Drug culture stereotypes
Another stereotype that many African Americans face is their relationship or connection to the drug culture. There are many stereotypes when it comes to the drug culture. Some of the most common stereotypes in relation to drug culture, suggested by Patricia Hill Collins in Black Sexual Politics, are as follows:
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, among adults aged 18 or older, the rate of current drug use was higher for those who were unemployed (17.5%) than for those who were employed full time (8.4%) or part time (11.2%). Many people believe that individuals living in deteriorating neighbors are unemployed. As a result, they assume they use drugs or have a connection to drugs. However, just because an individual lives in a deteriorating neighborhood does not mean they're unemployed nor does it mean they use drugs. However, because these statistics exist, the stereotype was created.
The media also stresses this idea, only a majority of the time they represent African Americans as the dominant race of deteriorating inner cities. Take for example the film The Blind Side. There is a clip in this film that follows the main character, Michael Oher, into the deteriorating neighborhood his mother lives in. In this clip, the people living in this neighborhood are all African American. Not only that, but they blatantly drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. At one point, the drug dealer in the scene brags about one of the younger African American's dropping out of school and joining his "crew". The Blind Side is only one of many media images that encourage and keep the idea of blacks in deteriorating cities or neighborhoods vulnerable to drug use alive. The clip can be watched below:
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, among persons aged 12 or older, African Americans ranked higher than any other racial/ethnic group for illicit drug use between 2002-2010. As a result of African Americans ranking higher than any other racial/ethnic group for illicit drug use for the past several years, may have been one of the many reasons the stereotype of an African American's skin color alone has a connection with drug use. The clip from The Blind Side is also another example of how the media encourages this idea.
drug culture in at-risk
In the book At-Risk, Amina Gautier fulfills and contradicts these stereotypes throughout some of her stories. For instance, Gautier does a great job at contradicting the stereotype about black youth in deteriorating inner cities or neighborhoods being vulnerable to drug use in the story Pan is Dead. In this story, Peter is the main character. Peter's dad, Blue, is a heroin addict who recently got out of rehab and attempted to get in contact with Peter. Blue ends up living with Peter and his family. However, Peter ends up witnessing his father drink constantly and buying and using drugs. In the story, it is suggested that Peter is from a low-income family. Even though he's from a low-income family, his father is a heroin addict, and he's African American, he doesn't use drugs. In fact, Peter is a smart, educated young man, who is even offered an academic scholarship.
The stereotype about "thug" life (drugs, crime, prison, death, etc.) being a way of life for many black youth is best seen in the story The Ease of Living. In this story, the main character, Jason, is sent to Florida to live with his grandfather. His mother sends him there because she felt she needed to separate him from his friends, who were predominately African American and were all familiar with drugs, crime, and death. Jason, who'd recently lost two friends that were murdered, had never been involved in murder, death, or prison. He also tended to avoid any major crimes. However, he was affiliated with drug use: "Howie passed Jason the blunt. Jason took it and lost himself in it, focusing only on getting high one last time before he left." (pg. 4)
Lastly, the stereotype about an African American's skin color associating them with a connection to drugs is best represented in the story Dance for Me. In this story, the narrator attends an all girl private school of predominately Caucasian descent. She, however, is one of the very few African Americans to attend the school. The narrator ends up meeting one of the "popular" girls, Heather, who ends up becoming friends with the narrator and inviting her to a party. Before attending the party, Heather asks the narrator to buy her and her friends weed. However, the narrator knows little to nothing about weed. But because the narrator is black, Heather assumed she had a connection or access to drugs.
Sources
Collins, Patricia. Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. Routledge, 2005. Print.
Gautier, Amina. At-Risk. University of Georgia Press, 2011. Print.
"Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings ." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sept. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm>