Notes

To me, I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood, nestled within the diverse city of Trenton, New Jersey. However, my upbringing left me grappling with conflicting emotions about my racial identity. The surroundings I was immersed in painted a narrow picture of what it meant to be a person of color. I found myself associating black individuals with stereotypes often portrayed in the media – gangsters, drug dealers, and uneducated. These narrow perceptions were a result of my limited exposure and the prevalence of such portrayals in my community.

Attending a predominantly minority school, Trenton High, offered me a glimpse of the multifaceted nature of people of color. Within the city's boundaries, I witnessed individuals from various ethnic backgrounds acting differently, each group embracing its distinct cultural clichés. This exposure led me to create both positive and negative stereotypes of people of color, further cementing the notion that my world was confined to the confines of Trenton. The bubble I lived in seemed to perpetuate a cycle of violence, fights, and shootings – an environment that influenced my perspective on black identity.

The overall identity that I associated with black people in Trenton left me feeling conflicted. Although I recognized that this depiction did not represent all individuals, the limited exposure I had normalized these stereotypes in my mind. I felt a deep repulsion towards being associated with these negative perceptions, leading me to reject my cultural heritage. I yearned to break free from the expectations imposed on me and discover who I truly was – not a product of stereotypes, but an individual with unique aspirations and potentia




"to me i grew up in a prodomilary black hood, and a city full of minorities (trenton nj) and growing up, my idea of what a person of color was made me conflicted, i always assioted black people as gangster, drug dealers, uneducted because thats all i saw around me, attend of prodomilary minority school trenton high ived seen all types of people of color act all different accordly like black people had their cliche hispantics had their cliche and growing up in the trenton area i kinda created sterotypes of them, negitivly and positively i like to look at it as trenton as my small world and thats all i really knew (mention how trenton is) its like i was in a small bubble with the same thing going on fights, shootings, etc etc and how it overall indenity in a will i kinda just accepted that this how black people are but i never wanted to be assoited with that, i found it replusive to the point i wanted to reject my "culture heritgage" and just be me always wanted to seperate myself with "them" (go into detail of feel like repesive to my culture and feeling as though i dont want to be associated with that along withGrowing up in the heart of Trenton, New Jersey, I was surrounded by a community where stereotypes about black men were pervasive. make a good start the the essay