Introduction
Gwendolyn Brooks was an American poet who devoted a large part of her career to promoting social equality regardless of race, gender, and age. Growing up as an African-American woman in the 20th century has allowed the author to see the atrocities of society and public opinion firsthand. In her work ‘Primer for Blacks’, one of the themes is self-acceptance (Brooks). The author asks her readers to embrace their racial heritage and promotes self-empowerment through awareness. This issue is particularly relevant to minority groups who may feel oppressed by the dominant culture and attempt to reject their nature to fit in society. Nevertheless, self-acceptance is essential for every person regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, and past behaviors.
Racism
Evidently, in ‘Primer for Blacks’, Brooks primarily addresses racism as the fundamental force that affects the self-esteem and self-awareness of African-American people. While the situation is slowly changing, racial equality in the 20th century in America was highly unbalanced. The white-centric society forced its perspectives on people of all colors, making them deny their cultural heritage and accept the dominant culture. While acculturation is not a fundamentally deteriorating process, the vast dominance of white culture in the 20th century has negatively affected a large number of African-American people. The author mentions this issue by using such phrases as ‘half-Black, ‘wish-I-weren’t Black’, and ‘it’s Great to be white’ (Brooks par. 7). These people could not accept themselves for who they were and tried to become someone else.
Unfortunately, this transformation might not always benefit the individuals. The research demonstrates that minority groups of color are more inclined to negative mental health consequences as victims of racist discrimination or internalized racism (Velez et al. 130). Some experts even define internalized racism as the discontent of an individual with their own race (Velez et al. 130). Evidently, this perspective leads to deteriorating self-esteem and other mental health complications. Various researchers have pointed out the direct correlation between internalized racism and psychological distress (Velez et al. 131). Naturally, the influence of the dominant white-centric traditions is unavoidable for people living in a multi-cultural society. Furthermore, the development of negative perspectives concerning minority groups is a common occurrence in many countries (Velez et al. 131). However, that is why self-acceptance is particularly relevant for racial minorities to minimize the effects of internalized racism.
Heterosexism
While Brooks primarily talks about awareness in terms of race, self-acceptance is a much broader term. Heterosexism or heterosexist discrimination is frequently described as a hate crime against sexual minority groups (Velez et al. 130). This term is a central point of gender and critical race studies in the field of psychology and is particularly relevant to the concept of self-acceptance (Velez et al. 132). Similar to internalized racism, heterosexist discrimination affects the minority groups and makes them deny their sexual orientation. While Brooks does not explicitly mention the problems of heterosexism and its impact on self-acceptance, it is an underlying theme of the poem. Both in the 20th century and at present, many people suppress their true feelings to adhere to the dominant culture. Therefore, while the situation has become better for sexual minority groups in America, it is still a highly relevant problem in most parts of the world.
Author’s Perspective
The two described types of hate crime can be classified as internalized oppression. By definition, this concept ensures that members of minority groups negatively evaluate themselves, which is detrimental to their mental health (Velez et al. 149). From these considerations, self-acceptance is a difficult state to achieve but is essential to maintain a positive outlook on various situations. Brooks asks African-American people to ‘salute and to Love the fact that we are Black, which is our “ultimate Reality”‘ (Brooks par. 5). The author is confident that the acceptance of racial and cultural heritage will increase the quality of life of countless people. As it turns out, Brooks’ words had a lot of value in them, as researchers point out that self-acceptance is one of the ways to mitigate internalized oppression (Velez et al. 149). It allows people to perceive themselves in a more positive way, develop closer connections to their families, and acknowledge other aspects of their identities. Ultimately, the current research transparently proves that the author’s perspective from the 20th century was correct.
Conclusion
The lack of self-acceptance among racial minorities is a significant issue that might lead to a large number of mental health complications. Gwendolyn Brooks addresses this problem in her poem ‘Primer for Blacks’ by asking all people of color to embrace their racial and cultural heritage. The contemporary research backs up this statement by proving that internalized racism and internalized heterosexism are some of the most prominent factors leading to mental health deterioration among minority groups. While the two types of oppression are not interdependent, they are both relevant problems in contemporary society. However, their impact on mental health might be slightly mitigated by teaching people to embrace their nature. Ultimately, self-acceptance is a universal concept that might significantly help people with their esteem regardless of race, gender, and sexual orientation.
Works Cited
Brooks, Gwendolyn. “Primer for Blacks by Gwendolyn Brooks | Poetry Foundation.”Poetry Foundation.
Velez Brandon L., et al. “Heterosexism, Racism, and the Mental Health of Sexual Minority People of Color.”The Counseling Psychologist, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 129-159.