African American males and females face distinctive problems in U.S. society. There are special concerns for women of color, particularly black women rooted in historical figures dating back to slavery. It was during this time that black women were forced to submit themselves or be raped repeatedly by their white owners, turning them into sexual victims of both gender inequality and racial inequality, (Farley, 2005:413). Black women were seen from then on, as fair game for all men, more so because it was strictly taboo for a black man to be with a white woman. Farley (2005) states that “sexual violence against African American women has in some cases been exacerbated by the anger and frustration of black men who are deprived of the traditional male role, p413.
Gangsta rap and the message it delivers towards women warrants more concern for black men and women; if black men are the gang members that label their “sisters” this way, such as bitches and hoes, then they are just as bad off and uneducated, as well as the women for allowing themselves to be portrayed in videos, like on MTV promoting the violence and stigma. Feminists contend that “even when Black or Latino men behave in unacceptable ways towards women, men are also victims of societal discrimination, p414.
Black men are proven to be the least likely to have year round full time employment, and although this number has declined in recent decades and men of color have been part of a growing economic and political realm, poverty and unemployment has worsened, particularly for men living in inner cities where thousands of industrial jobs have been eliminated, p414. Startling statistics show the decline: in 1974 half of all young employed black men worked at well paying industrial jobs, in 1984 the number went to about a quarter, and in 2000 only one out of eight. As the jobs disappeared, the unemployment rate soared, p414.
The majority of men have responded to loss of jobs by selling drugs and committing crimes, which most often leads to violence and becoming part of the judicial system that provokes a sometimes never ending vicious cycle in the life of a black man. When this happens, black men suffer from what is known as nihilism as a “sense of psychological depression, personal worthlessness, and social despair,” so widespread in black America, p415.
In addition to violence, crime and poverty among Black men and women, there is the threat of lower educational attainment levels. Black men are less likely to attend college today than 30 years ago; in 1990 39 percent of men in college were black, in 2000 it was below 37 percent, whereas men make up 44 percent of the male student body, p416. Although there is a significant amount of problems among this ethnic group, it is important not to stereotype, p417.
Many sociologists and journalists have contributed to the stereotyping of minorities like black people, but it is important to remember that not all black people are criminals, drug dealers, drug users, uneducated, or poor, and that most are law abiding citizens, employed, and have never used drugs. Furthermore, Dunnier (1992) reminds us powerfully that is important to bring to light these injustices against African Americans so that they might have a chance to be fought and overcome, by providing greater opportunities for these groups.