NYC-Feature Story-World Trade Center

NYC-1991-11-16a
In a workshop on race relations, Zeba confronts her stereotypes about Black males.

Unlearning Stereotypes

By Zeba A. Khann

People are always making generalizations. How many times have you heard, "All Jews are cheap" or "All those Black people are on drugs"? Not everyone's fear comes from the same source, but the end result is always the same. Prejudice is a disease. It eats away at our minds and most of us never realize what is happening. Prejudice is also highly contagious: we catch it from our parents, our family, our friends, and often end up passing it on to our children.

Last spring, I participated in a series of workshops sponsored by the Panel of Americans, a group that works with young people to help fight prejudice and break down stereotypes. A few weeks into the program at my high school, Hillcrest HS, we were invited to a rap session with teens from other boroughs.

It was about 9 a.m. on a gloomy Saturday morning when I walked into the YWCA on Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street in Manhattan. "This is going to be really stupid," I thought to myself. "I don't even know these people, so what can I possibly say? I know I'll hate them."

The workshop started off with introductions. Then each of us interviewed another member of the group. My interview partner was Corey, a 22-year-old Black guy. During the interview we got into talking about a lot of things, from serious topics like how we felt about racism in New York to silly things like our favorite foods. I discovered that he was a person not unlike myself.

I had expected him to be the typical Black male stereotype-illiterate, unintelligent, belligerent, disrespectful, and interested only in hanging out. But Corey was very nice, smart, funny, and well-dressed, which kind of took me by surprise.

All Kinds of Stereotypes

After the interviews, we did an exercise that dealt with stereotypes. The discussion leader, Bev Fishkin, had us pick five different ethnic groups and write them down on the board. Two of the groups we picked were Haitians and Chinese. We spent a few minutes brainstorming and writing down all the stereotypes we could think of about those groups. Afterwards, we read through the lists and discussed where the stereotypes came from and whether they were true.

People said things like: all Chinese people are talented; they're good at math; they all eat raw food; they all own grocery stores. Some said that they had picked up these stereotypes from friends and family. Others said that all the Chinese people in their classes at school were really smart or that many of the grocery stores in their neighborhood were owned by Chinese people. We had made generalizations based on our own limited experiences.

The stereotypes also showed that most people confused the different Asian groups. For instance, it is the Japanese who eat raw fish (sushi) and the Koreans who are dominant among grocery store owners. Unfortunately, there were no Asians in the group who could discuss these stereotypes more in depth.

When we discussed our stereotypes of Haitians, someone said they were all into voodoo. This really sparked some emotions since there were two Haitians in the group. They explained that while a handful of Haitians practice voodoo, the majority do not. I don't think anyone went home still believing the stereotypes they might have had before the discussion.

"Think About It":
Prompts for discussion and/or writing:

—According to Zeba, what is a stereotype? Why are they dangerous?

—Zeba writes that prejudice can come from parents, family, and friends. In your view, where else does it come from? What is the single biggest source of prejudice?

—Corey challenges Zeba's stereotypes about Black males. Where do you think she might have gotten these stereotypes?

—Has someone like Corey helped you challenge a stereotype? Who was this person, and what stereotype did they help you question?

—Group activity. Students can work in pairs or small groups. Try the same exercise that Zeba describes in her story. Have each group pick five different ethnic groups and write down all the stereotypes that are associated with them. Then have the groups share their lists, discuss where the stereotypes come from, and whether or not they think they are true.