Analysis of African American Culture

Running Head: Analysis of African American Culture

Analysis of African American Culture

Abstract

The African American society is filled with many negative attributes which make it

unsuitable for one to desire to be a part of it. These negative attributes are as follows: decades

of unwed mothers, poor educational background, violence, gang activity, drug abuse, poor work

ethic, high numbers of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, lower morals and

standards, and poverty-stricken. Many research articles will be discussed to support these

negative feelings.

Analysis of the African American Culture

In today's society, many people state all people are equal and should be treated so. I

believe that all people should be treated fairly. However, I do not buy the concept that all people

are equal. Therefore, I do not think all people can or should be treated equally. There are

some people who are born into this world that need extra assistance from someone. There are

many people who could be self-sufficient, but choose to depend on others. These people should

not be treated as equals to those who absolutely need help.

With that said, Caucasians and African-Americans have many different inherent qualities

that makes them unequal. I believe that many of these differences are by choice. I do not want

to be a part of the African-American culture due to these differences. Some of the reasons are

as follows: increased percentage of poverty-stricken, increased involvement in violence,

increased gang involvement, increased percentage of drug abuse, doubled percentage of

HIV/AIDS, lack of educational background, decades of unwed mothers, widespread sexually

diseases other than HIV/AIDS, personal morals and values, and poor work ethic. All of these

ideas are interrelated. Some of the reasons are the consequence, reaction, or root of the

problems. An example of this is that due to lack of an education one may be stricken by poverty

and forced to join a gang, which uses violence, for protection and as means for providing for

oneself without having to put in a full day's work. Many of these discriminatory beliefs have

been validated in recent research. These research articles will be discussed at a later point.

A Day in the Life of an African American Male

Before elaborating on each of these factors, I want to explain what I think a day would be

like if I was part of the African American culture. My day as an African American male is as

follows:

At 10:00 a.m., on the morning of October 29, 2005, I awoke with a pounding in my head.

Still trying to recover from the wild night before, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as the sun

blinded me through the window of my one room apartment. The place is a dump, but the

landlord lets me slide when I get behind on my rent. It is hard to make ends meet on a minimum

wage salary, juggling bills and a social life. I have women to impress, not to mention expensive

habits.

Speaking of jobs and salary, I overslept again. Bossman isn't happy when I call in that I

can't make it to work. He doesn't seem to believe me when I tell him I'm sick. Let him fire me,

I'll just draw unemployment. I had rather do that anyway. Why work when I can get free

government money.

I had to get off the phone because someone was beating on my door and lying on the car

horn outside my apartment. I ran to the window to find someone standing beside my car. It was

the people I bought my car from. They said I had two choices. I could give them the payments I

owed for the last two months, or they were leaving with my car. I yelled and told them to get

away from my car or they would be sorry. They didn't heed my warning, because I watched as

they drove my car out of the parking lot. I couldn't bust a cap in them in the middle of the day in

a public place; too many witnesses. I would handle that business later.

I called my baby sister, Boo's, daddy to ask him for some money. You know, not a loan,

but an advance on his "order." that I would be getting for him later this