patient.

Andrew Heberek discusses the psychological and emotional problems African Americans faced in society due to social remarks. Some of the problems Heberek discussed are African Americans lack of individualism. Mozora Sandler and David Briggs in their study incorporated the percentage of African Americans who are discriminated in American society. Marjorie Pryse and Michael Hardin both incorporate the inner struggles African Americans were facing in society and how their identity was interfered. Overall, the social remark American society has imposed towards the minority has led the majority of African Americans to be invisible.

IMMANUEL BOATENG Five Concepts that Shape the African American Experience It is argued that “the African-American experience” has been shaped by multiplicity of factors. Scholars and students have identified such factors as race, culture, identity, community, and power and agency as the primary factors that have shaped the African-American experience. Barbara Fields in her article, “Ideology and Race in American History,” analyzes the role that race has played in shaping the African-American experience. Joseph E. Holloway’s “Africanisms in American culture,” gives an analysis on how culture has contributed to the African American experience. W.E.B Du Bois argues in his article, “of our spiritual strivings,” that the role of identity in shaping the African-American experience cannot be overlooked.

Within the United States background, whites have always been at the top, blacks at the bottom, and other ethnicities amid. The socioeconomic disadvantage of African American people in the United States is the outcome of an extensive history of institutional racism and discrimination that has produced the current levels of detriment. The framework of racism has enhanced the understanding of racial inequalities in health. By racism, an ideology of inferiority that is used to justify unequal treatment (discrimination) of members of groups defined as inferior, by both individuals and societal institutions. This idea of inferiority has led to the development of negative attitudes and beliefs towards raci... ... middle of paper ... ...ith financial stability a person is less likely to be stressed and also less likely to develop symptoms of depression caused by stress.

More importantly, what are the solutions for colorism? Colorism, unfortunately, has had a persisted effect on the lives of Black Americans. It has become so internalized that one cannot differentiate between the view of ourselves that Black Americans adopted from slavery or a more personalized view developed from within the ethnicity. The consequences of this internalized view heightens the already exorbitant mental health concerns within the Black community, but the most unfortunate aspect of colorism is that there is contention on how the issue should be solved. ... ... middle of paper ... ...JUNE_23_2013_Dr Grills.pdf>.

Racism is has a different face today. For a long time the world has seen racism as a large problem and this has caused ethnic groups to be looked down on or forced to live with difficulties and suppression. African Americans, have been forced to deal with unequal opportunity and poverty, which leads to less honorable ways of getting by and also organizations in jobs, lifestyles and living conditions. Malcolm X is an example of an African American man who fell into this type of hate and acted against it. Malcolm X united people to promote the advancement of African Americans and change when it comes to his own race.

Hughes' stories explain many of the problems that African Americans faced during this era in United States history, ranging from bias racism to a general depression that comes from breaking down minorities. His work tells the story from the side of a broken down people and the evil events they had to overcome because of their skin color. Everyday acts striving for their own culture values along with equality among whites at this distasteful time in our history.