The Burden Of Acting White

La Shawn

i agree with you that this is a cultural problem.

I got my high school diploma (1960) at a time when there were much higher expectations for teenagers. Aacademic achievement was something to be proud of.

The same high standards were expected of me when i did my undergraduate work (1975) and my graduate work (1980).

I was expecting the same thing when I enrolled in a class here at Emporia State, just for fun. I was amazed at how lax everything was. I got bad enough that i spoke to the professor about how little he was expecting of the students and how he was doing the a disservice by doing so. His response was that he had to be “fair” to everyone.

The net effect of what he and, as I understand it, many of the professors are doing is to dumb everyone down.

I can say that there is very little learning going on in many of our academic institutions.

It’s a shame.

Devils advocate here, just because its cultural does not mean that other factors didn’t encourage this cultural bias. It can be both.

Didn’t Chris Rock have a comedy routine that included this? I think it was part of his N-word routine.

I grew up in the South, and ended up at the premier nerd school of NC: The North Carolina School of Science and Math. The authors might do well to go to NCSSM, to see if there’s any racial stigma to achievement there. There is a quota system there, but it’s by congressional district (the school draws from the entire state) – and it’s tougher to get into than UNC-Chapel Hill or NCSU, as only 270 or so students are admitted each year. I have no idea what the end results would be, but let me tell you, high achievement wasn’t the stigma it usually is in regular schools.

And let me tell you, for the half year I was in a “regular” NC high school in one of the richest areas in the state (North Raleigh), I was majorly unimpressed with the attitude of the kids towards education. Everyone was aghast in French class that I had been taught to speak French with a French-sounding accent (as opposed to a Southern accent… it’s not that tough, really) – and forget about calculus. I was the only non-senior in the class, and the second semester I was very much disliked as I actually did my work and studied, while everybody else slacked off and barely passed (they slacked the moment they got their acceptances from Chapel Hill or State). These were all white kids. But then, I suppose a sophomore girl isn’t supposed to actually, you know, be into this stuff and really pay attention and =learn=. My lord, high school is for hooking-up and wasting time til you get to go to college and =really= party….

I can not wait for your analysis, having read through some of the report myself, I do not think you are capable of refuting the truth it represents, albeit as with most studies including the one done by the late Dr.Ogbu, they are done using a small sampling of the population and simply thinking that you can extract from that small sampling a prof positive truth about all of Black America is dishonest. I do not read your site often but hopefully Sott will let us know when you have posted your op-ed.

In your spare time you should look into Dr.Ogbu theory on Voluntary and Involuntary Immigrants, it is as interesting as his other writings. Always Remember Dr.Ogbu was ignored for many years by academic elitist until he wrote about this perceived idea of Black anit-intellectialism.

LaShawn, thanks for bringing this up. This will be interesting reading for me, since I was teased all throughout elementary school, and high school for “acting white.”

College was okay, but once I moved to DC it all came back. People were chasing my well dress self down the street talking about “get out of our neighborhood, college boy!” (yes, this has happened on more than one occasion.)

Of course, what really makes me mad is that it is something that is never talked about and almost accepted in the Black community.

The study does not refute McWorther, or the orginal data pioneer John Ogbu. If anything it confirms what McWorther and Ogbu were saying, adding some complementary rather than contradictory variants.

The study found a “general sentiment against high academic achievement” among all races and evidence of “racialized peer pressure against academic achievement.” Such peer pressure is most likely to occur where blacks are “grossly underrepresented in the most demanding courses”, such as Advanced Placement classes. So negative peer-pressure against “acting white” is not to blame, but feelings of inferiority when black kids tackle advanced academics and are heavily outnumbered by better performing whites. Many can quibble with the small sample of 125, but the study does not refute Obgu and McWorther. To the contrary, it DID find negative attitudes including peer pressure, and DID find feelings of inferiority vis a vis white students due to “underrepresentation”. Whether these feelings of inferiority are labeled as that OR labeled as peer pressure agaisnt “acting white” it makes little difference. The bottom line is that not enough black students are cutting the mustard.

What the variances with Ogbu suggests is that while there is negativity among all races, such negativity has a worse effect on black youth than whites. It is a variant on Ogbu’s theme, but it confirms the negative attitudes Ogbus said were there. It is a little like some critics describe the rap culture. Whites are playing at it, but get down to business at the end of the day. Many blacks seem though to want to buy into the whole anti-intellectual, clownish package for real, and the negative results are reflected in due time. They can afford this waste of time even LESS than their white counterparts, but the beat goes on.

The study showed negative peer pressure especially strong at the higher academic levels where black students were heavily outnumbered by better performing whites. There were feelings of inferiority that caused an “oppositional culture” to develop. The authors say it is the school situation that caused it (an external factor) while Ogbu, McWorther et al point to the culture (internal factor).

The authors label the outcome “status differences” due to the school environment and black “undrepreresentation.” I think they are skirting on making excuses once again. If “underrepresentation” causes the feelings of inferiority and opposition, then there are only 2 solutions (1) there needs to be a quota of black students in advanced academics to assure the proper “representation” or (2) black students have to work harder and get themselves up to par.

Which is it going to be? By asserting that “underrepresentation” causes the negative oppositional culture (blaming the external) it seems to me that the author’s are implying the need for a quota.

But whatever you want to label it: “acting white” peer pressure, or inferiority feeling caused by “underrepresentation”, the bottom line is that black students are not performing up to par. Quotas will only increase feelings of inferiority. We have been down that road before. The other alternative will do the job, but many do not want to face the hard slog required for that reality. What say you LaShawn?

The place and time you graduate has a big influence on your attitudes toward education and of course your fanily. In the fifties, education was seen as the way to suceed financially. It was a long way from Prince George’s County, MD or Montgomery County to Georgetown which is part of DC! There has been dumbing down again in America. Rap stars and professional ball players make more money then regularly educated people. How many ninth graders become professional ball players? (not 1 in a 100)

A woman roughly my age said that because she was poor, teachers expected a lot less of her then her husband. They are about as same black except he lets his hair natural.

Can we make young people think academic rather then “if it feels good, do it”. The internal and external culture both interact on students. It is A or not A. I cannot express myself due to years trying to do math and not write.

Are computer people trying to blame Rather for not understanding” proportional fonts. Tom Brokaw claims bloggers have “jihad against Rather,etc”.

Having lived in Texas in Houston and Austin, it is not black vs white as in the Carolinas. Hispanics felt twenty years ago they were not treated as good as blacks. Lu Brown (PhD) was police chief and then mayor of Houston. Not being able to speak and understand english makes you suspect the police!

JMB

Here is a link to a study that covered a large range. It’s called “Weighing the Burden of Acting White: Are There Race Differences in Attitudes Toward Education?”

brookings.nap.edu/books/0815746091/html/375.html

McWhorter didn’t know about this study when I called into a talk show and asked him about it.

No linking allowed. You can include the URL but without the “http.” Comments with links are held up for my approval. – Admin

SCSIwuzzy I agree with you in part that negativity is economically based, and that those who try to improve their lot are often accused of “thinking they were better than everyone else”. I am glad you bring that out. Negative feelings towards educational performance is a feature of virtually ALL poor groups and even among those well off within them.

It has been referenced in assorted places but maybe it bears repeating that such attitudes were and are common among whites as well. The study after all did find negativity among all groups, and historically, the record of some white groups ain’t nothing to write home about. Thomas Sowell’s “Ethnic America” shows that white Irish culture, as it developed early on in America was not hospitable to good academic performance- being marked in many places by high rates of violence, substance abuse and illegitimacy (50% in some cities like New York). Somewhat like many black urban conditions later on in the latter half of the 20th century.

The Irish lagged in educational and economic performance behind other white ethnic groups (they were the slowest rising) like Jews, Poles and Italians who did not have the advantages of the Irish- such as speaking English, or well developed political organization. Italian Americans in the early days were known for scorning public education, preferring to have their kids out in the workforce earning cash as soon as possible. By the way Asians seem to kick everybody’s butts academically, whites included. The bottom line is that these educational attitudes/patterns are not unique to blacks, and of course they are no excuse not to do better.

Mention the words “school performance” these days and you would expect to find you-know-which-group at the bottom. But it was not always so according to Sowell’s “Black Education” “Affirmative Action,” and “Race and Intellgence” and other of his books.

The original all-black Dunbar High School in Washington DC for example, for decades prior to its decline in the 1960s, produced performances equal to or above that of surrounding white schools. In New York during the 1940s several black schools were well in the running with performances sometimes a little above white schools and sometimes a little below, but never miles behind the way they are today. As far back as World War I, black soldiers from the North, places like New York, Illinois, Ohio etc, scored HIGHER, on mental tests than white soldiers from southern regions like Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi.

Sorry for all the verbiage but what all this may suggest is:

(1) Negative news regarding black education may appear but folks should not be too quick to point the finger at blacks as hopeless. In fact history suggests quite the opposite, showing a record of remarkable achievement in the face of bitter opposition and barriers unlike that faced by any other group. And the record of white groups most similar to blacks (like the Irish) also shows a pattern of similar negatives. But there was change for the better. We need that can do attitude among urban students.

(2)Blacks don’t need any special treatment over and above the programs open to all Americans like the GI Bill or student loans, etc. The black achievements mentioned above, go back as far as World War II, a time of harsh discrimination, hostility and societal indifference. Of course this may not be a message people want to hear.

(3) Black conservatives have been saying things similar to the above for a long time, going back to Booker T. That is why LaShawn’s blog is so valuable, it links the past to the future and IMHO, rescues black credibility and pride from the standard liberal vision of blacks as incompetent or childlike victims or basket-cases in need of patronizing or special preferences. It also restores black control over that credibility, a credibility than is constantly being used as a stalking-horse or front-man to fulfill the agendas of other people (gays, leftists, white feminists, take your pick).

Too often you see people shaking their heads about “those people” (blacks) who “can’t pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” This is the poisonous tag that the liberal vision has saddled blacks with. But it is false. Thomas Sowell might be worth quoting here:

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“A far higher proportion of blacks in poverty rose out of poverty in the 20 years between 1940 and 1960 — that is, before any major federal civil rights legislation — than in the more than 40 years since then. This trend continued in the 1960s, at a slower pace. The decade of the 1970s — the first affirmative action decade — saw virtually no change in the poverty rate among blacks. In other words, most blacks lifted themselves out of poverty but liberal politicians and black “leaders” have claimed credit. One side effect is that many whites wonder why blacks cannot lift themselves out of poverty like other groups, when that is in fact what most blacks have done..”
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It is this kind of credibility that conservatives like LaShawn are restoring, and highlighting.

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PS:
Thanks LaShawn I will check out that sidebar.
Keep up the good work.

The study has a long way to go before it can refute McWorther, Ogbu et al.

At first blush the contention that feelings of inferiority are caused by “underrepresentation” in advanced classes where whites dominate may seem to put the blame on external factors, and thus kill the McWorther/Ogbu cultural approach. But this assertion by the authors is hardly proof that their explanation is correct, nor does it refute McWorther/Ogbu.

To begin with, the study DID find limited evidence of “acting white” among black student peers. IT WAS MORE LIKELY TO SHOW UP, where said students were in tough classes where they were heavily outnumbered by whites, but it was definitely there. So right off the bat there is limited confirmation of Ogbu/MCWorther.

Now let’s look at where this negativity was most likely to appear- that is- the advanced classes with a lot of white people. The study asserts on page 3 that too few blacks in those classes leads to the toxic “acting white”. I quote the study “Black students viewed those classes as legitimately the property of white students; they are overwhelmingly excluded.” According to this study then the problem is “too many white people”. But is it really that simple? In fact, the very opposite could be argued. It is not “too many white people” ( an external factor) that causes the black kids to go negative and feel inferior, but a cultural mindset that throws in the towel, and refuses to meet the challenge of hard academic work. They are crapping out by saying the advanced classes are “the property” of whites. See page 3. If that is not a cultural mindset against success what is?

Proof of cultural factors can be seen in the historical tensions between Black Americans and Black West Indians, with the latter considering their American counterparts to be unmotivated, and the Americans considering the West Indians to be too pushy and aggressive. See Sowell’s “Ethnic America” and Ivan Light’s “Ethnic Enterprise” for just such a discussion of different mindsets. Proof of cultural factors can also be seen in the response of other minorities like Asians to these challenges. Further proof of cultural mindsets is given by looking at how black students budget their time. Black kids spend a lot more time on the idiot tube than on the books, sometimes 6 or more hours per day. Other groups waste a lot less time here. See: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/97trends/sd1-5.htm

What is sad is that the black kids are not saying “let me buckle down and raise my game” but seem to be withdrawing from the stuggle, throwing in the towel and ridiculing their peers for trying too hard, or “acting white” if you will, conceding the game as “belonging” to whites. That is the real poison, that attitude, not “too many white people”. Isn’t this the same “victim” mindset LaShawn comments on time and time again?

Enrique, marvelous posts.

Haven’t read the study, so I’m not completely familiar with the findings, but it appears one of the premises is that “underrepresentation” impacts negatively on academic achievement. What is the standard that signifies underrepresentation? At what point is there sufficient representation, etc.? Perhaps the study establishes some sort of criteria here?

That said, how does this premise square with the academic achievement of Asians in schools? I would presume that they are “underrepresented” to a greater degree than Black kids (as Blacks are the minority with the greatest percentage of the population in the US)- why then does their performance not suffer?

It surveyed students and found equal nagativity, but didn’t go on to match up attitudes to ACTUAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE on standardized tests like the national NAEP batteries, comparing what students SAID with what they actually DID.

That’s an interesting spin on it. The study addressed your point when it stated that Blacks seem no more likely to overestimate the time spent on home work. Then it gave a foot note.

But if people are saying that the charge of “acting white” is happening as much as is stated, then why are the Black students who are doing well, given respect and why do they agree that they are given respect?

Part of the study that pointed out that, once socio-economic status is taken into account, Black parents are as involved as white parents. No comment on that one?

How about the point that the entire study takes into account socio-economic status?

“The researchers found a “general sentiment against high academic achievement” among kids in North Carolina, regardless of race.”

But that doesn’t end the discussion. As an academically successful white kid I can attest that the “general sentiment against high academic achievement” can be also be found in Nassau Couunty, NY.

But while I got called “nerd” and “geek” and other hurtful things, I was never accussed of beinng a traitor to my race. I would expect that adding that into the mix gives black kids a stronger disincentive to success than white kids ever experience.

A couple of points:

1. Ogbu doesn’t have a “method.” In his original study he visited schools and talked to students without a method of choosing students nor a method of choosing schools. He had no comparison site–which is crucial for reasons I note below.

2. McWhorter doesn’t have a “method.” In his work, which he acknowledged was for popular audiences, he gave a few anecdotes about poorly performing black students in his class.

3. The Duke study DOES have a method. A method of selecting students. A method of comparing them. A method of coming up with objective measures that would either prove or disprove their hypotheses.

There is neither merit, standards, nor objectivity in the research of Ogbu. There is neither merit, standards, nor objectivity in the thoughtpiece of McWhorter.

A couple of final points on culture. To argue that black academic problems are cultural problems we first have to know whether the same dynamic is at work in other communities. As white America is largely anti-intellectual I don’t know how we can ignore this. Unless (and this is my final point) we are predisposed to believe that black culture (and people) are culturally inferior.

This position is distasteful to me. Not to mention wrong.

It is also contradicted by the Educational Longitudinal Survey Dark Star mentions as shown above.

I don’t see how. They seem complementary.

Even if one chooses to dismiss the Ogbu and McWorther studies, and my overhearing of neighbor discussions, as merely anecdotal, there is clearly reason to acknowledge that that some black students in some educational environments are being discouraged from improving themselves by an anti-intellectualism which is in part white supremicism. One need not quantify this in order to see the need to counter it.

“Even if one chooses to dismiss the Ogbu and McWorther studies, and my overhearing of neighbor discussions, as merely anecdotal, there is clearly reason to acknowledge that that some black students in some educational environments are being discouraged from improving themselves by an anti-intellectualism which is in part white supremicism. One need not quantify this in order to see the need to counter it…”
comment by triticale
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Triticale, the Duke study as detailed above CONFIRMS what Ogbu/McWorther have been saying. As for discouragement, I have no doubt that SOME black students, SOMEWHERE are discouraged by white supremacism. But how significant is white supremacism as a factor? Anything can be a factor, the question is how much weight does it have? YOu need to provide some data to back up what you claim. How so? Give some concrete examples. If anything the dismal record of many mostly black schools (like Washington DC,) with mostly black teachers, and with very high per capita spending shows that “white supremacism” may not carry much weight at all.

Again, how easy it is to blame external factors like “white racism” – the standard mantra. Racists there are aplenty, laughing in glee at black troubles, but I suggest these folks are a minor part of the problem. When you have black kids watching 6 or more hours of TV per day, or refusing to put up an effort, or thowing in the towel because some white people were on the scene, the standard mantras become very unconvincing. History shows better black performance in much more difficult circumstances than in many places today. See other posts above.

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The original all-black Dunbar High School in Washington DC for example, for decades prior to its decline in the 1960s, produced performances equal to or above that or surrounding white schools. In New York during the 1940s several black schools were well in the running with performances sometimes a little above white schools and sometimes below, but never miles behind the way they are today. As far back as WW I, black soldiers from the North, places like New York, Illinois, Ohio etc, scored HIGHER on mental tests than white soldiers from southern regions like Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
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Black folks got the job done in these places, taking advantage of the opportunities on the ground. We can do likewise again.

No black basketball team, even a “street” ball team, would throw in the towel and quit the court because some white people showed up. If anything, they would only be too happy to take their opponents on. We need the same aggressive, hard-nosed approach in the classroom. Don’t tell me it can’t be done. I really don’t care if some Asian dude makes a 90% on the test. More power to him. What I care about is the black guy who’s scoring 40%. That is simply unacceptable. It is time we stop making the standard excuses like “white supremacism” and get down to bidniss.

Lester,
Never made the argument that blacks are inferior to whites, and LaShawn isn’t either. Also not at all suggesting that blacks of a previous generation are culturally superior. I am only saying that in many ways they made better use of the opportunities available on the ground, despite the bitter opposition of a Jim Crow society. Today’s blacks have it a lot better. Yet the Duke study shows these kids throwing in the towel because some white people showed up in advanced classes.

You say a Brookings study- which one? which pages? and which authors? The Long. Survey referenced in these posts shows that there wasn’t much difference in such “soft” variables as absenteeism, dropout rates etc at the HIGHEST percentile of black students who had good attitudes. What it doesn’t show is how these students fared on crucial tests of performance, which is what Ogbu/MCWorther focus on. It also skips over why black kids are doing worse than those who supposedly have the same attitudes, a gap that again, can be seen by looking at the hard data of standardized tests. Schools can always give gold stars for attendance and “graduate” students, and thus claim “success”, but we both know that they are turning out black “graduates” in too many places who are functioning at 8th grade levels. If this is supposed to be “success” or “progress” it is one of the the biggest con games ever foisted on blacks.

The Survey contradicts the Duke study, which actually lends SUPPORT to McWorther/Ogbu, finding evidence of the oppositional culture that Ogbu/McWorther claimed was there all along. See page 49 where kids complain of being dogged for “acting white.” The twist in this study is that the negative atitudes seemed to be stronger where advanced work was being done with a lot of white people, particularly in the one school you mention. The black students felt inferior, considering such advanced work to be the “property” of whites. But even this finding again, tends to lean in Ogbu/MCWorther’s direction. One of the things in Ogbu’s research found is that even affluent, middle-class black kids had negative attitudes and by their own admission were not putting out the effort they should. It is precisely such better off kids that are likely to be going into advanced classes- head to head with white and Asian students. If our better off black students are throwing in the towel, or slacking off, as both Duke and Ogbu/McWorther indicate, then where are we headed?

Ogbu said the attitudes were there. Duke says the attitudes are there. Sowell says the attitudes are there even in all black schools where there are no white students around to make the kids feel “inferior”. We all know what is going on. We know the stats that show black kids spending more time watching TV than any other group. We know the deal, but are afraid to face it and speak the blunt truths that must be spoken.

Enrique, I do not see the agreement between your argument about black values and LaShawn’s, though I do see that you both agree on the value of Ogbu’s study. For me either the gap between blacks and whites come from subjugation, random luck of the draw, or inferiority. I believe in the value of black culture (past AND present). And while again I sympathise with the argument that blacks now are worse off value-wise than blacks in the past…the central argument we are making NOW deals with black white comparisons. So if black culture is to blame, this indicates that black culture is inferior to white culture. This is LaShawn’s position as I understand it.

You refer to quantitative data. While there is indeed a place for qualitative data, with arguments like this, quantitative data that allows us to parse out cause and effect is very important.

Neither Ogbu nor McWhorter have ANY quantitative data. McWhorter actually doesn’t have qualitative data either. So when you refer to Ogbu’s data it is hard to know what you are referring to here.

And again I have to emphasize the importance of trends. Finding that one school out of 11 exhibits the trait under study signifies a trend going in the opposite direction. Correct me if I am wrong (PLEASE), but from what I understand of Ogbu’s work, Ogbu is making a claim that oppositional culture is PERVASIVE!

If it is so pervasive why is it only found in 1 school out of 11? Why isn’t there proof of it in the longitudinal study? What there is proof of is a GAP–but the gap can possibly be explained by many different theories. The trick is finding one (or a combination of them) that trumps the others in simplicity and in efficiency.

The oppositional-culture argument doesn’t meet either standard. I don’t see how it could.

Was it on the Brookings site?

Yes.

Lester, of course other other factors play a part. A culture can’t exist in isolation from the rest of society. So I have already mentioned poverty, lousy school administrations, and white liberals among other things that contribute to the negative results we are seeing. As for inferiority, every culture can be better adapted to some situations. The fact is that in too many schools today, black students have not adapted to the demands of literacy and nummeracy needed for broad based and sustained growth of income and assets in the US. Problems adapting are nothing unique with blacks. The white Irish had their problems along these lines and so by the way did the Jews, whose dismal scores on Army intelligence tests during WWI, caused some racists to howl with glee at the “inferiority of the Semitic races”. But over time this situation changed, as both Jews and Irish immigrants became better adapted.

You say neither Ogbu or McWorther have any quantative data. This is simply false. The Duke study itself refers to the 1986 work of Ogbu and Fordham, along with OTHER research supporting Ogbu (Herbert, Bergin and Cooks, Ford and Harris, Weissert et al).

The Duke study found the oppositional culture in ALL the schools, with it being most visible when black kids had to compete against whites in advanced classes, classes they felt were “legitimately the property of whites”. The Long. Survey found evidence of negative attitudes among all students. It never went on to ask why black students were doing so much worse on crucial performance tests when other races also had negativity. But Ogbu did look at those crucial performance tests. And it is not only Obgu. The Duke study itself lists at least 7 research studies supporting Ogbu and McWorther. We can quibble with all the research referenced as to their methods, etc., point to conflicting research, and as we have done in this thread, and rebuttals to the conflicting research. But even if you don’t deal with any research, the evidence before the eyes of any concerned black person today shows that something is seriously wrong in black education.

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Darkstar, your Survey found negativity. OK fine. Call it whatever you will, but the bottom line is unchanged as detailed in 3 previous posts. Also you mention socio-economic factors. Again OK, but it still does not change the bottom line.
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Triticale, it may well be true that SOMEWHERE, white racists consider it impossible that black students could excel in school, and that indeed such performance is only possible if you are white. Fair enough. They are out there.

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Dick, the line of excellence you mention is EXACTLY what LaShawn has been preaching all this time. W.E.B Dubois lauded the works of Shakespeare, Moses, Volitaire, Aristotle, etc because they helped him develop intellectually. Jim Crow could force him to the back of the bus, but it couldn’t stop him from reading. He didn’t dismiss them because the were “dead white males.”

I realize that I am joining the conversation late, but I see that a certain irony has not yet been noted. Back in the time of slavery, education was forbidden to blacks, making it a “white thing.” Therefore, education was highly prized. Now, with freedom, education is still seen as “other,” but it is other blacks who are standing in the way. Irony is often painful.

Andy, you got my point correct, but not the gender (something I have to accept as a price of nicknonymity).

What better way to hold down a group of people than to convince them not only to tie their identity to that group rather than to think and act as individuals, but to convince them that the proper way to manifest that identity is to hold themselves down.

What better way to hold down a group of people than to convince them not only to tie their identity to that group

I guess you choose to ignore the historical context?

Who placed Blacks in a group as the first place?

Who, then, says Blacks should model themselves after Jewish people or some of the recent immigrant GROUPS?

sorry to double-post, but I also wanted to add that while I disagree with alot of the assertions of Mr. McWhorter, I do see where he is drawing the conclusions from–I was accused of “acting” or “talking” “white” many times in my life, but that was not necessarily because I was achieving–there were plenty of other black students that were top ten percent and going to big name schools that never had to go through that. A large portion of how the students saw me had to do with how I perceived myself–I saw myself as black, but I did not associate myself with the media’s cultural identity for me, therefore, I acted differently than others. People will not always embrace things that are different from them.

Despite all of this, I agree that there is a problem, but I would never assert that blacks are “imagining” the injustices that they suffer today that result in their slipping back on the economical and cultural ladder. 300 years of physical and psychological oppression is not forgotten in one or two generations.