OK, here's another piece that misstates the so-called "acting white" issue.
First, lets tackle a big lie:
The drop out rate isn't 50% for Blacks, country-wide. It's 50% for some urban areas.
Now, to this:
Obama’s daily presence in the White House finally may repel this foul tide. He also may unravel the “Acting White Syndrome,” wherein young black students who do homework and speak proper English are mocked for “acting white.” Light years more than white racism, this is the biggest cancer facing black Americans.
Obama himself told the 2004 Democratic National Convention that America must “eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white.”
The "acting white" charge, according to a Cook and Ludwig, is overblown. According to Roland Fryer, the "acting white" charge doesn't exist in private schools and --- NOW GET THIS --- in majority Black schools. Check out the "Acting White" category for the details about both of the things I mentioned.
I often state that people don't go deeper into the reasons why an "acting white" charge is thrown. For example, is it universal or only from certain students and how are the students who are saying it performing in school? My thought on this is when it is used, chances are it's thrown by students who aren't doing well in school and they are mocking the students performing well out of jealousy.
Or, it's being thrown because of mannerisms and/or likes of the person being called?
“Why you actin’ white?” I heard more times than I care to recall, usually uttered by pint-sized hoodlums who spoke exquisite jive and seemed destined for middle-management in the Crips or Bloods.
I think the above quote hints at mannerisms more so than academic efforts.
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