BestieBlack people have gone through distinct phases throughout history. It’s no secret that they have had to overcome countless obstacles just to have the same equal rights as every other human being living in America. But the difference between black people and white people is still an issue.
John Henrik Clarke, who was an American historian and a pioneer in the creation of Pan-African and Africana studies once said that history tells people where they have been and what they have been. But most importantly, he said that history tells people where they still need to go and what they still need to become.
Unfortunately, the black population in the United States is still finding it incredibly difficult to become what they desire to be. Because of this, parents are raising their children to consider consequences of being black on a daily basis. With that said, there are a number of things that black people want their white friends to know, so they will properly understand what they have to go through on a constant basis.
Black Children Are More Likely to Be Suspended: Children begin enrolling in preschool between the ages of 2 and 5. Even during those ages, black children are being suspended disproportionately. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2014, black children made up just 18% of preschoolers nationwide. But they accounted for almost half of out-of-school suspensions. Also, a 2015 study from Columbia Law School reports that 90% of the girl’s population that was suspended in 2011-2012 in New York City was black. No white girls were suspended at all.
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Black Boys Look Older And Are Less Innocent: According to a study published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a 10-year-old black child is often not even considered to be a child. To prove this study, two experiments were conducted. In the first one, 264 white, college female students were shown photos of black boys ranging from 10-17 years of age. The white female students overestimated the age of the boys by an average of 4.5 years. The second experiment was done on 176 police officers who were mostly white and 37 years of age from large cities in America. The experiment was to determine how biased they were against black boys based on prejudice. Researchers found that police officers who used force against black people also dehumanized them.
SpeedKingz/shutterstock.comBlack Kids More Likely to Get Shot: Do you remember Tamir Rice? He was a 12-year-old black boy who was shot and killed by a police officer. The officer perceived Rice to be a “threatening man.” To make things worse, when the officer called it in, he said that the black male was probably 20-years-old. This also backs up the previous point made. In addition, a study published in 2005 done by Florida State University found that white, male officers were more likely to let armed white suspects go while shooting unarmed black suspects.
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Black Children Are Hyper-Policed More Than White Children: According to the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), 27% of all school-age children who are referred to law enforcement are black. They make up just 16% of the actual enrollment total in schools. Do you remember what happened to Kayleb Moon-Robinson of Lynchburg? When he was 11-years-old, he was charged with disorderly conduct for kicking over a trash can. He was also charged with a felony assault because he struggled to break free when a cop grabbed him according to CPI.
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Black Families Born Into Middle Class Still End Up Poor: A 2014 study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found that 60% of black children who were born into middle class end up in the lower income bracket during adulthood. The study also found that only 36% of white kids experienced this.
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Most Children Sentenced to Life Without Parole Are Black: According to the American Civil Liberties Union, there are at least 2,500 youth sentenced to life without parole in America. They also mention that 60% of them are black Americans.
txking/shutterstock.comOrigin of Black History Month: Black history month was first called Negro History Week and was created by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926, says Stacy M. Swimp, who is a spokesperson for the Black Christian Leadership Council. Swimp mentions that Woodson created this because he wanted black Americans to understand strong family values, sense of individual responsibility, worth ethic and dignity. He also felt that having historical awareness would inspire black Americans to avoid depending on government to do things for them that they could do on their own. Stacy adds that Woodson also believed that if white Americans knew the true history of blacks in America and Africa, it would help reduce the stereotyping.
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Also, Stacy mentions that Woodson hoped that this special week or month would no longer be needed because, eventually, the schools would realize that black history is American history as well. Unfortunately, this will never occur as long as there is a right-wing domination of public education, according to Swimp.
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