Coping With the Discrimination Against Black Students 2021
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Being black in a society that has a history of discriminating against black people is a challenging thing. Even though society is evolving and we may think that racism is not a thing anymore, in fact, it is. Some colleges accept a balanced number of students that come from different races, countries, continents, and so on. However, black students are being discriminated against, not only by their colleagues but by professors too.
Discrimination is still very present in our society, no matter how much we would like to think it’s not like this. Those who discriminate against black students might not think that it comes with many negative effects on their mental health. Learning how to cope with discrimination when you are a black student is essential.
Why? Because you will, unfortunately, meet many people who will discriminate against you along with your life. And knowing how to react to them and handle the emotional effect it comes with can help you survive this racist society.
Discrimination Against Black Students
When you are a student and young, your emotional brain is just developing. During adolescence, you feel all kinds of emotions and learn what they mean and how to handle them. You learn this all over your life, but these first years are especially important for your development. But when discrimination against black people is so rooted in today’s society, having a positive and happy life is challenging. Racism is one of the main problems nowadays societies have and it is highly important.
As a black student, you have surely felt the effects of discrimination on your life and mental health. It seems that this discrimination has emotional effects that are similar to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Black students who feel the effects of racism and discrimination tend to experience a higher level of chronic stress. Moreover, this leads to higher rates of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. But one of the things that happen the most is that they drop out of school and college. Getting an education and studying in university can be a great period where you make new friends and learn new things. However, as soon as black students are experiencing discrimination, they tend to give up their education.
So, how to cope with this?
Connect with Friends
When you are a black student who is experiencing discrimination, you might feel unheard. Negative emotions can easily appear and they can make you feel guilty or ashamed. But you have nothing to be ashamed of. Racism and discrimination are still very present in our nowadays society and they should be eliminated. Unfortunately, there is still a lot to work on so black students need to find coping mechanisms. One of these is connecting with friends.
The more you share your discrimination experiences with your friends and closest ones, the less stress you will feel. Stress can easily accumulate and it comes with more negative effects, so connecting with friends alike is important. You can work together on your college assignments, study together, or just spend quality time. Fortunately, all tools can be used by anyone no matter their race, gender, or country, as is the case of plagiarism checking. You can find an online plagiarism checker to check your essays and assignments that can be used by anyone, no matter their characteristics.
Make Lists
This advice might sound counterintuitive. People usually make lists when they want to make a decision, to not forget something, and so on. However, if you are a black student that is experiencing discrimination, this could be a coping mechanism. You can make a list of the stimuli, events, and words that trigger you and that are racist. Being aware of what disturbs you is important because it helps you find ways to cope with and handle them.
After you have identified these, you can make a list of coping mechanisms. There is still a long way to go until we completely eliminate racism and discrimination from our society. And as a black student, knowing how to cope with these negative and unhappy events will help you survive this society and protect your mental health.
Final Words
Discrimination is, unfortunately, still very present in our society. The most discriminated against are black students because some people find them inferior. But this is not true at all. People who discriminate and are racist do not understand the effects of this. Racism comes with many negative effects on mental health, such as depression, anxiety, physical pain, and health problems. Finding ways to cope with these is essential and they can make this more bearable.
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Bio lines: Vendy Adams is a content writer. Her articles focus on racism and discrimination. Vendy thinks that if we eliminate these from our societies, the world would be a better place.
