From the earliest stages of human development people are often “predisposed” to social norms and even certain beliefs within their city, state or even country. The most commonly expressed social norm is inequality of both gender and race. Many different ethnic groups and races are known to have many different roles in society. But the inequality experienced between women and men exists in the sense that society is typically dominated by males, yet females are often stereotyped as being of the inferior sex and submissive. This whole concept of gender and racial disparity occurs often within the African American community. This huge gap lives in the African American community, in the sense that black men and women are not equal to each other, although they share the same ethical race. The “juxtaposition” of equality within the African American community has ties back to the time of slavery. The unique experience of sexual exploitation among African women and African male slaves transcended from generation to generation and thus created some social norms in the slave community and still lives today. When African slaves were brought to the United States of America, this caused a complete change in the African family structure as slaves were separated from their personal family members in Africa. This displacement of the black family seemed to date back to the times of slavery and has somehow continued with subsequent social and even economic deprivation (Williams 200). Although some slaves were able to work in the fields, some were then known as “privileged” to work inside the plantation owner's home. B...... middle of paper ...... (both male and female) were often subject to exploitation during slavery; however female slaves received worse treatment due to the fact that they were black and female. Their gender allowed both white and black men to violate at any time. Due to the fact that black men could not remove women from exploitation during slavery, both groups were classified as victims of sexual exploitation as they essentially served as “cattle” to increase overall productivity on plantations. The overall experience of slavery may have had an impact on the black community in today's society, like the mammy and jezebel stereotypes that plague American pop culture. But regardless of the effects, the disparity between black women and men during slavery and today's struggles to unite the black community as a whole, which also affects American society as a whole.