Racism Induce Aggressive and Addictive Behavior in African Americans - Coursework Example

Running Head: Racism induce Aggressive and Addictive Behavior in African Americans Racism induce Aggressive and Addictive Behavior in African Americans [Writer’s Name] [Institute’s Name] Racism induce Aggressive and Addictive Behavior in African Americans Introduction Since the beginning, racism has been one of the issues that have infected our country in an adverse manner. Discrimination based on skin color can be the simplest definition that has affected the institutional structure of a number of countries around the world, particularly the United States. In the United States, a number of non-governmental organizations and political parties have endeavored to eliminate this social evil; however, Black population in the country has been treated as dropouts of the society. (Shapiro, 2004) Opinions and thoughts of Black people are still not taken seriously by the society, which has been one of the reasons of suffocated progress of the country despite of immense resources and power. A number of studies have been carried out to understand the causes of racism and social inequality; however, a limited amount of research has focused on the adverse and unconstructive effects of racism on individual members of American society, which has resulted in a number of psychological and mental effects on Black population of the country. On contrary, a number of organizations and political groups run by White people report regarding the aggressive and addictive behavior of African Americans towards the White community without discussing and exploring causes of such behavior. (Rozie-Battle, 2002) Numerous schools in the country have complaint about the aggressive and non-serious behavior of African American students in schools, colleges, and universities; however, a very few schools have taken required steps to identify and resolve the cause of such behavior from the Black community. History & Environmental Issues In terms of history, notes about racism in history go back to 1500 before Christ. At this time, the Aryans conquered North India. The white-skinned Aryans restrained the native Indians, who had brown and black skin. (Smedley, 2003) They were completely separated from society and so the Aryans built а racist regime, which was so extreme that it was taken as а model for many racist leaders afterwards. The next important period where racism happened was the discovery of America, where the Spanish felt superior over the Native Americans. (Shapiro, 2004) The Spanish colonists treated the Native Americans so bad, that there was а serious discussion, if they were even humans or animals. After the European peoples settled down in America, they enslaved а lot of Africans, who worked for them. The superior attitude of the white men leads into а few absurd debates, for example, there was а discussion about the existence of black people, because everybody assumed that Adam and Eva were white. The problem with the slavery reached its maximum during the Civil war in the 19th century in the United States. In the year 1865, slavery was ended in the country; however, the racial discrimination continued legally until 1964 when а law was introduced, which forbid discrimination of black people. (Rozie-Battle, 2002) In the beginning of 1960s, an abrupt change was observed in the blacks that were encouraged and supported by some of the political groups. This change resulted in the beginning of a vision for their social rights in the region. Unfortunately, efforts started in 1960s did not continued until today, and progress related to such issues has not been observed in present era. In addition, situation has become more adverse and deteriorated. For instance, a number of issues are being confronted by black these days, such as racial discrimination, drugs, scarcity of resources, etc. Moreover, unity has been lacked unfavorably and adversely so far. In the result, the black community has been confronting a number of issues, which have affected them physically, as well as, emotionally resulting in their addictive and aggressive behavior towards other racial identities present in the American society. Consequently, the black community has progressed very gradually, even to the extent of no progress in the past decades due to a number of factors, such as racial discrimination, and lack of unison among the black community, etc. Problem Statement & Social Importance In this regard, it is essential to explore whether aggressive and addictive behavior of African American males is an outcome of racial discrimination or something else has been resulting in such unconstructive attitude of these people. Unfortunately, only a few studies have studied the physical and mental health problems that are confronted by African American individuals due to widespread racism. In this respect, it is essential that negative mental health and psychological effects of racism should be studied and explored by experts, in order to reduce such outcomes in the society. However, exploration of such outcomes confronts a number of limitations due to unconstructive attitude of many White Americans towards the Black community. Moreover, no concrete measures are available to evaluate the adverse consequences of racism on African American males due to absence of any public reporting by them. Some of the studies have noted that experiences related to racial discrimination are mostly denied by African American males due to predictive negative attitude and response of White people in the society. However, avoidance of such reporting results in a greater level of such health and psychological outcomes in African Americans that makes them more aggressive and addictive in terms of their behavior and attitude towards the White community. Absence of any effort to study the aggressive and addictive behavior of African American males is one of the reasons to select this topic for the paper, which will contribute in improving the institutional structure of American society, and will facilitate in resolving a number of social problems related to racism. Major Changes in Society Currently, unemployment rates are elevating, and neighborhoods are separating, which demonstrates the racial discrimination that is common these days. In addition, black community also confronts the ignorance of white people who do not encourage the communication with the black community. In the year 1991, separation of approximately thirty million black people in terms of their prevalence was reported by the USA Today, as compared with the separation that occurred in the 60s. (Smedley, 2003) It has been observed that enthusiasm has been lacked in the new generation of the black community due to the process that has been very lethargic since past decades. The racial discrimination and anti-black policies have resulted in the loss of self-esteem by these black people. As a result, associate brothers and sisters are being rejected by these people, in order to relinquish their existence and improvement. This kind of depressive attitude has been observed in most of the black adolescences that have been deteriorated adversely, and society is often blamed for this consequence. In the result, it has been assumed that continuity will be observed in the high unemployment rate, as well as, crime rate of the black community, if the older generation of the black community will not change themselves, and will not take any step to strengthen their will power and self-esteem. Some of the experts have denied the importance of study of issues related to racial discrimination; however, it is observed that racism has not only affected the Black community; however, has resulted in a number of other adverse effects on American society as a whole, such as increased unemployment rate, poverty, etc that has affected the country significantly. For instance, increased unemployment rate of African Americans has resulted in more number of dependent people in the country that is a burden for the government, and affects the annual budget, as well as, different plans regarding the distribution of social amenities in different parts of the country. Scholarly Studies As earlier mentioned, a few studies have been carried out to understand the relation of aggressive and addictive behavior of African American males with racial discrimination. This paper has focused on some of the available studies related to such relation. In this regard, one of the studies (Caughy et al., 2004) studied the aggressive behavior of African American students with relation to experiences of racial discrimination confronted by their parents. The study observed that a significant relation was present between copings of racial discrimination experiences by parents and aggressive behavior and inefficient performances of children in schools, as well as, at homes. A great fear of oppression and persecution was observed in African American males due to witnessing of related incidents in neighborhood. In short, the study concluded that racial discrimination experiences of parents affect behavior of children in an adverse manner. Another study indicated that racial discrimination experiences result in stress and depression in African American males, which tend them to be aggressive with others. More than ninety-three percent of African American males accepted that they confronted stress and anxiety due to racial discrimination, which forced them to be aggressive in anxiety. In addition, they became addictive, in order to reduce the stressful conditions. (Nyborg & Curry, 2003) One of the studies have observed abnormal activities in brain at the time of experiencing racial discrimination by African American males due to hypertension and irregular neuroendocrine responses indicating relation of aggressive behavior of African Americans and racial discrimination. (Harrell, 2000) Conclusion (Author’s Reflection) Conclusively, racial discrimination is one of the greatest social evils that have affected the American society in an adverse and significant manner. Black community is an imperative component of our society, as Black people are present in almost every aspect of our lives. Calling them black is itself an act of racial discrimination, and they should be treated like other members of the society in an equalized manner. This research has allowed the author to explore unidentified aspects of racial discrimination and their negative health and psychological effects of African American males. This exploration will allow the author to treat and behave with them in a positive and motivational manner. A number of steps can be taken by the government, non-governmental organizations, as well as, individuals to eliminate such social evil from the society by giving responsibilities to African American males that will give them a sense of satisfaction, which will reduce the adverse effects. Lastly, the paper has discussed and analyzed different aspects of racial discrimination and its relation with aggressive and addictive behavior of African American males. It is hoped that the paper will be beneficial for students, teachers, and professionals in better understanding of the topic. References Brian D. Smedley. (2003). Unequal Treatment. National Academies Press. Judith L. Rozie-Battle. (2002). African-American Adolescents in the Urban Community. Haworth Press. Margaret O’Brien Caughy, Patricia J. O’Campo, Carles Muntaner. (2004). Experiences of Racism among African American Parents and the Mental Health of Their Preschool-Aged Children. American Journal of Public Health. Volume 94, No. 12. pp. 2118-2124. S. P. Harrell. (2000). a Multidimensional Conceptualization of Racism Related Stress: Implications for the Well-Being of People of Color. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Volume 70 (1), pp. 42-57. T. M. Shapiro. (2004). the Hidden Costs of being African American. Oxford University Press. V. M. Nyborg, J. F. Curry. (2003). the Impact of Perceived Racism: Psychological Symptoms among African American Boys. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Volume 32 (2), pp. 258-266. Total Words: 1650 Words Read More