The Definitions of Blackness :Assumed societal behaviors and expectations within 21st century African America

I am going to write about what defines hegemonic African American identity in the 21st century because I want to find out the history of societal black judgement in order to help my reader better understand why blacks feel the need to judge and legitimize blackness and what steps can be made to counteract black ostracism.

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Anywho...

My topic will engage the reader in asking why judgement within races exist. Every race and culture has defining characteristics that are used in identifying something and someone familiar or abnormal. Face value is not enough or dedication in some instances is not enough to save people from ridicule. Why are blacks so judgmental of what they don't understand?
What spakred my own interest was my personal experience being ostracized by students when I was younger. I was teased for everything from my clothes, my hair; but the one thing I detested more was being critiqued on my blackness. My hair and clothes I could attempt to change, but changing my dialect; the way I spoke, or my opinion of things that mattered would have altered who I was. I liked that I was unique and I didn't want to alter that, I wanted to highlight that I was different. In doing so I pulled away from my race for a while and hung out with other races that weren't judgmental and other black people that had also been 'kicked out'.

My topic concerning African American hegemony dates back to desegregation and the introduction of equality and white students in the black social sphere (268 McWhorter). I will describe other social theories of why this dilemma within the African American social construct exists so the reader can understand the many eyes that have been emersed and are following the topic.

McWhorter, John. Winning The Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black. New York: Gotham Books. 2005. Print.

What is Black Enough? : Assumed societal behaviors and expectations within African America

Okay….so I'm changing my research proposal. I am going to write about
what defines hegemonic African American identity in the 21st century because I want to find out the history of societal black judgement in order to help my reader better understand why blacks feel the need to judge and legitimize blackness and what steps can be made to counteract black ostracism.

This has been something that has fascinated me ever since I was a kid. My  black peers constantly made me question who I was. If I was not black as they claimed, then what or who was I? I didn't have name brand things and I was not familiar with popular African American media or music, I felt disconnected.

I want to research more theories about what makes the collective black  experience. One theory explains that during the 60's after desegregation when blacks were exposed to white students and had themselves too compare themselves too. Doing well and getting good grades was a white characteristic. The need for materialistic brands to define personal success is costly and irrelevant to the goals blacks should have.

I can see ideas about being a black person changing with newer generations, but some ideas and beliefs are deeply rooted and need to be modified to alter the expectations blacks have of one another. (221)