Before I get into this weeks blog post, I wanted to take about the short video we watched in class, A Girl like Me. The end of this video, had to be one of the saddest most depressing things I've ever seen. These young kids are being told to choose which doll (white or black) do they prefer, 15/21 black children chose the white dolls. One girl was asked why the white doll was better she said because it was bad. She was then asked which one was bad, she chose the black one because it was black. She was then asked which doll she was like... at first she went to grab for the white doll then realized that that doll didn't look like her, and she pushed the black doll forward. This literally killed me. These young, beautiful, gifted girl believed she was bad because she was black, and seeing her coming to that conclusion killed me. No kid should ever feel like that, ever. 

Okonji, J.A. et al. (1996). Young black men prefer black counselors. Journal of Black Psychology.

Q: What can we make of this if only 2%  of psychologists are African American?

A: The fact that only 2% of psychologists are African American is a problem. I would imagine it's hard for an African American to go talk with a psychologists (who's white) when that person may not be able to identify with them. Meaning they don't experience the same day to day problems i.e. systematic institutionalized racism, harmful stereotypes, prejudices, etc. It makes it difficult to relate in my opinion. Think about a person of extreme privilege trying to help a person who is at an extreme disadvantage. 

Q: What are the major areas of concerns for Black men?

A: Responsibility. Black men want to be able to provide for their families. It's interesting because both gay and straight black men have the same aspirations to  be a responsible man as seen in the documentaries. 

“Self in community: African American women’s views of self-esteem”. 

  

Q: What were the 2 components of self-esteem for Black women? 

A: social support and self-reliance. 

    

Found: 85, 000 Black gay households. Essay by Alain Dang & Somjen Grazer.

Q: What do Black heterosexual and Black same-sex couples have in common?

A: The first and most basic thing these groups share is love. They both have love for their significant other which I believe is the most important thing these two groups share. They also share low incomes.

Pitts, L (1998) The choice to be gay AND Watson, J (2004). Strange Bedfellows     

Q: Is being gay a choice?  Who are the strange bedfellows that Watson is talking about?

 

A: NO! NO! NO! I do not believe being gay is a choice. This is the way I think about it... why would someone choose to be gay? Why would someone willing choose another dimension of oppression. Why would they choose to be victims of hate? Why would many try so hard to be straight? Why would people (like KIDS!) commit suicide because they're gay? Why would they choose to have laws disallowing them to marry someone they love? Why would people try and hide who they are from their friends and family on purpose? Why would someone choose to be ostracized? When you consider these questions... do you really think being gay is a choice?

McCready, L. T. (2004).Understanding the marginalization of gay and gender non-conforming black male students. Theory into Practice, 43 (2). 

What’s your opinion about how to address homophobia in Black community?  On college campuses?

A: In order to address homophobia in the Black community, I think community organizations (maybe one day churches) need to be more accepting of homosexuality. It's not easy being gay and black, and having to come out to your friends and family is not cakewalk. It can be terrifying and horrible. I believe if black community organizations and churches were more accepting, offered programs, information, group therapy, etc. to help cope with accepting their children. Yes, it might sound bad that they have to "accept their children," but there's such a stigma around being gay and parents really do need to accept their children. In my opinion, I think black parents have a hard time of accepting their children as being gay because it's just another level of oppression that is placed on them, making it that much harder to be accepted in society. They could just be fearing for their children's well-being. 

Froyum, C. (2007).  At least I’m not gay: Heterosexual identity-making among poor teens.  ABSTRACT ONLY

Q: What does this mean for African American gay and lesbian teens? How difficult would a coming out process be for Black gay and lesbian teens, particularly in Quadrant 4 of the African-centered behavior model?

A: It means that they're not comfortable in the skin they're in, and they're struggling to fit in. As stated earlier, I'd imagine that it's extremely difficult to come out to one's family. 

Week Cinco

Q: After reading Chapman, A. B. (2007). In search of love and commitment: Dealing with the challenging odds of finding romance, brainstorm 3 solutions to address the challenges discussed in the article.   

A: Audrey Chapman’s article In Search of Love and Commitment: Dealing with the Challenging Odds of Finding Romance discusses the challenges that are plaguing the African American community. There are higher divorce rates, low marriage rates, high incarceration rates among men, and different education attainment rates between men and women. I think one of the important things to first consider is that young men may not be getting the proper influences and role models in their lives. I belive it is important for men in the African American community to reach out to the younger boys and their schools to organize empowerment groups to teach the boys life skills, encourage them in their academics, and to put them on the right path. In addition, I think it’s important for people to not set such high unattainable standards for companions. At the end of the day no one is perfect, and everyone needs to realize there will be flaws in every person you meet. You should embrace their flaws. Lastly, I think African Americans (and all Americans) should be required to take pre-marriage classes for atleast 6 months. They can choose where to take them. Maybe local churches or African American groups/organizations can offer classes specific to the African American community.


Q: From the Bethea article, “African-American Women and the Male-Female Relationship Dilemma: A Counseling Perspective”:   


A: How have the stereotypes about Black men and women affected the Black family?     
It’s almost blatantly obvious that the stereotypes of the overpowering “bitch” and the deadbeat asshole are still affecting the Black family. Just from observing friends talk, watching tv/movies, or discussions in class – it’s very clear these stereotypes are here. It’s resulting in African American woman not wanting to settle down with “lazy” black men, and Black men not wanting to deal with a “bitch.” These are HUGE misconceptions that must be changed.


Q: The authors end by discussing areas that need to be addressed if counselors are to be effective with Black couples.    Describe the 3 areas of Issues and Approaches that need to be addressed in counseling African American.  What are your thoughts about the solutions posed?

A: The 3 areas of Issues and Approaches that need to be addressed in counseling with African Americans are Loss, Communication, and stereotypes. I really agree with two of the issues, communication and defeating the stereotypes. In my opinion before communication can work, one most defeat the stereotypes. People need to realize that stereotypes are made up and then perpetuated throughout the years because people as a whole aren’t fighting them. They just remain constant in society. Even in race groups, people are perpetuating the stereotype i.e. bitch and the deadbeat. We need to address those stereotypes, inform how they wrong, and kill them. Then successful communication can happen. Communication is key in understanding one another.

Q: Richardson, B.L. & Wade, B. (2001). What mama couldn’t teach us about love. Readings on Anti-intimacy Beliefs. On-line Handout. Choose 2 Anti-Intimacy Beliefs and relate each back to the legacy of slavery

A: I’ll lose anyone who gets close to me. HUGE intimacy issue! During slavery, families and friends were torn apart. It was hard to make strong bonds and relationships because you never knew how long you’d have with someone. This legacy has made it hard to make strong bonds with people

A: My Body is not my own.  During slavery, women (and men) didn’t own their bodies. Slave masters owned them. Slaves were used for breeding purposes and were raped. This makes me think of sex slaves. Although sex trafficking is prevalent around the world, there are girls (a lot of time minorities i.e. black) who get stuck in the sex trade. They don’t own their bodies, their “pimp” or “daddy” owns them. 

1. Living in a class apart: The separate world of America's Black elite”—how are the issues discussed in the article still impacting African Americans today?

         This article was extremely interesting for me. In the beginning it starts with the author reminiscing about what his grandmother used to tell him about being wary about getting to dark in the sun. She wanted her grandchildren to maintain a lighter skin tone. In addition, she also wanted the author to not hang out with African American children whose complexions were too dark. It never occurred to me how within the African American Community there were so many divisions. It’s saddening to think that your ancestors, money, and skin tone can dictate the way people of your own race see you. Somewhat surprised by this article, I asked my boyfriend about what his mother and father experienced when they got married. His mother is an African American woman with light complexion who comes from a wealthy southern family. She attended a good university and was in an all African American sorority. His father is a refugee from Nigeria with very dark complexion. He said that his mother’s family was not to keen on the idea of their daughter marrying a dark African even though he turned out to be quite successful as a doctor. This “us vs. them” complex between elitist African Americans and the “others” is only hurting the African American community as a whole. As I’ve stated numerous times before, the African American community most come to together through self-empowerment.

2. In the article by Offner, P. (2002). What’s love got to do with it?: Disparity between black men and women, the author presents several explanations for why Black women are advancing so far beyond Black men.  What would you add to these explanations? 

         This article made me think about concepts that I hadn’t before. The idea of the “lazy black man” and the “b*****y black woman” has been poisoning African American relationships. The author presents several explanations as to why black women are advancing far beyond black men. Offner lists of explanations such as incarceration, mortality rates, etc. that hold black man back. I would accredit the cycle of poverty for the disparity of many African American males. I work with an all boys group at a middle school in east Austin. The majority of the boys are African American. A question was raised (not sure if it was an appropriate question to ask) by one of the boys’ coaches…

“How many of your dads are gone?”

out of the group of about 25 boys, I can’t recall one boy NOT raising his hands.

These boys are growing up without a strong male role model in their lives and are being raised primarily by their mothers and grandmothers. I’m not saying that mothers and grad mothers can’t successful raise boys, but I am saying that the boys are lacking a strong male role model at home. With this in mind, boys may be a bit more susceptible to failing into similar traps their fathers fell into such as drugs, gang violence, incarceration, etc.

3. From the editorial by Raspberry on “Successful women who are childless”, (A) what percent of African American women between 28-55 years old and earning over $55,000 a year are married?   _____.  (B) Further, according to Cornel West, how has the ratio of black men to black women college students at Harvard changed between 1970 and today?  

Compare this to John Hope Franklin article.

60% of African American women between 28-55 years old and earning over $55,000 a year are married. Also, now more black women are at Harvard than man.

4. From the article by Eckholm, E. (2006), “Studies sound alarm on plight of black males”, (A) How has the plight deepened for black men in the last 2 decades?  (B) Describe the two factors cited by Holzer and colleagues for keeping black employment rates down.     

5. From the article by Edwards, A. (2002), “Bring me home a black girl”,   What does the term "annihilation through integration" mean?  How does that relate to the Black marriageability index today?  After reading the McLarin and Evans articles, discuss the implications for the marriageability index among African Americans.   Does either article speak to perhaps an increase in marriageability index among and between African American couples? 

Nguzo Saba.

Nguzo Saba

Kujichagulia

Self Determination

To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves instead of being defined, named created and spoken for by others.

Ujima

Collective Work and Responsibility

To build and maintain our community together. To make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems to solve together. 

While looking through the African American timeline, it's amazing to see how much African Americans have achieved throughout these past two eras and how little we are taught about it. Two of my favorite Nguzo Saba principles are the Kujichagulia and Ujima principles. The Kujichagulia principle is the one that stresses the importance of self determination. It's so important for people to empower themselves from within as opposed to being given power from another group of people. Self determination is so important. The leaders of the civil rights movement were predominantly African American, and the needed to empower the African American community from within. The Ujima principle is to build and maintain our community together. To make our brother's and sisters' problems our problems to solve together. For me, this principle and the Kujichaguilia principle go hand in hand. It's a joint effort to help a community rise together and empower themselves. 

African American Timeline

1776

A passage condemning the slave trade is removed from the Declaration of Independence due to pressure from the southern colonies.

If the passage condemning the slave trade wasn't removed from the Declaration of Independence, just think how different the world we live in today could've been? 

Kinda crazy.

1866

President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation legally frees all slaves in the Confederacy. 

I feel like this timeline would not have been complete without adding good 'ol Abe and the Emancipation Proclamation. This was the start of big changes in the United States.

1866     

Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, which confers citizenship on African Americans and grants them equal rights with whites.

Again, extremely important. African Americans were finally viewed as equals which would help African families have a stronger self identity.

1936

Track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in the Berlin Olympics, thwarting Adolf Hitler's plan to use the games to demonstrate "Aryan supremacy."

HUGE advancement for African Americans. He basically told Hitler to "suck it." What a great accomplishment for Jesse, the African Community, and the US.

1954

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court rules unanimously against school segregation, overturning its 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Education reform! yes! It took awhile for the ball to get rolling, but it finally happened. We're still fighting for equal education for all though. 

1964

Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 

For me, this represents and accumulation of all the efforts of the people involved in the Civil Rights Movement. What an extraordinary victory for all!

1982

Michael Jackson's album Thriller becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time.

MJ. Although later in life he would have some complications, Michael Jackson made the African American community proud with with accomplishments. 

2008

Obama. 

no caption necessary.