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'{{Good article}} In the [[United States]], '''acting white''' is a [[pejorative]] term, usually applied to [[African Americans]], which refers to a person's perceived betrayal of their culture by assuming the social expectations of [[white people|white society]].<ref name=next/><ref name=weigh/> [[Educational attainment in the United States|Success in education]] in particular (depending on one's cultural background) can be seen as a form of "[[selling out]]" by being disloyal to one's culture.<ref name=weigh/> The term is controversial, and its precise meaning is hard to define.<ref name=next/> Some minority students are discouraged from achieving in school by the negative prejudices of ethnic peers; such a view has been expressed in articles in ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'' magazine, and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''—and by public figures and academics across the political spectrum.<ref name=weigh/> ==History of usage== The question of whether or not "acting white" attitudes are prevalent has been debated in academic literature.<ref name=weigh/> The African-American comedian and media figure, [[Bill Cosby]], used the term in what became a noted [[Pound Cake speech|May 2004 speech]] when he challenged the black community against the idea that gaining education was "acting white".<ref name=paul/> Black people accused of "acting white" are sometimes referred to as '''Black Anglo-Saxons''', a term coined by comedian [[Paul Mooney (comedian)|Paul Mooney]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afropunk.ning.com/forum/topics/hollywood-a-harvester-of-coons|title=Hollywood|date=August 1, 2009|accessdate=August 10, 2009|publisher=[http://afropunk.ning.com/ Afro-punk]}}</ref> The 2008 election of [[Barack Obama]] as President of the United States resulted in a public discussion that the ''acting white'' attitude may be waning, as he represented a model of African-American achievement.<ref name=freak/><ref name=nerd/> ==Case studies and research== [[Image:Higher education in the US by race.svg|thumb|275px|The difference among social groups, both native and foreign born, in regard to those who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher (data from [[U.S. Census Bureau]]).]] Not all scholars define ''acting white'' in the same way. Most definitions include a reference to situations where some minority adolescents ridicule their peers for engaging in behaviors perceived to be characteristic of whites. In this scenario, they equate "white behavior" with high grades in school, a result researchers can quantify, but the term is not limited to this.<ref name=nber/> In 1986, Signithia Fordham co-authored with Nigerian sociologist [[John Ogbu]] a study that concluded that high-performing African-American students in a [[Washington, D.C.]], high school borrowed from hegemonic white culture as part of a strategy for achievement, while struggling to maintain a black identity. Ogbu made a related claim in his 2003 book, ''Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement,'' concluding that black students' own cultural attitudes sometimes hindered academic achievement and that these attitudes are too often neglected. Ogbu had earlier written in his seminal work ''Minority Education and Caste'' (1978), that school disengagement among caste-like minorities occurs because white society limits the job-success of their parents and others in their communities by a glass ceiling. In his new book, he said that non-whites "failed to observe the link between educational achievement and access to jobs."<ref>{{cite book |last= Carter|first= Prudence |title= Keepin' It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White |series=Transgressing Boundaries: Studies in Black Politics and Black Communities |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]], USA |year= 2005 |isbn= 0-19-516862-3|page=29}}</ref> In 1997 the scholars [[Philip J. Cook]] and Jens Ludwig published a report finding that blacks do not face any stronger social pressures than whites to succeed in school, nor do they have greater feelings of alienation towards education in general. They noted anecdotal and ethnographic research confirming that minority students hold these views, but they concluded that these are not inherently generalizable and do not substantially affect student behavior in the classroom. They labeled the issue "something of a distraction" from what they saw as more important educational reforms.<ref name=weigh>[[Philip J. Cook]] and [[Jens Ludwig]]. "[http://www.jstor.org/stable/3325737 Weighing the "Burden of 'Acting White'": Are There Race Differences in Attitudes toward Education?]". ''Journal of Policy Analysis and Management''. Vol. 16, No. 2 (Spring, 1997), pp. 256–78.</ref> Though Ogbu's 1978 study's conclusion was widely discussed, a 2003 work also challenged its validity. In 2003, Karolyn Tyson, a sociologist, and [[William Darity, Jr.]], an economist, of the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], conducted an 18-month study at 11 North Carolina schools. The study concluded that white and black students have essentially the same attitudes about scholastic achievement; students in both groups want to succeed in school and show higher levels of self-esteem when they do better in school. They compared attitudes identified as ''acting white'' to the normal [[adolescence|adolescent pains]] experienced in [[John Hughes (filmmaker)#Filmography|John Hughes' movies]].<ref name=paul>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/magazine/12ACTING.html?ex=1260594000&en=37bb3e44882a21bc&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland |publisher=''[[The New York Times Magazine]]''|title="Acting White" Myth, The|date=December 12, 2004|first=Paul|last=Tough|accessdate=August 10, 2009}}</ref> A 2006 study titled ''An Empirical Analysis of "Acting White"'' by [[Roland G. Fryer Jr|Roland G. Fryer, Jr.]], at [[Harvard University]] and Paul Torelli suggested that the phenomenon probably had little to no effect on students achieving at average levels, but might explain a significant role in the [[racial achievement gap in the United States|disparities between black and white students]] at high achievement levels.<ref name=nber>[[Roland G. Fryer, Jr.]] and Paul Torelli. [http://www.nber.org/papers/w11334.pdf "An Empirical Analysis of 'Acting White'"]. [[National Bureau of Economic Research]]. Working Paper 11334. Published May 2005. Accessed August 10, 2009.</ref> Fryer has also written that, in contrast to Fordham and Ogbu's theory, "acting white" prejudices are actually more common the more [[racial integration|integrated]] the school, with [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black schools]] free of any effects. He found that groups such as [[Italian-Americans|Italian immigrants]] in [[West End, Boston|Boston’s West End]] and the [[Māori people|Maori]] of [[New Zealand]] display similar behaviors. He concluded that there is necessarily a trade-off between doing well and rejection by your peers when you come from a traditionally low-achieving group, especially when that group comes into contact with more outsiders.<ref name=next/> A fundamental drawback of much of the research so far is that the people studied have been asked to rate their own [[popularity]] in the eyes of others, which naturally brings those scores into question.<ref name=next/><ref name=nerd/> Roland G. Fryer, Jr. has remarked, "Asking teenagers whether they’re popular is like asking them if they’re having sex."<ref name=nerd/> Stuart Buck, a lawyer, also explored this issue in ''Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of Desegregation'' (2010). He said that [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] black schools had featured teachers, counselors, and others of the same race as the student population, and the adults often acted as mentors to the students. Integration of many public schools since the mid- to late-20th century may have resulted in schools in which black students perceived they were controlled or dominated by whites. A black student trying to achieve high educational success may then be considered as trying to leave the minority group.<ref>{{cite web|title='Acting White': Stuart Buck interview|url=http://blog.beliefnet.com/roddreher/2010/05/acting-white-stuart-buck-interview.html#ixzz0sCDbjbjR|date=May 18, 2010|accessdate=June 28, 2010|author=[[Rod Dreher]]|publisher=[[Beliefnet.com]]| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100720194609/http://blog.beliefnet.com/roddreher/2010/05/acting-white-stuart-buck-interview.html| archivedate= 20 July 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> [[Margaret Beale Spencer]] and Vinay Harpalani (2008)<ref>Margaret Beale Spencer & Vinay Harpalani, What Does “Acting White” Actually Mean?: Racial Identity, Adolescent Development, and Academic Achievement among Black Youth, in MINORITY STATUS, OPPOSITIONAL CULTURE, AND SCHOOLING 222 (John U. Ogbu ed., 2008).</ref> argue that usage of the term "acting white" by black teenagers does not reflect their cultural values; rather, it is a manifestation of their racial identity development, experienced in conjunction with normal adolescent hassles and peer pressure. Spencer and Harpalani employ William E. Cross's (1991)<ref>Cross, W. E . (1991). Shades of Black: Diversity in African American identity. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.</ref> Nigrescence framework and contend that black teenagers' use of "acting white" in relation to academic achievement is similar to white teenagers' use of the term "nerd": the only difference is that black teenagers express it in racialized terms, as in addition to normal teenage peer pressure, they are grappling with racial identity and what it means to be "black". Expressions such as "acting white" may or may not reflect black teenagers' cultural values, and their usage is sometimes counterintuitive: for example, Ogbu (2003) himself documented one instance where a black teenage girl with natural hair was accused of "acting white" by her black peers because "like white people, she did not have to process her hair." These kind of examples show that accusations of "acting white" are not fundamentally about black cultural attributes (although such accusations may reflect these attributes). Rather, "acting white" is just a manifestation of racial identity development for black children and teenagers, who are learning and defining for themselves what it means to be "black"—in conjunction with normal adolescent peer pressure and hassles. That is also why such accusations are less common among black adults, who have come to greater resolution regarding racial identity issues. ==Commentary== [[File:BillCosby.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Comedian and media figure [[Bill Cosby]] brought the term to wider knowledge in a 2004 speech.]] Political observer [[John McWhorter]] has commented, "[t]eenagers have a variety of identities open to them for trying on anti-Establishment postures. White kids can be stoners or goths. Black kids can be 'nonwhite'." He interpreted those kids as black "[[nerd]]s". He stated that the ''acting white'' attitude developed as the creation of an "[[other]]" among newly [[racial integration|integrated]] African-American kids.<ref name=nerd/> In their 2003 study, Tyson and Darity said that school staff and faculty who hold racist attitudes about the ability of black students use the ''acting white'' disparagement as a cover for disparities in student performance.<ref name=paul/> [[Shelby Steele]] wrote in ''[[Shelby Steele#Books|The Content of Our Character]]'' that what he identified as [[Middle class in the United States|middle-class]] black [[Value system|values]] are falsely viewed by the majority of blacks as "white," while they are [[Color blindness (race)|colorblind]]. He argued that this attitude is distinct from other issues of young blacks in [[Poverty in the United States|poverty]].<ref name=weigh/> [[Kenji Yoshino]], a [[New York University School of Law]] professor, in his ''[[Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights]]'' (2006), criticizes social pressures to conform to mainstream white culture. He said this violated African Americans' civil rights, and they can uphold their own social distinctions. He said they should be able to freely choose to identify with white culture if they wish.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Kenji Yoshino]]|title=[[Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights]]|year=2006|ISBN=978-0-375-50820-2|publisher=[[Random House]]}}</ref> Anne Arnett Ferguson, a professor at [[Smith College]], wrote in 2001 that white culture "ruthlessly excludes African American cultural modes as relevant and meaningful". She highlighted the insistence in schools of [[standard English]] over [[Black Vernacular English]] as an example.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bad boys: public schools in the making of black masculinity|first=Ann Arnett|last=Ferguson|pages=204–205|ISBN=978-0-472-08849-2|year=2001|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]}}</ref> [[Clarence Page]] remarked on ''[[The News Hour with Jim Lehrer]]'' in 2004: {{quote|In African American folklore, the sea crab ranks among the dumbest of creatures who also offers a valuable lesson. When you catch a bucket or a basketful, you never have to put a lid on because when one of the creatures tries to get out, the others will just pull it back in. Some of our fellow human beings aren't much smarter than that. When they see you working hard to achieve your dreams, they'll make fun of you just for trying.<ref name=page>{{cite news|date=September 27, 2004 |title=Essay: Acting White |accessdate=August 10, 2009 |url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/essays/july-dec04/page_9-27.html |publisher=''[[News Hour with Jim Lehrer]]'' |author=[[Clarence Page]] |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522174354/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/essays/july-dec04/page_9-27.html |archivedate=May 22, 2009 }}</ref></blockquote>}} ==Accusations of "acting white"== ===Barack Obama=== Public figures arouse controversy. Before he was elected as President, Senator [[Barack Obama]], was criticized in 2007 as "acting white" by [[Jesse Jackson]] in relation to a specific case involving blacks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297332,00.html|date=September 19, 2007|accessdate=August 10, 2009|title=Report: Jesse Jackson Says Barack Obama "Acting White" in Case of Six Blacks Accused in Assault Case|publisher=[[Fox News]]}}</ref> Also before Obama's election, [[Ralph Nader]], a longtime activist, in 2008 characterized the senator as "talking white".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/25/nader-critical-of-obama-for-trying-to-talk-white/ |title=Nader: Obama trying to "talk white" |publisher=''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'' |accessdate=August 10, 2009 |first=M.E |last=Sprengelmeyer |date=June 25, 2008 |deadurl=unfit |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626145214/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/25/nader-critical-of-obama-for-trying-to-talk-white/ |archivedate=June 26, 2008 }}</ref> However, one must note that Obama is also a [[Mixed-race American]], with a [[European-American|White/European]] mother and [[Kenyan]] father; he also has [[Cherokee]] descent. Kenyans are a different ethnic group than the various groups modern day African Americans are descended from. Also, note that "talking white" is a form of a dialect. Who President Obama is speaking with may determine [[Code switching|the dialect he chooses to use]]. [[Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008|Obama's presidential victory in the 2008 election]] and [[Public image of Barack Obama|public image]] prompted a public discussion about whether he would shift the ground of critics of 'acting white.' Commentators [[John McWhorter]] and [[Stephen J. Dubner]] have said that it might.<ref name=freak>{{cite news|url=http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/will-there-be-an-acting-obama-effect/|title=Will There Be an "Acting Obama" Effect?|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'': [http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/ Freakonomics]|accessdate=August 10, 2009|date=November 7, 2008|author=[[Stephen J. Dubner]]}}</ref><ref name=nerd>{{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/52025/ |title=Revenge of the Black Nerd|author=[[John McWhorter]]|publisher= ''[[New York Daily News]]''|date=November 9, 2008|accessdate=August 10, 2009}}</ref> Yahanna of the [[Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge]], described by the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] as a [[black supremacist]] sect, did not consider Obama to be [[African-American|black]] but "African of white descent" and advised African Americans not to vote for him.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=''[[Esquire Magazine|Esquire]]''|url=http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/racists-support-obama-061308|title=Why White Supremacists Support Barack Obama|date=June 11, 2009|accessdate=June 29, 2010|first=David|last=Peisner| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100709042457/http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/racists-support-obama-061308| archivedate= 9 July 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Obama strongly criticized the idea that achievement was limited to "acting white" in his [[2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address|keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention]]. He said that "children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white.”<ref name=next>[http://educationnext.org/actingwhite/ “Acting White”]. By [[Roland G. Fryer, Jr.]] ''[http://educationnext.org/ Education Next]'', Winter 2006 (vol. 6, no. 1). Accessed August 10, 2009.</ref> ===Russell Wilson=== [[Seattle Seahawks]] football player [[Russell Wilson]] came under fire in 2014 when anonymous sources alleged that the feeling in the Seahawks locker room was that Wilson lacked "blackness." CBS Sports cited this conflict as a possible reason for the trading of star player{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}} [[Percy Harvin]] from the Seahawks to the [[New York Jets]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson |first=Ryan |url=http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24765777/reports-some-teammates-say-russell-wilson-isnt-black-enough |title=Reports: Some teammates think QB Russell Wilson isn't black enough |publisher=CBSSports.com |date= |accessdate=2015-10-28}}</ref> ===Matthew Clark III=== Socially conscious Texas Hip-Hop artist, Matthew Clark III addressed the diminutive effects African-American adolescents face when being accused of "Acting White" in his autobiographic song "Acting White" "<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCVH4Q97qp4</ref> " (2015). In his song he depicts the average struggles of young black children that don't fit the stereotypical mold society wishes to place them in. He describes the struggles of dealing with police harassment, being made fun of for dressing differently, enunciating his words, being accused of stealing in stores, and his aspirations to be like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ==See also== {{Portal|African American|Hispanic and Latino Americans|Sociology}} {{colbegin||25em}} *[[African American Vernacular English]] *[[Black shame]] *[[Race traitor]] *[[Educational attainment in the United States#Race]] *[[House Negro]] *[[Crab mentality]] *[[Orangie|Oreo]] *[[Miss Ann]] *[[Mister Charlie]] *[[Oppositional culture]] *[[Stereotype threat]] *[[Stereotypes of African Americans]] *[[Straight-acting]] *[[Tall poppy syndrome]] *[[Uncle Tom]] *[[Wigger]] *[[Shoneen]] *[[West Brit]] {{colend}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114327591 "Facing Identity Conflicts, Black Students Fall Behind"]. [[National Public Radio]]. Recorded November 1, 2009. *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/04/AR2005060400126.html "The Price of Acting White"]. By Richard Morin. ''[[The Washington Post]]''. June 5, 2005. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927002220/http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_5719.shtml "Study: ‘Acting White’ Accusation"]{{dead link|date=July 2016 }}. By David Pluviose. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090813174452/http://www.diverseeducation.com/index.asp Diverse]{{dead link|date=July 2016 }}''. April 5, 2006. *[http://www.springerlink.com/content/n508482060h051q0/ John U. Ogbu, "Collective Identity and the Burden of “Acting White”] in ''Black History, Community, and Education'', ''Urban Review'', Volume 36, Issue 1, pp.&nbsp;1–35, March 2004. {{White people}} [[Category:African-American culture]] [[Category:Cultural assimilation]] [[Category:Education terminology]] [[Category:African Americans and education]] [[Category:Race and education in the United States]] [[Category:Sociology of education]] [[Category:Education issues]] [[Category:Education policy]] [[Category:Politics and race in the United States]] [[Category:Social inequality]] [[Category:African-American-related controversies]]'