Stereotype or Reality: Another Look at Alcohol and Drug Use Among African American Children. Speech Analysis.

The African American youth have been in most part of the country associated with the use of drugs as well as selling of the drugs. Many reasons as to why this has been the pattern among the African American youths' have been formulated such as lack of good role models, too much exposure to the drugs at an early age among other reasons but the real problem not much discussed. Exposure to the effects and the harms associated with the drugs is an issue that the African Americans have not been exposed to, the harm the use of these drugs have on their physical bodies and their community (Bass et al.). Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's Division of Communications started it's Urban Youth Public Education Campaign late 1990 to help create awareness of the effects of alcohol and prevention messages among the African American youth. This article covers the prevention of the use of alcohol and other drugs among the African American you, the article also covered to what extent had the African American youth being affected by the use of Alcohol and other drug substances and some of the main causes of the engagement into these drugs at such a tender age. But for this speech, the focus will be mainly on the reasons as to why African American youth engage into drugs and alcohol at such a tender age (Bass et al.). The article while help in discussing into detail the matter.

Use of alcohol among the African American youth is greatly influenced by the society around them and too much exposure to the drugs. Also, lack of role models to lead them in the right direction contributes a lot towards this. Most of the African American look up to role models such as music artists among others who seem to encourage the use of these drugs hence end up misleading the youths. The communities the African American youth grow up in has so many crime and they are exposed to different drugs at such a tender age, accessing these drugs as well as alcohol becomes so easy hence result in the use of these drugs. Here the government is failing these communities since it's up to the government to clear drugs in the streets so as to reduce the access rate to these drugs by the youths. Another issue is the exposure to the harmful effects of the use of these drugs. The public health sector needs to educate the youth more on the harm of using alcohol as well as other rugs. The article explains how few youth know the harms associated with the use of these drugs hence with more knowledge on how harmful the use of alcohol is then much safer the youth become and distance themselves from these drugs and alcohol.

The article touches on very crucial matters in relating to the use of Alcohol and other drugs within the African American youth, its the responsibility of the community together with the government to help the youth understand and learn the dangers of using alcohol and other drugs, create awareness and give the youths better role models to look up to. This is how the fight against alcohol and drugs start and it starts with you.

Work Cited

Bass, LINDA E., and E. D. N. A. Kane-Williams. "Stereotype or reality: another look at alcohol and drug use among African American children." Public health reports 108.Suppl 1 (1993): 78.