Comments on: The Acting White Myth

By: negrorage

negrorage — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 15:06:07 +0000

“LB: I guess I’d ask what ‘recognizing the problem is cultural’ has to do with your potential solutions.”

I would seek your opinion about potential solutions to this as well LaShawn Barber. Is this a ‘cultural’ problem?

By: AntMo

AntMo — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 04:57:36 +0000

After spending most of my jr. high school and high school years as usually the only black male in the class (even in inner city Oakland), I decided to pass up attending school at home and attend a black college in Alabama… One thing that will always stick with me is that even in some of the more difficult undergrad classes– organic chemistry,calculus, engineering and such… I was saw “cool” brothas and sistas excelling in these classes… After class you’d see these same folks on the Ave with their cars with beat and the whole nine… but hard at work studying later in the evening and in class. My point being… cool or not has nothing to do with it… These kids need to realize that there is nothing wrong with performing to their highest aptitude and still being the cool kids they may be.

By: michael

michael — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 20:07:58 +0000

I learned a long time ago that cool means basically not being afraid to be yourself and act and believe how you see fit, regardless of what anybody else thinks or does.

If you have to “act” like anything, then you aint cool.

I also agree that being cool is basically irrelevant to those with adult mentalities.

By: Dave in AZ

Dave in AZ — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 15:15:57 +0000

Good point Sistersophist,
I would add that there is probably a great deal of typical youthful “rebellion” wrapped up in the “acting black” look.
(Way back) in my day it was black leather, greased back hair, cigarette-on-the-lip, and of course the swaggering pimp walk all in the name of coolness and “rebellion.”

By: Bucktowndusty

Bucktowndusty — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 14:57:49 +0000

Jesus Robin, It appears I can’t make a simple point without getting the 3rd degree. I feel like Siskel and Ebert are peering down on me! I’m afraid to post again.

By: sistersophist

sistersophist — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 14:20:20 +0000

When I taught 6th grade for a number of years, I noticed that blacks “acting white” was not necessarily the predominant attitude. Mostly in our lower socio-economic suburban neighborhood, the white kids “acted black” in order to be cool. The baggier the pants, the strut in the stride, the exaggerated “ghetto” accent,the apparent unconcern for grades, all combined to present a cool black persona. Of course, these are stereotypes or charicatures of a race of people, but my students adopted it hook line and sinker in their quest to be cool.

By: Robin S.

Robin S. — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 13:19:17 +0000

Bucktowndusty,

You act like students coming to class with hangovers at WVU is a rare thing. When I was there, it often seemed I was the only one who hadn’t been out all night drinking.

By: Bucktowndusty

Bucktowndusty — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 13:17:42 +0000

My point was not that drinking is “cool”. That’s why I put the word in quotes. I was mocking the notion of coolness. Drinking causing nothing but bad. My point was, you don’t have to be nerdy or white to do good in school. People need to balance their social side with their academic side – yin yang.

By: Bucktowndusty

Bucktowndusty — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 13:09:00 +0000

Hey Allen, I’d break every rule LaShawn has on profanity towards you if I could. I know drinking isn’t cool. My whole point was that you don’t have to be nerdy – or white – to do good in school. We balanced our social side with our academic side.

By: Lockjaw the Ogre

Lockjaw the Ogre — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 13:08:28 +0000

Scott Peterson gets lifetime imprisonment. Saying he got the death penalty is hard to justify, considering California’s treatment of that penalty.

By: Jim R

Jim R — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 11:49:13 +0000

Ouch!

By: Allan

Allan — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 06:00:36 +0000

At what age did you finally learn that being “cool” is utterly irrelevant? I know some 50+ folks who haven’t learned it yet.

By: Bucktowndusty

Bucktowndusty — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:48:58 +0000

LaShawn, In college (WVU) my brother, friend, and I sat in the very back row of calculus class. We’d come into class hung over and everybody knew it – including the teacher who would give us tests, call out out names and grades afterwards, and make the students walk to the front of class and get their papers. Our three grades averaged 99%; in fact, I didn’t even have to take my final due to my 100% average. The point is, we all were white, but we didn’t “act white” while we kicked all the other nerds butts, grade wise. Anybody can kick butt, and still remain “cool”.

By: tvd

tvd — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 22:41:35 +0000

SCSI:

Not yet.

Salim:

Being black “is” cool. At least, I always thought so

By: Salim

Salim — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 22:25:37 +0000

An interesting corollary is the cultural perception of blacks among white youths. My little brother is in middle school in a very wealthy urban town (Brookline) in Massachusetts, and his 6th grade class is probably 40% Jewish, 40% Anglo, 10% Asian, and 10% Black. I asked him once whether he was popular, and he said:

“Not really. If you’re black, then you’re popular. If you’re friends with black kids, then you’re kind of popular. If you’re just white, you’re not popular.”

With only one black friend, he didn’t score very high on the “coolness” chart. The perception among the pencil-necked, Harvard-bound Brookline kids that being black is equal to being “cool” is a testament to some seriously twisted stereotypes on TV and elsewhere in youth culture.