Many black men are stereotyped for their appearance, the group they hang around, and just for the color of their skin. Sometimes a person might not see anything wrong with his appearance or the people he hangs around. But no matter what he sees himself as, looking through another's eyes is totally different. Throughout the years, the black man has been considered the worse of every race and gender. There are many ways to prevent these stereotypes and situations from happening.
One way to eliminate yourself from a stereotype is to watch the way you dress. Baggy jeans that hang from your legs, cut-off sleeve shirts, and chains that hang to your stomach is not the way to dress. A black man that is dressed like that is more likely to be stereotyped than a black man wearing a suit or casual clothes. If a black man dressed in ghetto attire was to walk down the street at night, he would most likely be stereotyped of robbing someone or selling drugs. If a black man dressed in casual clothes was to walk down the street at night, he would be thought of as a good citizen and no one to look at more than once.
Another way to prevent a stereotype is to watch the way you act or present yourself to another person. Repress yourself from using slang or cussing in front of another person. Show them that you are more educated than they think. If slang is used in conversations, the person might think that you are ignorant and rude. Talk in a proper manner and respect them by listening to what they say.
A stereotype can also be prevented by observing who you hang around. If you hang around a number of thieves and drug dealers then everyone will think that you too are a thief or drug dealer. If your friend gets caught by the police, you have to worry about him giving your name to the police. Even if you didn't do anything, he might give other people's names to make his sentence easier. I can relate to this because it happened to my half-brother.
