Have you ever experienced any stigmas in your life?
One particular stigma that still exists in my neighborhood is being followed when you enter a store. I have gone through this experience when I was growing up as a teenager till now. The stereotype of a colored person being followed because the suspicion of him/her shoplifting mostly occurs to the lower-class society. This type of stigma is also portrayed in the media. A media example that comes to mind is the movie "Brooklyn's Finest".
A young African-American teenager was being accused of shoplifting and for what? Because he didn't have a suit and tie? Because he is from a low-income society? These stereotypes pass judgments on ethnic groups that can possibly scar them for life. There isn't a foundation to this stigma because you can't judge a person by what somebody else did in the past, no matter if they're the same race.
To help eliminate this stigma, I am attending Year Up to have a bigger voice and show youth the issues they might face growing up in their neighborhood so they can be aware of the issue as a whole. It take everyone to do their part in helping eliminate this type of stereotype, however after being settled in my career, I know that my voice will be more influential and make a difference.
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