Gen X African Americans Creating Insurmountable Civil Rights Obstacles
By: Bill Sampson
Generation X is the generation born during the early 1960's through the mid 1980,s. This generation's designation is "Gen X" and author John Ulrich explained this generation as a group of people who appeared to have an ill-defined future and no identity.
Unlike baby boomers, who were expected to achieve the American dream through education, home ownership, have two and a half children and retire on social security and 401K benefits, Gen-Xers were raised differently from their baby boomer parents. Baby boomers were given more advice, direction and admonitions as kids. They are also the first generation of Americans who experienced a much lower birth rate than the previous generation, so there was less sibling rivalry or competition for the many things the Gen-Xers were given.
"Gen-Xers were raised differently from their baby boomer parents."
A study revealed Gen X teenagers are more likely to sleep together before marriage and are taught not to believe in God, too much. As a result, they don't respect authority or their parents, as do previous generations.This lack of respect and identity are contributing factors to the rejection of the responsibility of generational cohesion and community that was common among previous generations of African Americans.Generation X is the 13th generation of Americans since America became a nation. According to generational theory, they are under-protected children whose parents were passionately involved in attacking the established social and spiritual institutions and mandates with their own agendas. This caused them to withdraw and become isolated from the objective world.
Older generations have negative perceptions of the 13th generation. The number 13 itself conjures up a negative connotation. Its members tend to be hardheaded, intelligent and indifferent to right and wrong. They tend to be more focused on money than the quality of expression. Since they were born during a spiritual awakening, some have called them "devil children."This generation began with the release of the movie, Rosemary's baby. Afterwards, more movies were made which portrayed children as malicious leading characters. The slaughter movies were popularized by this generation. A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday The 13th became huge commercial successes. The Return Of The Living Dead III was also a popular film and Michael Jackson's "Thriller video," contributed to this generation's perception of the morbid.
The cultural preceptors of Gen-Xers were shaped by many historical events such as; the unpopular Vietnam War, Watergate, the oil and energy crisis of the 1970's, Chernobyl, the space shuttle disaster, the fall of the Berlin wall, the end of the Cold War, and the early 1990's recession. In addition, social influences such as the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, hip-hop culture and its music and MTV, had their effects. Plus, they grew up during the introduction of the personal computer, the video game era, cable TV and the Internet.When speaking of social issues, there are personal opinions. However, there are also facts and that's where the Socratic nature of my focus is aimed.
Gen X Blacks and African-Americans have created insurmountable civil rights obstacles. When considering the many disenfranchising laws enacted and the mass incarceration of this group, this is not an exaggeration. These dehumanizing actions have limited their ability to change these laws and the mass incarcerations are obstacles to civil rights. They are also finding it difficult to obtain employment, due to their criminal records, yet there is no movement among Gen X Blacks and African Americans to combat these mounting social issues. The Trayvon Martin case is one of many where African American men are marginalized, criminalized, mistreated and killed by the very systems that are supposed to protect them.One of the chief identifiers of this generation is lack of identity.
It is personified in many African American's under the age of 50 who don't feel a strong connection to their African heritage, and don't think it is essential. Other prominent thinkers have concluded that this 13th generation, who were taught not to believe in God too much and has little respect for authority and their parents, has a vague future, especially African-Americans. Caucasian people can make mistakes, recover, write a book or make a movie about their situation and receive redemption from the public, but African Americans are not given that kind of forgiveness and redemption, by society.
Their mistakes follow them and endure long after they are interred.When compared with previous generations, Generation X is more incongruous. They manifest an enormous variety of differences in race, class, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Many of these diverse people have maintained their cultural identities. However, African Americans are disconnected from their cultural heritage. It is not common to hear of Chinese, Japanese, Asian Indian or people of other ethnicities disliking the name that identifies their ethnicity and connects them to their cultural heritage.However, a young African American man, from Miami, has published a face book page for the sole purpose of saying that he is Black and not African American and he receives thousands of "likes" to his page.
Celebrities and government officials have also said that they are Black, not African American, as if their ancestral heritage is determined by them. No other group does this but African Americans, and it shows ignorance, to those who understand, no matter what type of degrees they have, jobs they hold or how much money they make.This attitude is the result of buying into the perception that since African American history is not taught or emphasized in institutions of learning, it is not valuable and necessary. That's why many Gen-Xers are Republicans and some think that racial discrimination does not exist anymore. Others don't respect authority, so many are killed by each other and the police, or are in prison.
As an ethnic, cultural name, African American has its political implications that entail historical circumstances surrounding the capture, enslavement and systematic attempts to de-Africanize blacks in the United States under slavery. Giving in to this philosophy disconnects American people of African ancestry, from relatives who lived through the slavery-era and fought for the rights many take for granted. This philosophy is intended to destroy the sense of heritage and cultural identity Africans Americans have towards Africa. If an African Americans reduces who they are, to an arbitrary title, they attempt to strip themselves of all the rich African ancestry and struggle of a people in a nation which defines who they are and from where they came. Some of this history is morally reprehensible, and some worked for the common good of the society.
However, it is the African American's unique history, unlike any other immigrant's experience, which defines who they are as a people and no one can change that. I recommend reading Debra Dickerson's book, "The End Of Blackness" for those who want to know more about the significance of an ethnic name and an education.
