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Eliree Yakpasuo
English 102
Dr. Wynne
17 March 2017
Black Oppression in America

The adamant source of oppression that black men in contemporary America face stems

from racism. The word, as National Public Radio which is a national and world news source

informs us, was first recorded in The Oxford English Dictionary in the year 1902 by a man

named Richard Henry Pratt. Even before a word was manifested to define the essence of racism,

its effects in retrospect already were instilling cataclysmic and distorted sentiments towards the

black man. Cyril Lionel Robert James, an Afro-Trinidadian historian and Trotskyite once pointed

to racisms roots in the institution of slavery as a structural-functional apparatus in the

accumulation of money in a capitalistic society. CLR James, who noted before his death that

The conception of dividing people by race begins with the slave trade (Demby 4), pointed to

the accumulation of capital in a society that sanctioned mans ability to expand his reaches with

no limit as a primary source of the social castigation of black men. There are several other

scholars who vehemently agree and others who dissent his opinion. Nonetheless, one cannot

deny the correlation and certainly cannot undermine the innate tendency of man in an

individualistic society. Oppression and racism directly effect those who do not benefit in a

capitalistic society. They are often painted as the degenerates and in many cases are restricted

from participating in certain entities in society because of fear that power will be redistributed.

Oppression not only castigates the black man but can interfere with their psychological health,

translate into their massive incarceration, and in worst case scenarios the loss of their God-given
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lives. Three questions will be considered in order to determine how African Americans are

impacted by oppression:

1. Does oppression affect black men psychologically?

2. Does oppression have an effect on black men in relation to the judicial system?

3. What are the statistics of black men who are incarcerated due to oppression?

Does oppression affect black men psychologically?

There have been extensive studies in the exploration of oppression on the psyche of

human beings as well as animals. Oppression is a form of isolation, which is mans hell on Earth.

As ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle reminds us Man is by nature a social animal (Taylor 7),

translating in mans innate necessity of a form of acceptance into a social circle. Racism is a

form of discrimination and bigotry for a certain group of people which is a direct challenge to

human nature. In the latter years of schools of social science, studies and polls have been

conducted to attain a more clairvoyant explanation of the social problem that rots away at the

glory of America, despite its controversy. The American Psychological Association, a

scientific and professional organization dedicated to representing and proliferating the findings

of psychologists in the United States, raises awareness of the issue on their website. It was found

that asserting the psychological factor of stress, the association shines light of the true

psychological detriment of racism and its pervasive effects on the human psyche (Physiological

& Psychological Impact of Racism and Discrimination for African-Americans). Shawn o.

Utsey, Joshua Hook, and Pia M. Stanard of Virginia Commonwealth University and Normal

Giesbrecht of the University of Calgary bring more fruition to the actualities of the problem

suggesting that there is concrete evidence that confirms correlation between stress and

psychological detriment of the African American family as a result. They point to the concept of
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the stress-suppressing model posits that the presence of resources reduces the likelihood of

experiencing a stressful event that will potentially result in distress (Utsey, 11). Black men in

America often find themselves at odds end with challenging racism. To prevent social reprimand

because of its failure to reach the mainstream, often times they remain complacent and innovate

a form of coping whether it be denial or crude humor that pokes fun at social advancement or

truths that underlie the fallacy of racism. This denial acts as a wall that blocks the greener grass

of equality.

Does oppression have an effect on black men in relation to the judicial system?

Racism not only oppresses the black man psychologically, but attacks their liberty and

rights vanishing them to a despondent reality. Racism and oppression has had a prevalence in

Americas judicial system for years. By painting black men as predators and criminals, it has

sanctioned the injustice of their mass incarceration in America. Many hold on fondly to the

notion that black men bring about crime, drugs, and dysfunction. Though this is very untrue.

Most drugs, such as crack-cocaine, were made in laboratories and dispersed into inner-city

African American communities as a means of garnering profit. Quickly, white America

capitalized from this occasion, quickly framing African Americans as the slingers that were

bringing crack to the kids, encouraging them to try and form an addiction to the destructive

substance.

What are the statistics of black men who are incarcerated due to oppression?

Moreover, officers who are required to meet a quota by the end of the fiscal and calendar

years often are racially motivated to stymie the growth of the African American male by locking

him up and throwing away the key. The 2010 Census reports statistics that bring fruition to the
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social injustice. Due to an increase in the pursuit of criminality, originating on June 18th, 1971

with former president Richard M. Nixon and accelerated in 1994 with Bill Clintons 1994 Crime

Bill, blacks were arrested at exponential rates quickly populating prisons around the world. (See

Figure 1)

Figure 1

Conclusion

In conclusion, although we as African Americans have fought and remediated the horrors

of Jim Crow, there still persists to social stigmas that chip away at the pride and success of the

black man in America. To quote the late author and social activist Maya Angelou A black

person grows up in this country. knowing that racism will be as familiar as salt to the tongue
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(On Views of Race and Inequality). According to the Pew Research Center 81% of black men

surveyed reported racism or a form of social inequity in their lives. About 8% of those same

participants reported a belief that The United States in the years has taken dramatic steps in the

realm of the advancement of the black race and closing of the economic gap between blacks and

whites. The numbers dont lie. Because of the cognitive dissonance that stems as a result of

addressing such an accepted social stigma, black men often fall victim to racism and oppression

that challenges their success in life. Racism is not innate. Racism is condition. Racism brings

about a hatred that births a nation of those who hate. With its presence in ideology comes its

manifestation into practice. Due to such an exhorted feeling fueled by ignorance and hatred,

racism convolutes the vision of equality, justice, and liberty, demeaning the lives of some in

order to advance the interests of many.


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Demby, Gene. "The Ugly, Fascinating History Of The Word 'Racism'." NPR. NPR, 06 Jan. 2014.

Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

"On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart." Pew Research

Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. Pew Research Center, 27 June 2016. Web. 16

Mar. 2017.

"Physiological & Psychological Impact of Racism and Discrimination for African-Americans."

Pardon Our Interruption. American Psychological Association, 2017. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

Taylor, Alex. "Inside Socialist Worker." Inside Socialist Worker. N.p., 22 Nov. 2002. Web. 16

Mar. 2017.

US Incarceration Rates by Race & Ethnicity, 2010. 2010. U.S. Bureau of Justice, Washington,

DC.

Utsey, Shawn O., Norman Giesbrecht, Pia M. Stanard, and Joshua Hook. "Cultural,

Sociofamilial, and Psychological Resources That Inhibit Psychological Distress in African

Americans Exposed to Stressful Life Events and Race-Related Stress." Journal of Counseling

Psychology. American Psychological Association, 10 Aug. 2007. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

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