Color, Color, Color! There are colors all around us but the color that seem to influence us to do things and make decisions is the color of our skin. Many African Americans are similar in taste and style but for the most part no one on earth is identical or likes the exact same thing. People have a variety of reasons for not being similar but the main reason is where they grew up and how their parents or guardian raised them. Some of the myths I’m going to cover in this essay are All Black People Love Watermelon, All Black People Can’t Swim, and All Black People Are Drug Dealers and Thugs.

Myth Number One: All Black People Love Watermelon

    The stereotype of  blacks loving watermelon started during the Civil War in the 1860s. This became a stereotype because after the war the free blacks grew and ate watermelon therefore people looked at watermelon as a symbol of freedom. Howard Clavier says, “I hate watermelon, I don’t like it because of the texture and taste and the fact that it has this stereotype makes me hate it even more.”  On the other hand Will Chambers said, “Yup I love me some watermelon with a little bit of salt, gives it a sweet salty taste, I like it because it's just like drinking water, we made the best of what we had we grew it outside because we worked living off the lands.” After surveying multiple people I found that eating watermelon is a matter of taste and not culture.

Myth Number Two: All Black People Can’t Swim

The first swimming pools were invented in the 1800s during. The first myths started because blacks weren’t allowed in pools. After the Civil War during segregation pools became open to the public for blacks and whites. A lot of whites did not approve of this because they thought because the color of their skin that blacks were dirty and carried diseases. Some whites would go to black pools and hold kids in with no escape while they poured acid in. This put fear in most African Americans. This was the reason that most of the black communities never learned how to swim therefore they could never teach their kids. However even though some blacks didn't have the opportunity to learn some did. They taught their children so one day the could teach their kids. The first  African American to win a Olympic gold medal was Simone Manuel; not only did she win she also broke the world record. Simone Manuel said, “This medal is not just for me it’s for some of the African Americans who have come before me and been an inspiration. I hope I can be an inspiration to others.”(Smith) This was a historical moment for African Americans because being told we can’t swim was proven wrong on a ponderous scale.

Myth Number Three: All Black People Are Drug Dealers and Thugs

Drugs are a big problem in America, many crimes and thievery that occur on a daily basis due to unemployment and poverty. Many reasons most blacks get involved with selling drugs is because they can't find jobs and their family is struggling so they see it as the last resort to earn money. “In 2016, the majority 84.9% of traffickers were male with an average age of 36. Roughly 70% of all offenders were U.S. citizens, and almost half 49.4% had little or no prior criminal history.” (Lauren Villa). During a drug dealers interview Raymon said, “He works about 20 hours per week and makes around $150,000 per year.” (Hiebert). He might be thinking, most people would think I’m successful at getting a living, providing for my family, and I haven’t been caught. So why would I stop?

 

With eating watermelon, not being able to swim, and drug dealing. Black people should stand as one and fight stereotypes every day. Some can say “ sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” but at the end of the day words do hurt and people do care because as humans we have feelings that can be broken. These kinds of stereotypes dealing with color are racist; racism is still a big problem in today's society. People shouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin or the things that they do or eat. All humans are the same;  just because we were born with different skin and different abilities doesn’t mean that we should put others down. It’s not about what you eat it's about how you’ve made a difference and how you’ve changed the world to be a better place. Nobody’s perfect but together every day we can strive to be.