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Project Plan

Project topic: Discrimination and African Americans

The purpose of this research is to provide an in-depth analysis of perceptions of the baby boomers (1946-1964) on discrimination against African Americans. Evidence of systemic discrimination suggests a need for more active institutional interventions to address racism in policy and practice (Bleich et al., 2019). Some of the appropriate focused, relevant concepts in my research include general psychology and social psychology. Social psychology concentrates on discrimination and is a general psych focus topic since it mainly deals with social influences on the individual only. General Psychology studies the human mind and behavior, while its sub-discipline, social psychology, incorporates societal factors' impacts on the individual. General psychology focuses on a range of areas of human existence. Social psychology concentrates solely on the social effects on individuals. According to psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychology uses scientific methods to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings (Uldall, 2013). With all this in mind, I am proposing to explore the perceptions of baby boomer African Americans and discrimination.

The target population will be African Americans who are baby boomers (1946-1964) that have dealt with discrimination in the present or past on their perceptions or beliefs. For a long time now, experts have been brainstorming to develop effective measures that will play the lead role in closing the racial gaps existing between American natives and African Americans. The federal government is in the frontline supporting this ideology where various policies in various sectors such as employment, education, and healthcare have been developed, sensitizing individuals on the negative impacts of discrimination to people of color. Also, laws have been established to govern the transformation. An excellent example of these legislative efforts is abolishing all forms of the slave trade in the workplace, where some employees will be assigned more complex tasks, unlike others (Benson et al., 2019). Current business processes require organizational managers to share the work available in their organization equally among all employees without discriminating them in classes of gender, sex, or race. The healthcare sector is also developing an inclusive healthcare environment where some of the nurses employed are Black Americans, and disciplinary measures are administered to those who go ahead to practice discrimination still. The American education system is also making efforts to abolish discrimination by implementing policies that should govern the fair treatment of all students in schools.

Project Problem

The perceptions of baby boomers on discrimination against African Americans are relevant to my study because of being in the field of General Psychology, where I am an African American male, and I have come to know discrimination firsthand. I have also talked to many older African men and women who have spoken about discrimination privately and publicly. Because many of the observed differences in bias between blacks and whites were not attributable to individual‐level demographic characteristics, other households, neighborhood, community, state, or national factors should be considered (Bleich et al., 2019). African American women were more likely than African American men to report interpersonal incivilities. In contrast, African American men reported more major experiences of discrimination, in particular experiences with police and criminal profiling, than did African American women (Lewis & Van Dyke, 2018). The extent of reported discrimination across several areas of life suggests a broad pattern of discrimination against blacks in America beyond isolated experiences (Bleich et al., 2019).

Africans are more likely to receive unfair treatment whenever new opportunities emerge, such as promotions and training. Often African Americans are discriminated against for professional and advancement opportunities to the extent of experiencing frustration and disengagement. Yet recent findings suggest that self-reported experiences of racism alone may be less impactful for the health of African Americans than previously hypothesized (Lewis & Van Dyke 2018). Black-white disparities exist on nearly all dimensions of experiences with public and private institutions, including health care and the police and evidence of systemic discrimination suggests a need for more active institutional interventions to address racism in policy and practice (Bleich et al., 2019).

Problem to be addressed

There is a problem with discrimination today against African Americans. The topic for the proposed study is perceptions of baby boomers on discrimination against African Americans. Future studies should identify, implement, and rigorously evaluate policy and programmatic approaches to reduce discrimination against black Americans (Bleich et al., 2019). Since the national founding and going back to slavery days, Africa America work has been tied to their social status, which is mostly lower than white people's. The low-paying jobs have been relegated to Africa America between the 19th century and 20th century. This has been achieved because of various means, such as legal restrictions. Although this cuts to all Africans without considering race or ethnicity, Africans were massively affected, which impacts them up to the current times. This has devalued the status of Africa Americans. Continued surveillance about the experiences of discrimination among a large, national sample of black Americans is vital for tracking possible progress or decline (Bleich et al., 2019).

Gap

The scholarly literature on perceptions of discrimination against African Americans indicates that many African Americans believed that this is still one of the most significant issues they face within our society today is known. Also, discrimination is starting to become one of the fore fights for most Americans today, but what is unknown is why it has taken so long to address and when it will end. From 2009 to 2016, the Obama administration established several policies to reduce institutional discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities in the United States, including procedures in health care, college admissions, housing, and fair lending (Bleich et al., 2019). Across studies, African Americans report more discrimination and unfair treatment than other racial/ethnic groups. Despite progress since the 1960s, objective evidence suggests that discrimination remains a significant problem in the United States in housing, policing, and medical care (Lewis & Van Dyke, 2018).

The proposed study will seek to understand how concepts/theory foundations have addressed the self-perceptions of African American baby boomers and discrimination. This qualitative generic inquiry study will explore how Henri Tajfel and John Turner's social identity theory is associated with individuals' perceptions of discrimination in society against African Americans. Qualitative research begins with assumptions and interpretive/theoretical frameworks that inform the study of research problems addressing the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The social identity theory and social cognition theory will serve as the conceptual framework of the proposed study. Social identity theory aims to specify and predict the circumstances under which individuals think of themselves as individuals or as group members (Ellemers, 2020). The approach also considers the consequences of personal and social identities for individual perceptions and group behavior (Ellemers, 2020).

While recent surveys have documented significant gaps between whites and blacks in their general beliefs about discrimination in the United States today, little attention has been paid in public opinion polling to understanding disparities in personal experiences of discrimination (Bleich et al., 2019). The social identity theory can help refine or add to the existing literature on discrimination on individuals' particular groups (African Americans). Identities are multifaceted and entail individual, interpersonal, and social processes embedded within social structures (Davis et al., 2019). Then why could this study refine or add to an existing theory? However, it is less understood as an interaction among complex systems from a psychological perspective. Social psychologists from both sociology and psychology have developed robust theories of identity and related research programs (Davis et al., 2019). This study has the potential to define the interacting components of experience and perceptions of discrimination against African Americans while shedding light on the fact that there still needs to be more research done on the introduction to discrimination. General psychologists can develop new understandings concerning discrimination based on the perceptions of African Americans.

Supporting Evidence

Interestingly, 96% of African Americans reported experiencing racial discrimination over the past year (Armstrong et al., 2019). A study done by Bleich et al. (2019) study was to examine the extent of discrimination experienced by black adults in America compared to whites in response to a growing national debate about discrimination in the United States today, building on question modules from prior studies in the field. There is also a direct relationship between the larger scale of structural barriers and the interpersonal scale of individual racism (Armstrong et al., 2019). The study will contribute to the existing research and help a broader understanding of the theoretical foundation. Black adults report personally experiencing widespread discrimination across social institutions and interpersonally, including seeking health care, unfair treatment by the police, and being targets of racial slurs or macroaggressions (Bleich et al., 2019). With the study, future researchers will be able to acquire more information on the strategies they can employ to neutralize the issue of discrimination against African Americans because of the challenges this group is experiencing today.

Primary Orientation

The proposed study will add or contribute to a better understanding of the theoretical foundation of the perceptions of discrimination against African Americans or contribute to a better understanding of practice using social identity theory. In addition to preventing access to socioeconomic opportunities and societal resources and creating a culture that subordinates non-white racial populations, discrimination is also directly embodied by operating as an ongoing psychosocial stressor, causing progressive wear and tear on the body's systems (known as allostatic load and overload) as it adapts to experiencing various forms of racial bias (Bleich et al., 2019). The social identity theory is a conceptual perspective on group processes and intergroup relations that assumes that groups influence their members' self-concepts and self-esteem, mainly when individuals categorize themselves and identify strongly with the group (APA, 2020). Social identity determines emotions (e.g., depression after a team loss) and behavior (e.g., discrimination against out-groups or effort on behalf of one’s in-group) (Scheepers & Ellemers, 2019). 

Bleich et al. (2019) found that most black Americans perceive discrimination against blacks in America today. This study can aid in helping future researchers to understand the extremity of the issue of discrimination among African Americans in today's society, which will act as a foundation to build their ideologies up. With its emphasis on the importance of group membership for the self, social identity theory contrasts with individualistic analyses of behavior that discount the importance of group identifications (APA, 2020). Also, this study can contribute to helping future generations find a point of argument that they can use to create a better environment for everyone regardless of their gender or race.

Blacks report experiencing racial discrimination at significantly higher levels than whites, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, or the racial composition of their neighborhood (Bleich et al., 2019). This study's main goal is to examine the lived experiences of the self-perception of discrimination among African Americans, an issue that has continued to persist today. This study will take a detailed perspective to reflect on the various ways in which African Americans are being discriminated against. Why so many individuals are placed in groups such as them and us. The social identity theory explains that in terms of why this is happening. We divided the world into "them" and "us" based on a process of social categorization (i.e., we put people into social groups) (McLeod, 2019).

Efforts to Address the Problem

Over time, governments and researchers have been working together to establish measures that will end the issue of racism in the workplace. One of these efforts is legislative efforts. The government has enforced anti-discrimination policies to ensure that workplaces will become safe again for all the employees within the organization. An excellent example of these legislative efforts is abolishing all forms of the slave trade in the workplace, where some employees will be assigned more complex tasks, unlike others. Current business processes require organizational managers to share the work available in their organization equally among all employees without discriminating them in classes of gender, sex, or race.

The government has also taken the initiative to raise awareness about this issue through the media and play a central role in reflecting on the organizations that that that that are practicing discrimination among African Americans (Sibrava et al., 2019). From 2009 to 2016, the Obama administration established several policies to reduce institutional discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities in the United States, including policies in health care, college admissions, housing, and fair lending (Bleich et al., 2019). However, with the Trump administration beginning to roll back these efforts in 2017, the future of reducing racial bias through federal policy and the resulting effects on minority groups have become uncertain (Bleich et al., 2019). The modern media provides shared platforms where individuals can reason and encourage each other to take proactive actions against individuals who are willing to take advantage of their liberty. Such publication enables organizations to refrain from oppressing their employees to avoid getting a damaged reputation which is harmful for business.

A recent article by Boutwell, Nedelec, Winegard, Shackelford, Beaver, Vaughn, Barnes, & Wright published in PLOS ONE on the prevalence of discrimination across racial groups has received a fair amount of attention (Lee et al., 2019). Their findings appear to show that only a tiny minority of individuals across all racial groups experience discrimination. Comments on social media reflect an acceptance of the authors' conclusions: "What a shock, it's almost as if America is an egalitarian society that spent over 200 years fighting for equal protection under the law," "most of what comes from the political left, when exposed to reality, scrutiny and fact turns out to be myth," and "discrimination is not the juggernaut it is constantly cracked up to be (Lee et al., 2019).” These results add to prior literature showing despite public perceptions to the contrary, and black Americans continue to face significant barriers to equal treatment across public institutions, particularly with the police and health care, which negatively affects their health and safety (Bleich et al., 2019).

Synthesis of the Evidence

The study will contribute to the existing research and help a broader understanding of the theoretical foundation. With the study, future researchers will be able to acquire more information on the strategies they can employ to neutralize the issue of discrimination against African Americans because the challenges this group is experiencing in their respective work environments have been explained in detail. For instance, the study can play a central role in highlighting the emerging trends in discrimination against African Americans, which has continued to persist over the years until everyone thinks it is an ordinary practice. Still, it should be prohibited (Taylor et al., 2018).

Therefore, the study will help future researchers understand the extremity of discrimination among African Americans in their workplaces, which will act as a foundation to build their ideologies up. Some of these issues include the rising rates of white employees looking down on black employees to the extent of mistreating them through various means such as sexual harassment and work overload without increasing their salaries. Also, it is to no surprise that some employers have been found to eliminate black employees from the decision-making body because they do not believe that they can have better ideas that can contribute to the overall wellbeing of the organization. This problem is advancing to various sectors, including healthcare and education, the leading cause for widening disparities among Americans and African Americans. It is to no surprise that some employers have been found to eliminate black employees from the decision-making body because they do not believe that they can have better ideas that can contribute to the overall wellbeing of the organization.

In most cases, most African American employees are assigned casual jobs that involve working under extreme heat environments or in toxic environments such as noise or air polluted environments (Carter et al., 2019). In contrast, the White employees are given office jobs with conducive heating and lighting environments to adjust to their likings. Also, the paper highlights discrimination and mistreatment the African Americans are facing in the hands of law enforcement officers who should be playing the role of protecting them. Therefore, the paper will contribute immensely because future generations will find a point of argument that they can use to create a better environment for everyone regardless of their gender or race.

Purpose of the Project

The study's main goal was to examine the self-perception of discrimination among African American baby boomers, an issue that has continued to persist today. This study will take a detailed perspective to reflect on the various ways in which African Americans are being discriminated. The study will examine the self-perceptions of baby boomer African Americans' view and perceive discrimination. The problem gap in question is the increasing discrimination among African Americans within today’s society.

Statement of Primary Question(s)

The questions that the study will focus on addressing include:

How African American baby boomers perceived discrimination against African Americans in today’s society.

Definition of Terms

Racist attitudes are also maintained out of fears of loss of power or advantages provided by the majority race through institutional and thus may remain after institutional discrimination has been challenged (Armstrong et al., 2019). The Merriam dictionary (2022), defines discrimination as a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Members of targeted racial groups with limited social power in the United States (Blacks, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asians) are subjected to institutional subordination by members of the agent racial group with more social power (Whites). Individual acts, cultural norms and beliefs, and societal, institutional structures and practices all contribute to this subjugation.

Institutional Racism (Racism at the Institutional Level) discrimination, oppression, and disadvantages for individuals from targeted racial groups are created through a network of institutional structures, laws, and practices that favor whites and disadvantages that have been created for them. Internalized racism can be defined as accepting negative attitudes, beliefs, ideologies, and stereotypes perpetuated by the White dominant society as being true about one's racial group (Molina & James, 2016). People from targeted racial groups believe, act on, or enforce the prevailing beliefs about themselves and members of their racial group. The social identity theory is a conceptual perspective on group processes and intergroup relations that assumes that groups influence their members' self-concepts and self-esteem, mainly when individuals categorize themselves as group members and identify strongly with the group (APA, 2020).

Generic qualitative research studies are those that refuse to claim allegiance to a single established methodology (Kahlke, 2014). Qualitative research begins with assumptions and the use of interpretive/theoretical frameworks that inform the study of research problems addressing the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Qualitative designs are naturalistic to the extent that the research takes place in real-world settings, and the researcher does not attempt to affect, control, or manipulate what is unfolding naturally (Patton, 2015). The philosophical assumption of qualitative research relates to nature and its characteristics.

Qualitative methods help respondents' interaction since they mainly depend on the views, comments, perceptions, and people's ideas. Further, they involve respondents more than in structured surveys since they use dynamic processes. Saunders et al. (2018) stated that the research could determine more than just initial responses and rationales since they lead to probing. It is crucial in overcoming self-consciousness that is important in preventing impulse reactions and responses. Qualitative methods provide an opportunity to engage respondents in a projective technique.

Target population

The target population for this study will be African American baby boomers born between 1946-1964 that have dealt with discrimination in the present or past on their perceptions or beliefs. I will be conducting interviews with the individuals participating in the study and reviewing past studies and reports on discrimination in specific demographics, status in the workforce, health system, and education. I want to explore how they perceive the issue of discrimination is being handle within our society. Some individuals believe that Africa America has no right. A certain percentage of Americans believe that their nation has made these developments; therefore, blacks should be treated equally, while others think there is more to achieve equality.

Background of the study

The issue of discrimination among African Americans dated to many years ago when enslaved people were captured and used in large plantations for the benefit of their masters. After abolishing slavery, racial discrimination has taken a new turn where African Americans are now under the threat of being discriminated against in their workplace. The deep diversity that is present among this segment of our population merits further study in research on psychosocial processes and health disparities (Molina & James, 2016). Repeatedly, the media graces us with scenes of various ways employees, especially African Americans, suffer due to discrimination. Although a large body of research exists documenting racism’s association with poor mental health among African Americans (Paradies et al., 2015; Pieterse, Neville, Todd, & Carter, 2012), examining how racism contributes to the mental health of different populations included within the "Black" racial category in the U.S. presents a much-needed opportunity for uncovering potential similarities and differences in exposure to and effects of racism among a large and heterogeneous socially marginalized group (Molina & James, 2016).

The research questions, in this case, are helpful in that they have played the focal role in providing the direction of the study to avail as much information as possible to enable the reader in understanding the issue at hand. Such research may help us better understand how to prevent, reduce, and ultimately eliminate disparities in this heterogeneous and growing population in the U.S. (Molina & James, 2016). The study will contribute to the existing research and help a broader understanding of the theoretical foundation. With the study, future researchers will be able to acquire more information on the strategies they can employ to neutralize the issue of discrimination against African Americans because the challenges this group is experiencing in their respective work environments have been explained in detail. For instance, the study has played a central role in highlighting the emerging trends in discrimination against African Americans, which has continued to persist over the years until everyone thinks it is an ordinary practice. Therefore, the study will help future researchers understand the extremity of discrimination among African Americans in their workplaces, which will act as a foundation to build their ideologies up.

Proposed Project Framework

Methodological Approach: Generic Qualitative Inquiry

Qualitative research begins with assumptions and interpretive/theoretical frameworks that inform the study of research problems addressing the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The rationale for investigating utilizing a generic qualitative inquire as the methodological approach for this qualitative study will help me answer the research question of how African American baby boomers perceived discrimination against African Americans in today’s society. Generic qualitative inquiry investigates people’s reports of their subjective opinions, attitudes, beliefs, or reflections on their experiences, of things in the outer world (Percy et al., 2015). Creswell and Poth, (2018) confirmed that by exploring different perceptions of the outer-world process of there are no restrictions in utilizing multiple methods to collect data, such as interviews, surveys, and questionnaires.

Generic qualitative inquiry is to understand how baby boomers perceived discrimination against African Americans in today’s society. Qualitative methods help respondents' interaction since they mainly depend on the views, comments, perceptions, and people's ideas. Further, they involve respondents more than in structured surveys since they use dynamic processes. Saunders et al. (2018) stated that the research could determine more than just initial responses and rationales since they lead to probing. It is crucial in overcoming self-consciousness that is important in preventing impulse reactions and responses.

Population and Sample

The population for this study will be African American baby boomers have dealt with discrimination in the present or past on their perceptions or beliefs. The sample will include 10-12 male/females baby boomers born between 1946-1964 within my community or work. The process will incorporate enormous surveys and interviews. I will be conducting interviews using anonymous surveys. The reason I will only be using 10-12 male/females within my community or work because it will make it easier for me to get the data that I am looking for. Also, it makes it easier and straightforward to collect data from a certain population when it is small and accessible. I will be recruiting participants from my local school in New Jersey, Camden County College, and Volunteers of America (place of employment).

Constructs, Phenomena, Variables

Qualitative research mainly seeks to describe social phenomena and behavior using rich contextual data by looking at the “people’s attitudes, opinions, or beliefs about a particular issue or experience” (Percy et al., 2015 pg. 76). Similarly, it aims at explaining and exploring the world through observation, appreciation of subjective experiences, and unearthing the data that is not easily obtained through qualitative methods or means. In addition, it is highly based on how and why, but it is not based on how many. Qualitative methods help respondents' interaction since they mainly depend on the views, comments, perceptions, and people's ideas. The unstructured interviews are suitable for research on a topic that is very difficult to understand and/or designed to extract the main parameters of the phenomenon, in order to maximize the most important aspects of the problem. Therefore, the sampling population will include adult’s baby boomers who have experienced discrimination.

Saunders et al. (2018) stated that the research could determine more than just initial responses and rationales since they lead to probing. Qualitative methods provide an opportunity to engage respondents in a projective technique. The constructs in this generic qualitative research will consist of: African Americans, ba

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