Andre Fabile

ENGL 103
Ms. Catherwood
15 October, 2014
COLOR
Despite the progression that society has made in overcoming overt racism around western
countries, issues such as stereotyping and other subtle forms of bigotry are still apparent. Many times it
may seem like society has accepted these subtle stereotypes as the norm to judge an African American
by. Even though many of them show that they dont match up with these tropes, they may still be
verbally attacked for not fitting into the norm in the first place. I recently interviews Darrell Jordan, an
African American male who breaks many stereotypes. He helped give insight into what he thinks and
feels about the subtle bigotry that people have against him just for his skin color and how he acts.
While not all individual reports of racism are shown on the news, they still continue to happen
throughout western countries. Many students have reported these events, and the numbers are both
surprising and saddening. In 2011, Divya Talwar wrote an article on the statistics of reported racist
incidents in schools from 2007 to 2011. Every racial related issue across 90 different schools was kept in
tab to be used for data to show how frequent racism in classrooms really was. Many of these reports
included subtle forms of racial bigotry; such as stereotyping, racial bias, and name calling. Some reports
even included blatant forms of racism such as physical abuse. The statistics showed that over the span
of four years, there have been over 87,915 reports of racism in the classrooms. This shows that racism is
still very much apparent throughout many schools. Many schools even showed growing numbers of
racially charged reports over the years. One example is Cardiff, which showed a 32% increase in racism
throughout the study. Other schools such as Luton, Oldham, Croydon, Bedford and Middlesbrough saw
as much as 40% increase in racist incidents. This shows that racist beliefs and views may be spreading to

other students who witness students commit forms of bigotry. Situations such as this can create a toxic
environment for many students who go to school in the hopes of receiving a proper education. Now
they may have to worry about racial bullying from other students.
Studies like this make it more apparent that much is still needed for improvement when it
comes to improving the negative perceptions that African Americans face every day. These numbers
wouldnt be this substantially high if more people came to be more open minded of an individuals race.
Instead of having preconceived notions because of what they may have seen in the media or from other
people. As more of these negative models for African Americans become a bigger norm for peoples
expectations for them to act, racist reports like this will only continue to increase with time.
To get more insight on the opinions of those affected by racism, I interviewed Darrel on his
opinions on topics such as stereotypes, first hand experiences with bigotry, and how it issues such as
this really make him feel. Darrel is an opinionated man who has a lot to say about different subjects.
Hes very smart in academics and has a lot of interests in the Asian culture.
It really is tragic that this issue is so apparent. This is also shown on the personal affects racism
such as this can have on individuals. During my interview with Darrel, he stated that racism, even in
more subdued forms, still has a way of holding back someones true potential. He gave me examples of
situations where his skin color has given him a disadvantage in peoples perceptions. He has, on more
than one occasion, have his potential in knowledge already be judged simply due to him being black.
When he works in groups with people who arent well acquainted with him; hes stated that they clearly
showed that they favored someone who was light skinned to offer the most help to other members,
even though Darrel also had a fair amount of knowledge in the topics that he worked in as well.
It gives you a sense of despair that people like Darrel have to deal with this because theyre race
has been portrayed in the media as uneducated during different occasions. While people who are white

arent immediately judged in terms of intelligence, many African Americans may be seen as dumber
than white people because of the stereotypes that people are familiar with. This takes away
opportunities for many African Americans to be able to prove themselves or have an equal chance to
succeed in certain situations because people believe they dont even have the ability to do so.
Another example of African Americans being prejudiced is when the worst assumed from their
actions, and not just their education. Darrel states that he sees African Americans being unjustly judged
by everyone from store associates or government officials like police. People will believe that they may
be up to no good or are inimical simply for being black. Darrel notes that this makes him feel
despondent towards society if they are so quick to assume that the worst will come from people like
him. Despite him not have actually done anything wrong himself.
Examples like these are clear cases of subtle racist attitudes. Due to sources such as news
stations or other forms of media, people will have presumptions that African Americans usually wont
have their best interests in mind. Many will think that theyre most likely out to commit crimes or stir up
trouble with other people. This gives African Americans many drawbacks when theyre doing simple
every day activities such as shopping or simply relaxing in public. Its a big hassle for African Americans
when they feel as if their being unfairly criticized by associates in shops or targeted as potential
criminals in public settings when they havent even done anything wrong. Issues like this can also be
very hurtful for many African Americans who simply want to go about their business but may end up
being harassed by police for doing things simply just like staying at one area for too long. It gives many
African Americans a sense that other ethnicities may view them as lower than them and therefor dont
deserve the same level of respect as other races. This could lead to feelings of resentment towards
other ethnicities for the way theyre being treated, which is what Darrel states that hes felt from time
to time.

Possibly one of the worst ways that African Americans are judged, is when theyre criticized for
not fulfilling the stereotypes that portray them. This shows that there seems to be no way that African
Americans can avoid negativity from people with judgmental attitudes. For example, Darrel is someone
whos very invested into the Asian culture. One of his many interests are reading Asian comics known as
manga, and listening to Korean pop. He doesnt enjoy doing activities that many people would assume
to be activities that Africa Americans enjoy doing. His personality traits also break many stereotypes that
people have of his ethnicity. Darrel says that because he breaks so many stereotypes, many white
people have looked at him with confusion and have asked him why he doesnt seem as black as other
black people. Darrel says that while he isnt necessarily hurt by it, he steal feels like people only see him
for what they expect him to be, and not for who he really is.
This presumption that African Americans arent actually black if they dont act like the clichs
that people see on TV or on the movies is very distasteful. It gives African Americans no escape from
harsh judgment. If they fulfill these stereotypes, then theyre looked down upon by society for acting in
a way that would prove the negative portrayals of them. If they break free of these stereotypes, then
people end up questioning why they dont fit the molds that theyre typecast into. People usually dont
like having their views shown to be untrue, and when someone comes along who breaks their
perceptions, they may end up being confused or sometimes agitated.
This interview with Darrel has given me a lot to think about when it comes to the state of our
society. Some people have negative stereotypes ingrained in their heads and perpetuate these beliefs
without really thinking about it. People may do things to African Americans such as make assumptions
on the level of education they may have; believe that theyll will most likely commit a crime, and dislike
them for not fitting a model because theyve been taught to be this way. Whether they learned this
from family, friends, or the media, this is a serious issue that has to be dealt with. When people believe
that subtle acts of racism are acceptable, then it will continue to have a negative impact on the

progression of this culture as a whole. Darrel has showed me that he does feel pain from being judged
harshly by some people, and that he hopes that people will start becoming more open minded towards
how they see African Americans. His dream is that one day everyone will judge someone based on they
are as an individual, and not have an impression thats based on how some people of the same ethnicity
have acted. A lot of work will have to be done to deal with these subtle racial tendencies, however, if
the number of people who are open minded continue to grow, then theyll be able to spread their
beliefs onto others. In time, we can hope that this can lead to a better society where someone can walk
outside without the fear of judgment.

Works Cited
Talwar, Divya. "Schools Saw 87,000 Racism Cases." BBC News. BBC Asian Network, n.d. Web. 17 Oct.
2014.