How Do Social Norms Influence the Lives of Black Males?

Research Question: How do social norms influence the lives of Black males?

What is wrong with being Black? Is it illegal? Maybe being Black is just not common in society, so that is probably why Blacks are looked at the way they are. For decades Blacks, especially black males, have been seen as less than, thugs, thieves, and murderers. The examples stated are not opinion based; as seen in different popular movies and television series, black people are portrayed as the thugs, the gang bangers, the prime suspects. Society has painted a picture that people feel as though they must follow, “the way” black males’ lives are supposed to be lived for example. There have been different Pro Black movements and protests in regards to the way Blacks are view in society. Many blogs and new article discussing the many complaints from the Black community, as to how they’re daily lives are effected due to many stereotypes and stigmas place on them. Yes, the Black community struggle day-to-day due to stereotypes; however, black males seem to suffer the most due to stereotypes and “social norm” of sociery. Black males have been stigmatized by society, just as previously stated, as thugs, murderers, rapist, and criminals; and only speak slang. For some black males, these stigmas apply, and they apply to people of other races as well. Some black males conform to these “norms” for black males, where there are also other black males who live their daily lives to prove the stigmas and “norm” wrong.

From a personal perspective, social norms have some sort of an impact on how I go about the way I live life, especially the social norms that my community has for itself. In Long Branch, New Jersey, where I am from, the norm, especially for those who grew up public housing is to become a gang member, sell drugs, and become a felon. Because those social norms were not what I wanted to follow nor fall subject to, I decided to adjust my life in a way that would keep me away from those norms. I like to be different; however I do find myself having to conform to some social norms just to avoid conflicts or to not have a stigma placed on me. When around specific crowds I have to talk extremely proper, articulating and enunciating everything I say to avoid the stigma of a “ghetto black boy, who speaks slang all of the time”. This may seem a little extreme; however I have been told by someone, before I spoke to them, they thought I was going to be a “thugged out kid”. Thus, every time I am around that person I tend to speak a lot more proper with less slang as I normally do. The norms that are place on me, as well as other black males cause us to either conform to these norms or adjust our daily lives around the norms so that we are accepted by society.

Being accepted by society is something everyone feels in some way or another. People dress certain ways to impress others, talk a specific way to display certain image of him or herself, and act a certain way so he or she is accepted by the world around them. Psychologist and journalist Brent Staples shares how social norms placed on black males have influenced his life and the lives of other Black males. The way African American males are seen through the eyes of society forced to Staples to live his daily life so he was not seen as dangerous, a thug, a mugger, and a rapist. Staples expressed in his article “Black Males and Public Spaces”,

Over the years, I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal. Not to do so would surely have led to madness. I now take precautions to make myself less threatening. I move about with care, particularly late in the evening. I give a wide berth to nervous people on subway platforms during the wee hours, particularly when I have exchanged business clothes for jeans. If I happen to be entering a building behind some people who appear skittish, I may walk by, letting them clear the lobby before I return, so as not to seem to be following them. I have been calm and extremely congenial on those rare occasions when I've been pulled over by the police (Staples).

Staples walks around daily to keep society from seeing him through the norms that society has pegged on African American men. The norms of society have forced Staples to try to keep himself almost invisible as black male because he does not know when the norms and stereotypes would become a hazard for him much like they did for one of his comrades. Staples shared in his article an incident with one of comrades, another Black journalist, whose name was not disclosed, how being Black almost cost him his life with law enforcement. Staples shared,

Relatively speaking, however, I never fared as badly as another black male journalist. He went to nearby Waukegan, Illinois, a couple of summers ago to work on a story about a murderer who was born there. Mistaking the reporter