How Stereotypes Are Made

At the beginning of the class, we covered the stereotypes that are usually given to black and white people. The results were to be expected. White people were given generally positive characteristics, and even when they weren’t they were almost laughable, such as that they have no rhythm. When we turn to stereotypes about black people though, they are almost all negative. As a class, we said they are usually lazy, illiterate, and of a lower class than white people, and likely other minorities if we had discussed that. Another point that was made during that class was the theory of ethnocentrism, or the theory that culture is centered around one race. I think it is pretty obvious from the entire class that the culture of the United States is centered around the white race.

There is a blurb in that historians like to quote, and it usually comes up in every history class I’ve taken at some point or another. History is written by the victor. This is a pretty telling yet true statement that basically means the people with more power are usually the ones to write the history books. When you look at this behind the lens of stereotypes, ethnocentrism seems to be the only explanation.

Stereotypes today are continuations of old ideas. They have simply evolved to fit modern times.  Lawrence Bobo and Camille Charles in their article on Race in the American Mind explain that the popular opinion on black people has shifted from the idea that they are a physically inferior to the idea that they are simply too lazy. These ideas are from the point of views of white people, who have basically written the history as well as ideas about black people. Not only that, but when it comes to housing, geographic steering and neighborhood segregation allow white people to place black people in the neighborhoods that they choose for them rather than for the best option available. By keeping desirable neighborhoods predominantly white, black people in those neighborhoods may feel unwelcome and seek other neighborhoods that feature more predominately black populations. Bobo and Charles explain that the reason for the white hostility towards minorities in their neighborhoods is a fear of economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and their desire to keep their property valuable. In the minds of white homeowners, African Americans and other minorities represented a certain type of stereotype that the felt did not belong in their neighborhoods.