Extra Credit: Cover

The movie Cover, was about an African American women facing death penalty for murder, as a result of a group of “down- low” African American men. The movie negatively portrays African American men by centralizing the idea that was stated countless times by Zahara Milton (Vivica A. Fox), in the movie, that idea being that, “All men are dogs.” The movie portrayed this theme throughout the entire movie. For example, at the end of the movie, Ryan Chambers (Leon), described himself as the “boogey man” after sleeping with Dutch Mass (Razaaq Adoti), who was married to Valerie Mass (Aunjuanue Ellis), while knowing that he was HIV positive. Both Dutch and Leon were either married or separated, so the fact that they were secretly cheating on them with other men not only portrays the idea that African American men are dogs but also can negatively impact African American communities and family relationships. For example, every time that Valerie questioned Dutch about where he was or who he had been with he used his friends or a male colleague as an excuse because he knew Valerie was expect him to be cheating with a women, not a female. These ideas can then become embedded into society, either causing African American women to falsely feel or accuse men in a certain way and cause these habits to seem as a norm in the African American culture. We must understand that once these ideas are institutionalized as a norm, the only way to break the chain of false accusations, is to destroy the idea of single sided African American characters, and do not conform to the negative imagery and ideology. In order to truly change the world, it takes everyone to stop giving in to the negativity and establish a positive, well rounded society that portrays everyone as who they truly are.

Extra Credit: “The House I Live In”

“Progressive Black Masculinities” (Athena, Mutua), “Scripting the Black Masculine Body” (Ronald, Jackson), and “Masculinity in the Black Imagination” (Jackson and Hobson), all discusses Black masculine fatherhood. They discuss the idea of what it means to be a black father, socialized norms portrayed on black fathers, the idea of other parenting, and the negative images and the rare representation of black fatherhood in media. The documentary “The House I Live In” discussed the issues that society faces because of the war on drugs. In one part of the documentary, it was mentioned that many young people in neighborhoods look up to drug dealers as leaders, because when there is someone in need in the neighborhood, the drug dealers are usually the suppliers. Another portion of the documentary talks about how many African American men grow up watching their fathers in the streets, and never question what they’re doing because they knew, they just felt that he was doing what he had to do. Both the books and the documentary talks about how the war on drugs is targeted specifically on poor neighborhoods. Unfortunately, because of this, African American men have the highest incarceration rates. “The New Jim Crow” (Michelle, Alexander), talks about how the process of mass incarceration is broken down into three stages, starting with the targeting of the areas, then the arrest, and finally, life after prison and how the system is set up to constantly label you as a felon and take away your rights. The book also discusses the issue of minimum sentencing. In the documentary, there was a young African American man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and had a rough life story. The young man was facing a minimum sentence of twenty years. The judge did not feel he deserved that much time and understood his circumstances, however, because of minimum sentencing, the judge had no other choice but to give the man a twenty year sentencing. Minimum sentencing is an issue that causes tons of people to serve unnecessary sentences. Fixing the issue of the war on drugs may drastically diminish the issue of mass incarceration. However, if it is going to ever end, everyone must work together to solve

“The New Jim Crow”

Chapters three through six of The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander, discusses the role of race in the criminal justice system, the effects of the caste system after someone has served time in prison, systems of mass incarceration, and approaching the issue of mass incarceration.
In Chapter three, the author discusses the war on drugs and how it specifically targets people of color. The author discusses how people of every race and in every community use and sell drugs, however, only certain areas are targeted because of the color of the people associated within that community. The author argues on page 101 that “the uncomfortable reality is that arrests and convictions for drug offenses-not violent-crime- have propelled mass incarceration.”
Chapter four then talks about the caste system and how it effects individuals when they are out of prison. Many prisoners have nowhere to stay, and nowhere to make money. Many jobs, and housing applications ask about charges, which will often prevent them from helping or hiring you. The chapter also discusses how once a person is labeled a felon, you will always be viewed as an inferior second class citizen.
Chapter five specifically compares the system of mass incarceration to a birdcage with a locked door. The author uses the roundup, conviction, and invisible punishment to describe the three phases of the entrapment. In the first stage (the roundup), huge numbers of people from poor communities are put into the criminal justice system by police. The next stage (conviction), once they are arrested, the defendants are pressured to plead guilty and are loaded with extra charges resulting in receiving prison time. The final stage (invisible punishment), occurs when an individual is out of prison and is denied things such as housing, jobs, education, and public benefits.
Chapter six mentions how not many people see mass incarceration as the new caste system that it is. Many people view it as an equal way of solving crime. It also questions whether or not people are in denial of the effects of mass incarceration. The author discusses the pros and cons of ways to approach the issue. The chapter also mentions that people should be aware of the issue, and be against it.
I agree with the majority of the author’s argument throughout these chapters. I agree that mass incarceration is a major issue that needs to be addressed. I also agree with the authors ideas of how the systems work in certain areas to specifically target people of color. While the author had a good argument that I agreed with overall, there were some things that I particularly viewed differently. For example, the author compares the Prison system to the Jim Crow Era; however, I believe that the prison system was built off institutions of slavery. For example, the thirteenth Amendment states that slavery and indentured servitude is not allowed, except by crime. Today, the prison system is filled with people of color. As the author mentioned, everyone commits crime, however, the targeted places happen to be in poor, black communities.

Blogging

Chapter one in Progressive Black Masculinities, by Athena D. Mutua states that “representations of black men as beasts that were created in defense of African colonialism evolved into those of black men as bucks who required slavery’s domestication and both were followed by post-emancipation images of African American men as rapists and thugs who could not handle their newfound freedoms” (Mutua, 75). The term buck, along with several other terms have become major stereotypes that are inscribed in our everyday lives by institutions such as the mass media. Chapter eleven mentions some of the other stereotypical images as Toms, coons, tragic mulattoes, and mammies. The author also states that these negative constructions create, reproduce and sustain racial ideologies. An example of how these stereotypes are portrayed through mass media is mentioned in chapter ten of Progressive Black Masculinities. The author mentions Martin Lawrence’s TV show, Martin and how it denigrates African American women. The show often does dominance over women which gives the idea that African American men are aggressive and need to control their women. Another example of how these stereotypes negatively affects our society can be found within the article Who’s Afraid of Shaq Attack? In this article the author mentions how both Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan have become their own brand as a result of money and the NBA. The article argues that the NBA have taken the name of these two people, along with certain characteristics, giving them a certain face and created a brand that is pictured as phenomenal to society. I believe that stereotypical ideologies must be recreated and reinforced so that the negative images and portrayals of African Americans can disappear and be replaced with progressive reality. Society as a whole must branch away from the negative images and re-paint images that focus on a positive, progressive image for everyone regardless of sex, gender, and physical characteristics.

 

Chapter 3-7 of the book <strong>I Am A Man! Race, Manhood, and the Cival Rights Movement</strong>,  by Steve Etes, mentions unemployment and its effect on African American men numerous times. For example, in chapter 4, the author mentions that “low wages, unemployment, and underemployment”, was a major issue in primarily poor, urban households. Chapter five also mentions that in the 1960’s black men in the “inner cities” ages 18-24 had an unemployment rate that was five times higher than the rate of unemployed white men. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the unemployment rate for African American men twenty years or older as of August 2013 is 13.3%, while the rate for White men twenty years or older is 5.8%. I believe that crime and incarceration rates would decrease dramatically if unemployment amongst African Americans could decrease because African American men would have an equal opportunity to survive and handle financial means.

Panther Power (Tupac Shakur)

Chapter 11 of Progressive Black Masculinities, by Athena Mutua, states that social and contemporary images of Black men can be categorized into three types of Masculinity that reflects its culture. The first category is known as “the race man.” The race man is accepted by both the dominant culture (white’s) and the culture in which it resides. The second category is known as new black aesthetics and can be defined by the politics of Malcolm X. The third and final category is known as the nigga. This particular category articulates ”the lifestyle of the truly disadvantaged.” The chapter also states that it is rare for a black male to refuse categorization, because “the price of visibility in the contemporary world of white supremacy is that black male identity be defined in relation to the stereotype whether by embodying it or seeking to be other than it.” The chapter then goes on to mention how rapper Tupac Shakur created work that acknowledges the challenges of trying to remake oneself in an environment in which change is difficult. An example of this would be his song titled Panther Power. The first six lines of the first and last verse of this song raps “As real as it seems the American Dream, Ain’t nothing but another calculated schemes, To get us locked up shot up back in chains, To deny us of the future rob our names, Kept my history of mystery but now I see, The American Dream wasn’t meant for me.” In my opinion, these particular lines coincide with what Hooks was arguing throught this chapter. These particular lines mention that it is difficult to make it because the idea of the American Dream was not made to benefit African Americans but rather to bring them down by either killing them, incarcerating them, or scheming against them. I believe that the negative stereotypes that Black men face on a daily basis is one of the many “schemes” brought upon African Americans that have put Black men in a position that negatively affects their lives as well as the culture.