Week 3: Ethnic Groups and Discrimination
Edwina Joy Akens
ETH / 125
April 10, 2011
Ellen McPeek Glisan
Axia College of University of Phoenix
Week 3: Ethnic Groups and Discrimination
This first question, did African Americans get colonized or immigrate to the United States caused me to take pause and reflect on my history in a manner that I had not done before. As an African American student there were always classes in which we were taught about our history, how we came to this country as slaves, etc. But never did the question come up about whether or not we were colonials or immigrants. The concept has always been, “people of African descent have not been counted as part of America's migratory tradition. The transatlantic slave trade has created an enduring image of black men and women as transported commodities, and is usually considered the most defining element in the construction of the African Diaspora…” (Diouf, n.d.,
In all of the history classes taken never once was there addressed the question of whether or not African Americans come as colonials or immigrants. Interestingly enough, after extensive research there was more confusion that expected. The transatlantic slave trade is all that was generally taught, especially when I was in middle and high school which was over 40 years ago. Therefore, my initial response to this question was we were neither colonials nor immigrants, we were simply ‘property.’ Now, I’m not so sure. According to my research there were not less than thirteen migrations from Africa to America.
In fact, “When Africans first came to the New World, they came of their own free will, and they arrived at virtually the same moment as the first Europeans…In the early 17th century, as the Age of Colonization began in earnest, Africans had begun to come to North America to stay” (Library of Congress, 2007). It was little over 50 years later that almost all of the African Americans colonists of Virginia were enslaved.
African Americans faced a combination of prejudice, segregation and racism. The question was stated in the past, and yes, African Americans have faced a combination of all three in the past. The fact is, we face a combination of these elements today as well. The text offered the following definitions for the three terms: * Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people; * Segregation is the physical separation of two groups in residence, workplace, and social functions; and * Racism is a doctrine that one race is superior
(Mankiw, 2007, pp. 12, 21, 37).
Having a negative attitude toward an entire category of people is something that makes no sense. When speaking to any individual they will tell you the one thing that they really do not want to experience is someone making assumptions about them without having personal knowledge or interaction with them. Yet, African Americans have been faced with this attitude from the moment they were brought to this country. Prejudice is a negative attitude which is not based on fact, it is a learned behavior. Growing up in Texas in the 1950s exposed me to the potential for a great deal of prejudice. Fortunately, my experience was quite a sheltered one and I did not encounter as much negativity as one might think.
My entire school life was in segregated schools. From the time I entered school in kindergarten until graduation from high school, schools were not integrated. Even though many discussions have been made about the benefits of integration, my personal experience has no bearing. The Brown vs. Board of Education case which was decided in 1954 somehow never made a change in our schools which is interesting since it was decided when I was four years old. Yet, in 1967 I graduated from a segregated high school. The thing that was a benefit in the segregated schools was that we had African American teachers who were determined that once we graduated we would be able to still compete with anyone of any race having received the best quality education available, understanding that the schools were still separate but not equal.
Segregation was not just a part of the school system, communities were segregated, businesses were segregated, and African Americans were always told to “know your place.” In fact, “The Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision did not abolish segregation in other public areas, such as restaurants and restrooms, nor did it require desegregation of public schools by a specific time” (Cozzens, 1995, p.1).
Racism for the longest time in this country was actually synonymous with the attitude of Whites toward Blacks. Racist behavior has been so prevalent against African Americans for so long that when racist actions started showing up against races other than African Americans a phrase was coined, “they are the New Negro” meaning they are recipients of racism much the same as African Americans.
Because African Americans were victimized by all three of the previous actions in this country, it is no surprise that they fell prey to many different forms of discrimination. As an African American woman it is sometimes difficult for me to differentiate between the levels of discrimination. They all seem to run together. For example, being female and African American I have experienced double jeopardy, institutional discrimination, as well as affirmative action.
It is my opinion that African Americans have experienced some of the best and the worst attitudes as an ethnic group in the United States. I absolutely do not feel that we are alone as recipients of prejudice, racism, or discrimination. As we progress through this class I am sure we will be able to study about many different ethnic groups that have suffered from many of the same attitudes. What I do know is what I can control, and that is my own attitude. That said, I am proud to be able to say that it is easy for me to accept a person on their own worth without the added weight of judging according to race.

References
Cozzens, Lisa. (1998). Brown v. Board of Education. African American history. Retrieved from http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html

Diour, S. (n.d.). In motion: the African-American migration experience. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Retrieved from http://www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm;jsessionid=f8302513441302480376827?bhcp=1
Library of Congress. (2007). Immigration … African. Retrieved from http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/learn/features/immig/african2.html
Schaefer, Richard T. (2006). Racial and ethnic groups. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.