The Co-Cultural Communication Theory is defined as a theory that encompasses the different co-cultural groups that have been associated with negative cultural connotations, (Holton, S., 1998). The theory itself was principally created by a scholar by the name of Orbe who sought to uncover the similarities between members of co-cultures who were viewed as inferior to other members of a dominant society, (Holton, S., 1998). The Co-Cultural Communication Theory can absolutely be applied to how Blacks as a minority have been treated within American society.
Unfortunately, there has been a great divide between Blacks and whites along with other minorities within the United States. Many scholars have tried to ascertain why this happens given that the United States actually had less slavery than a nation such as Brazil, for example. Brazil does not see the same racism and societal isolation that Blacks experience within the United States and it is difficult to ascertain exactly why. One aspect of Blacks within the United States is that they are seen to dwell in the inter-city areas that tend to be more impoverished and filled with crime. Within this culture in the inter-cities, has developed a very nasty stereotype of how Blacks conducts themselves based on a select few that have in fact behaved badly. What is unfortunate about the behavior of these individuals is that they cause there to be a very bad impression for other Blacks within their society to try to change.
One aspect of the struggle that Blacks have encountered in the United States is being automatically targeted as guilty by racist police officers. Granted, sometimes the police officers have been correct in their arrests; however, there has also been a culture of police brutality that has developed due to cultural prejudices that primarily exists in the states that were the former Confederate states of the United States during the Civil War that advocated to keep the Blacks as slaves. Within those states, there is a culture that Blacks are inferior and there are societal barriers that Blacks are still struggling to overcome today in certain states such as these.
The negative stereotype that has arisen as a result of the black on black crime issue has been an enormous issue for police to deal with. That being said, police have used this as a mechanism to justify their brutal arrests that are targeted at black people. The former Confederate states aside, one place that has a great deal of issues with this is the police within New York City. Here, there have been many instances of white police brutality against Blacks who in many cases, were not guilty or were racially profiled by the police officers as committing crimes. Society has tried to overshadow these instances by focusing on black on black crime to justify why police have to handle Blacks more aggressively, which has caused more harm than good.
The recent case in Missouri where a youth was killed by police brutality is an example of how the police have taken this racially profiling due to the Co-Cultural Communication Theory too far. In fact, this was one of the first instances where there were appeals in the courts in order to crack down on such blatant racism, racial profiling, and police brutality from white cops against Blacks who were arrested.
The Co-Cultural Communication Theory is something that is quite present in the Untied States even today against many minorities such as Blacks, Hispanics, and those from the Middle East. Unfortunately, these prejudices will likely continue for many more years until a new generation is educated differently given that those who were alive during the Civil Rights Era are still alive. Once new perspectives are born, we will see a change in this country towards more equality and less targeting due to racism.
References
Holton, S. (1998). Constructing Co-Cultural Theory: An Explication of Culture, Power, and Communication. Retrieved from: http://ac-journal.org/journal/vol3/Iss1/reviews/holton.htm
