Three Myths About African Americans
By: Sierra Hansel
A quote from the famous Martin Luther King Jr. states, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” (Leadem). I believe this quote speaks to every individual amongst the human race because while everyone faces controversy in life, the way they react to those issues is what defines them as a person. Within the African American race, there are multiple myths that others believe about them. Three which will be discussed include, how black people hate the police, black men are generally bad at being dads, and lastly, how black women have no chance in life.
Myth #1: African Americans hate the police.
Most African Americans will attest that they believe police hate them due to their behavior and race. Whether this is true or not, this opinion does not define who one person is to the next. According to Jon Mixon, a blogger, the idea of how black people are more vocal on their opinionated views are one of the main reasons police do not like them. This is because they believe the colored individuals are going out of disrespect. Another factor that supports this view of opinion is the idea of how social media views them, therefore most people, especially police officials, see African Americans as a cruel and unacceptable race in society. The police view them this way because of how they represent themselves in situations that get views from outsiders. While this could be or could not be a race issue, it is said that African Americans hate the police because of the view those officers have against the individual.
Myth #2: Black men are generally bad at being dads.
Another opinion against African Americans is targeted at black men and their children. Many people accuse these individuals, saying, “No offense, but it’s not often that I see black men out with their kids” (Richards). In the blog where the black father was targeted, he immediately sat and pondered about this accusation. His statement to justify his role of being an excellent father was under the assumption of how he chose to raise his child. While most people believe that black fathers are unexceptional, the CDC released a document showing that black dads topped all other dads with a 70% of how involved they are, compared to other dads of other races (Richards). This does not specify that black dads are the best, however, it shows support that the stereotype against black fathers are not true based on opinions of others. There is one thing that all exceptional parents have in mind and that is: raising a kind, happy, and productive child into an adult, minus how they were brought up, or their cultural background.
Myth #3: Black women have no chance in life.
The last myth to be discussed in this essay is the idea of how educated black women have it harder in society. This topic ranges from a political standpoint, to a job, and also within a marriage. For starters, some scholars state that “education increases the likelihood of marriage” (Nittle). I believe this is true because of the success they seek from the happiness within. Within a job, ever since the era of slavery, people believe that colored women should be workers; rather it be in a career or in motherhood (Banks). In earlier years, despite being married or not, majority of black women supplied over half of the finance of the household. The discrimination against colored women over the course of decades has remotely remained the same and even decreased by little. “Public policies showed reasoning as to black women as workers rather than mothers that contributed to the economy” (Banks). These public policies were under the act of Mother’s Pensions and the Social Security Act of 1935. They stated, “the undermining of well-being black families by denying black women with no other option but to work for very low wages” (Banks). This goes to show that as a black woman and mother in society, it is hard to get views of others on their side because of discrimination and race.
In conclusion, the idea of race and discrimination is represented in each main topic discussed. As to what Martin Luther King Jr. stated, the idea of the measure of these individuals results in how they react to the challenges, such as discrimination, due to who they are and their background. Therefore, the way they react to these negative issues goes to show what type of person they truly are. Not all African Americans are horrid people, it all depends on their response to the negativity on societies upbringing and discrimination against them.
Works Cited
Banks, Nina. “Black Women's Labor Market History Reveals Deep-Seated Race and Gender Discrimination.” Economic Policy Institute, 19 Feb.
2019, www.epi.org/blog/black-womens-labor-market-history-reveals-deep-seated-race-and-gender-discrimination/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2019.
Leadem, Rose. “21 Inspiring Quotes From Black Leaders From Throughout American History.” Entrepreneur, 13 May
2019, www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/309311#8. Accessed 8 Oct. 2019.
Mixon, Jon. “Why Do Police Hate Black People?” Quora, 25 Sept. 2017,
www.quora.com/Why-do-police-hate-black-people. Accessed 8 Oct. 2019.
Nittle, Nadra Kareem. “The Top 4 Myths About Black Marriage.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 17 Jan. 2019,
www.thoughtco.com/the-top-myths-about-black-marriage-2834526. Accessed 8 Oct. 2019
Richards, Doyin. “My Rude Introduction to Black Fatherhood.” Fatherly, 13 Mar. 2019,
www.fatherly.com/love-money/my-rude-introduction-to-black-fatherhood/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2019.
