This will cover my view on the popular belief that Black kids believe being studious is "acting white."
I don't think that is the case at all. The media and certain pundits are too lazy to do the real intellectual hard work to track down what is really happening. Now, I'm not saying that some Black students have not accused other Black students of "acting white." But this so-called "anti-intellectualism" is not anti-intellectualism but may be a strong case of jealousy. Aren't the few kids who use this term, not performing well in school? I think an investigation would show this to be the case.
It may not be about "anti-intellectualism" vs. a student standing out as different.
But, at this point, this is just conjecture on my part. Here is where I present research to show that the "acting white" charge may be overblown.
First, a relevant post on "Acting White".
Second, an earlier study on "Acting White" titled, The Burden of "Acting White": Do Black Adolescents Disparage Academic Achievement? This study comes to the conclusion that the "Acting White" charge does not discourage academic achievement.
Third, a recent study titled An Empirical Analysis of "Acting White" comes to the conclusion that the "Acting White" charge doesn't affect Black students in segregated [ Black ] schools or private schools. There is some evidence that it does affect Black students in integrated schools.
An honest reading of these should cause the reader to start to question the "common knowledge" of the "Acting White" mentality.
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