Thomenta HarrisProfessor Kelly KusenkoEnglish II12 December 2017Intra-Racial HateRacism within the same ethnicity is not as readily addressed as interracial racism. It is a problem that needs to get tackled like any other racism. The days of picking cotton and the hierarchy of slave are long gone, but the colonial mentality of disunity may still exist among African Americans. Some of the major conflicts that remain at the core of this disunity, included: black on black crime, self esteem, and blacks over-representation in the criminal Justice system. Although there are many reasons that support these conflicts, one may wonder if the arrival of the social identity of blacks in America is the root cause of the conflicts.The effect of Intraracial hate has caused the racial attitude of blacks varying skin tones.
This is an element of discrimination that exists between members of the same race. Another term referring to discrimination is called colorism. This term refers to the "discrimination in which human beings are given different social treatment based on skin color.(Wikipedia 2010).
The effects of intraracial hate has caused blacks to have the ability of a unsucessful life in the United States.Historically, "light skin" refers to those individuals that are half white with fine hair or whose complexion is lighter than a paper bag. Individuals with "dark skin" are without European physical features, have course hair and have skin tones darker than a paper bag. which creates self hatred within or amongst African Americans, which causes a domino effect; the person the act was committed to, hate that hate and treat others with hate instead of love.
Growing up my mother once said experience is the best teacher, as a young girl who traveled all the way from Africa with her parents for a better life, once arriving in America, suddenly did not understand the "American Dream". She wanted to experience a new language, new clothes, culture and a better educational opportunity, it was made very uncomfortable for her. Hearing about a place as great as America gave her the chills and excitement. Having the opportunity to be in America was exciting for her, and more exciting seeing people that looked like her with the same hair texture, it made her even more excited, she felt an excitement she never felt in her life before. But all that excitement suddenly went away on her first day of school.
"African booty scratcher, go back on the boat you sail from" screamed an African American, while the teacher introduced her. Fingers pointing and loud giggles, and desk slowly moving away in disgust, like she was a bad virus. She did not understand the meaning of everything, but from the looks of things, it was not a good sign. She did not understand the meaning of not being from here, every day she would ask the questions "What did I do wrong"? Every day she would go home to her parents and cry, about what made her different and why did girls and boys pick on her, and her clothes, when there was nothing wrong. Why don’t her fellow Blacks like her? She continued to ask herself these questions for 11 years.
She later realized that it was not her but ther people teasing her, who had a problems within. ;Social Identity theory asserts that people have a fundamental need for self-worth and self-esteem; ( Smith 7). Colorism, unfortunately, has had a persistent effect on the lives of African Americans, it has become internalized that we can not differentiate between the view of ourselves. It has harmed the unity of each other, it has limited us to find jobs but created social groups.
Most men in the present day will rather date women of lighter complexion than someone with a darker tone(Smith 9). Most of the time, many girls and guy say ;If my own kind does not love me, then who will;. That creates a barrier among African Americans, and also creates an interracial relationship. It is more than a light skin, dark skin distinction.
Colorism among African American is not spoken on or taught. Most of the time, it is talked about among various African American groups, and other races picking on African Americans. To avoid conflict or any other problems, addressing the situation, but instead blacks chose to keep silent than speak on what is right and unfair. Blacks failed to properly address the sins of the past within our community, and as a consequence of this failure, colorism among African American prevails. It shows that African Americans only speak outward racism, but not inward about what’s going on in the black community.The origin of Intraracial hate is during a time where gangs were created in the black community, which started the early 1970s, black street gangs began to reemerge and partial to identified action and power, primarily between the bloods and the crips. The Emerging period shows the rise of hate within the neighborhoods of African Americans. Much of this violence comes within of how one is being treated, no love and support within ourselves, and our communities.
With the lack of love going into the streets and finding someone with similar hate; mistaken for love, easily corrupted and joined. The Hate for one another creates nothing but increase in hate. Violence victimization can also lead to feelings of despondency about having a happy or long life and feelings of being uncared for or unloved (Hindawi 13). Being unloved can also have a spiral effect on theft within black communities, which makes it poor. The more violence accure, the more the crime rate is going to go up, when the crime rate goes up the communities become more dangerous and less useful for upcoming youth. It is not an environment that brings sucess, most of the people living in these communities do not speak on problems that can cause them harm. The majority of them will rather keep silent then address any issues, but I thought about Black Lives Matters! If black lives matter why keep your mouth shut in a situation that can help the fellow blacks, and even benefit everyone around the neighborhood.
Everyone is so focused on interracial racism that intraracial hate is forgotten, we as a nation constantly talk about the killing of black people by white cops, and we should all protest for black lives mattering, but what about the crime between blacks? and yes, lives of black people do matter, and it is a serious situation that needs to be addressed, however, it has been addressed religiously. But does black lives matter when another black person is violent towards his own kind or only when whites treat African American differently? Black Lives should always matter in any circumstances, or better yet "All Lives Matter". Equality will serve our national Justice. "As a nation, we should all care for each other’s races and maybe just maybe we would have a better country;, According to Zaeem Parker from scienceleadership. The words of Zaeem Parker is what the black community should go by. Of course, everyone is not going to get along because hatred existed long before slavery but, treating one another with respect is the best way to stop some of the hate that’s going on.
Practicing what you preach will get you easier solutions, protesting about justice and nonviolent act is one way to stop the violence, but not practicing what you preach as a person is another thing. Majority of African American have suffered inequality in this country because of their actions. You can say you love justice for blacks but promote all Africans. Immigrants from other countries face daily inequality from whites and majority their own kind (African American). Immigrants do not get the fair chance as native North Americans, it is already difficult enough coming from another country trying to learn a new language and leaving everything behind, for a better life just to face Intraracial racism. When an immigrant from another country comes to the United States, whether it’s from Africa or the Islands, they are faced with racism and treated like crap.
They are made fun of from fellow blacks in America and even teased to the point where some may want to commit suicide.Many Black kids refused to be identified as ;African American; because it has the word ;African; in it. Africans are treated as a disease, or even yet, the disease is even better than being African.
No one talks about the hate that Africans faced on a daily basis, With this hate grows grudges, stereotypes, Ignorance, and misconception. Now in present day, Africans are treated as a trend, wheter than them embracing the culture, it’s more like, this is in style and I must follow what is in style. Wearing African clothes and eating African food.
Many do not see that Blacks are one, and the ancestors came from African roots/ Africa. (Sematicscholar.org).
How can people hate something or someone they originated from? How can you not love you’re own but expect others to love you? The Majority of African Americans get upset about interracial racism, but blacks do the same to each other, so does that make Blacks better? Hatred will always be there, but if African American cannot genuinely support one another, there will always be a form of hate, and where there is hate, there is no room for love. Blacks cannot teach love to anyone until we share it with one another. Being black in America is already an issue but, being hated by your own kind for no reason is another it’s a different kind of hate to experience. Conducting a interviewed with some of my peers, one story that interested me as the interviewee was the story by Lola Mae, It was many years before Lola was able to piece together the full story of her life and make sense of her memories.
Lola mother is of lighter darker complexion and her mother is white She had fair skin, or at least what some people call light skin. Although she was black she got picked on regularly by black kids for not being black enough, or being too yellow. With the hard work of her parents, working their way into a great class system, that made her situation worsened , because all the black kids called her bougie. Constantly getting picked on because she did not have nappy hair like most black children.
Nothing else mattered, not that she was friendly, hardworking, and smart, all they saw was someone of a lighter skin living in a upper class community. The young Lola was left behind, either in a school activities or group projects . Her mother’s tried desperately to find a way of getting Lola out of the school system. An arrangement to go live with one of her aunts outside of the United States, but Lola told her parents, she wants to stay, because she believes it can happen anywhere. Her mother agreed with Lola and decided not to take her away. The Eight year old Lola learned to defend herself by being violent, because of all the bullying she received, which put her in a bad spot by her 18th birthday, and put her in the statistics of blacks.
Lola now lost contact with her European blood and was entirely African American according to other blacks, but was also too ghetto for some blacks. On her 21st birthday, she later realize it doesn’t matter what she did to please other, she could never please anyone. She changed her identity and went for things that made her happy and took back her true identity which is D’erricka Long.
From that day she thought her self love and never hated anyone.This is one example of an efect that blacks have on ther blacks, and leads to self hate. One thing that kept Dr. King peaceful was his ability to not hate those who hurt him. He recognized that hating people is a highly negative emotion that has no value, unless you want to feel angry and unhappy.
As an act of self-love, I no longer allow myself to hate people(Kelly 222) . I may hate actions or results, but not the person (Kelly 221) . I love myself too much to inflict on me the anger that comes with hating a person. Although Martin Luther King was about the civil rights movement, and the hate between blacks and whites, this was a time blacks was more unified.
More powerful and all about motivation amongst each other, and love their own. In present day it is difficult to speak about love, but love works between levels of action and feeling. “Land of the Free” as the American citizens that they are. Dr. King, helped lead the movement into victory using something often called an “ethic of love” which was based on of his Christian beliefs and the ideals of Ghandi (George Martin 9). Martin Luther King, Jr. acknowledged that this was the only key to destroying oppression.
During the civil rights movement, Dr. King felt the need to address some issues during this time period, love for ourselves, each other and the nonviolent movement for what is right. Finally, we must love our enemies instead of hate, love has within its very power transforming qualities.
Dr.King saying love the enemy because there is something about love that can transform, that can change, that can arouse the conscience of the enemy And only by doing this are you able to transform the jangling discords of society into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and understanding. We’ve seen examples of this many times in history. movement, Dr.
King felt the need to address some issues during this time period, love for ourselves, each other and nonviolent movement for what is right. His vison of a beter country was interracial love , because African Americans already had that togetherness. Dr.King wanted to see everyone work together, he preached about love.
And though they had a lot of opposition such as the Nationalists and the Segregationists who believed that they were not to be considered Americans, King was able to use his ideals into correcting this system.The effects of intraracial hats has caused blacks to have the ability to have a sucessful life in the United States.Work Cited”Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7720. https://Doi.org/10.
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