In “How to Understand Acting White” Richard Thompson Ford comes to the conclusion that desegregation is the cause of the derogatory phrase acting white. Black students are verbally attacking other black students for conforming to what they see as the expectation of white society. Another writer Alfred Lubrano touches on some of the issues in Ford’s writing in his book “How College Corrupts”. The main ideas of Lubrano’s article can be interpreted to give a new perspective to Ford’s article on “understanding the concept of acting white”. By showing a similar struggle with the loneliness of academic excellence, Lubranos article further exemplifies similar attitudes in Ford’s writing. Lubrano's article also facilitates a new layer to the concept …show more content…
of acting white,it displays reactions to feelings of rejection from the ingroup when characters dared to do something different. Lubrano’s book then advances topics in “acting white” by pointing out how rejection of education isn’t only attributed to black students, a concept which proves the “root cause” of acting white as deeper. The anecdotes in “How College Corrupts” can help explain acting white in Ford's article by showing examples of what’s considered acting white.
The stories in “How College Corrupts” show disconnects between the academic life and social lives of students.Lumbrano states “Books were establishing a disharmony between the classroom and Rodriguez’s house. Preoccupation with language and reading is an effeminacy not easily understood by workers. It sears your soul to finally decide to talk like your teacher and not your father. This works because acting white is attributed to academic pursuits which creates a feeling of alienation from the people closest to you. Lumbranos gives a story that can be tied to the concept of acting white, to the rejection of the pursuit of education by “workers”. This adds clarity and support to the phrase “acting white” in Ford’s article by showing another way in which a character can be seen as acting white.An example where books extablished a disharmony in Rodriguez’s …show more content…
household. The stories in Lumbrano’s article can also give further insight into acting white, by showing Ford that acting white can be an emotive phrase used by black students who feel rejected by other black students.
When Rita Giordano chose Syracuse in “How College Corrupts” her friends made remarks like “what do you do up there”, “don't you get home sick”.It wouldn’t be a stretch to tie these reactions to their feelings of rejection by Giordano. “Acting white” just like “stop snitching”, could simply be an human expression of anger for those who diverged from the group expectations.In “How College Corrupts” Lumbrano, notes “it was confusing to come home and see people thinking that you’re not doing what they’re doing, which meant you’re rejecting them…Don’t they see it’s still me?I wondered.I started feeling like,how do I coexist in these two worlds,college and home?”.Giordano’s friends just like black students in Ford’s article, felt rejected and saw her as different .Questioning her decisions can be seen as their form of calling her out as “Acting White”.Lubrano’s article displays a new way in which “acting white” can be percieved.One where black students are venting their fustrations at the rejection they felt, just like Giordano’s
friends. Finally readers can see that one of the aspects of “acting white”, rejection of education is not attributed to the black youth but can be applied to working class white youth. Acting white can just be a scapegoat word for the general attitudes about poverty and lack of opportunities.Lumbrano claims“They feel pressure from other working-class friends to not participate and are told that being educated is effeminate and irrelevant. Educators have long understood that minority children have these problems, says Finn”. But they rarely understand or see that white kids have similar difficulties.Being white does not mean a propensity to pursue academics, being educated might not be a white cultural thing. White kids seem to have the same problems of academic rejection,they also see it as effeminate and irrelevant.White students also see education as inconsistent with their identities. This can prove that “acting white” is more complex than race,which adds a further perspective to “acting white”. In conclusion Alfred’s book can unintentionally become a reference point in Fords article,ideas can be correlated back to Fords article.Ford can point at Lumbrnao’s articles as a reference point for rejection of education.Although,after reading Lumbrano’s article he can find the use of the phrase acting white as applicable to a wide range of races.And the word as simply a response to the human feeling of rejection.Either way Ford looks at it it,acting white is still a ludicrous idea or it lacks the clarity that makes it such a ruinous idea.
In 1994 Renown College Professor Nikki Giovanni published a breath taking book that contains guidance to black college students on how to academically apply their selves in College, and she teaches them how to deal with the ignorance of white people from sharp tonged comebacks to gaining a Professors respect. Along the way The Article “Campus Racism 101” states Giovanni has acquired a tenure, she has a teaching position for life at the predominately white student body Virginia Tech. (Writing on the River 11) Nikki Giovanni’s “Campus Racism 101” gives advice to black students on how to succeed in College, appeals to Giovanni’s credibility, and appeals to the emotions of racism all in order to educate how black College students need to deal with ignorance on a College campus.
Worthern has created a sincere and serious tone to persuade her audience the importance of etiquette. The use of word choices like “stand up”, “vigilant defense” and “protect” shows her passion of establishing etiquette to include the “disempowered minorities” as well as to be the “guardians of civilization” due to the positive and protective connotation of the words. She also adopts a calming and informative tone to explain the significance and historical background of maintaining a respectful environment for both students and professors instead of creating an authoritative tone to doctrine and warn the students to discontinue their improper behavior. On the other hand, Wade adopts a demanding and sarcastic tone insisting upon the reader the proper behaviors of college students through colloquial language. The use of colloquial language although is effective because Wade’s intended audience is direct to students, she begins her list of “10 Things Every College Professor Hates” by the admonitory word “Don’t” which creates a satiric mood for the whole article. Wade coerces the reader to admit and accept her argument by appealing to the audiences’ guiltiness and criticizing the audience’s behaviors in academic environment. For example, “No, you didn’t miss anything
From beginning to end the reader is bombarded with all kinds of racism and discrimination described in horrific detail by the author. His move from Virginia to Indiana opened a door to endless threats of violence and ridicule directed towards him because of his racial background. For example, Williams encountered a form of racism known as modern racism as a student at Garfield Elementary School. He was up to win an academic achievement prize, yet had no way of actually winning the award because ?The prize did not go to Negroes. Just like in Louisville, there were things and places for whites only? (Williams, 126). This form of prejudice is known as modern racism because the prejudice surfaces in a subtle, safe and socially acceptable way that is easy to rationalize.
Tim Wise’s book White Like Me provides a picture of what it is like to be white in America. A main topic covered in White Like Me is white privilege. On pages 24 and 25 Wise illustrates what white privilege is and shares his opinion regarding how to address white privilege in society today. Wise’s plan for addressing white privilege is one not of guilt, but of responsibility, a difference Wise highlights. The concept of feeling guilty for white privilege lacks reason because white privilege is something built up through generations and its existence is not of any one person’s fault.
Even today, African American authors write about the prejudice that still happens, like Ta-Nehisi Coates. In his essay Acting French, Coates recalls when he studied the French language at Middlebury College. Despite all his efforts to integrate with his fellow students into French culture, yet another barrier reveals itself. “And so a white family born into the lower middle class can expect to live around a critical mass of people who are more affluent or worldly and thus see other things, be exposed to other practices and other cultures. A black family with a middle class salary can expect to live around a critical mass of poor people, and mostly see the same things they (and the poor people around them) are working hard to escape. This too compounds.” Because of the lack of black people available to look up to in scholastics, it makes it hard for black students to find the motivation to pursue interests in English or other
As a male student taking a women’s gender and sexuality studies class with an open mind, I was caught off guard with the article “White Guy Habits in the Classroom” by Michael Messner. He argues that female professors and professors of color are in a double bind with respect to their status as professionals, and also gives reasoning as to why an unpacking of straight white male privilege is important towards the move for social justice. Prior to the reading, I had no idea what to expect because the language in the title was unfamiliar to me, i.e. I did not know what habituas meant. Suddenly, I realized my perception of what a teacher is “supposed to look like” was being addressed and challenged. It was a shock to my psyche because there was never a consideration for the constructed image of a professor that already existed in my mind.
... individual occurs because [of] that individual’s membership in a particular group” revealing that a Puerto Rican’s identity as a Puerto Rican, as an immigrant, as a minority part of the lower class, racializes them, creating drawbacks that are arduous and can be impossible to overcome, as in the case of her cousin Nelson, who being just as smart as Sotomayor, is burdened with an addiction that restricts him from succeeding (Schuette 45; Sottomayor 106). In 1972, Princeton, a prestigious school, was dominantly populated by upper class white males, causing the culture and heritage of many Puerto Ricans and other minority students to clash with dominantly white, upper class culture of the prestigious university. Therefore, race, considered in a historical frame of reference, reveals that Puerto Ricans cannot help but unearth the multiple privileges and opportunities
Since 1945, in what is defined by literary scholars as the Contemporary Period, it appears that the "refracted public image"(xx) whites hold of blacks continues to necessitate ...
Helga’s first indication of racial conflict revolves around her occupation as a teacher at Naxos. Not so much with her fellow teachers or the other staff, but with the core concepts and principles of the school itself. Helga admits that she has had trouble fitting into the “Naxos mold” (Larsen 10). She describes this failure to conform as “a lack somewhere,” stemming from “parts of her she couldn’t be proud of” (Larsen 10). These subtle hints show Helga’s conflict with racial discomfort. She strongly disagrees with the southern school’s values and ways of thinking. Helga feels that the school had become “a showplace in the black belt, [an] exemplification of the white man’s magnanimity, [and a] refutation of the black man’s inefficiency” (Larsen 8). In her opinion, this institution of le...
This power keeps the behavior of the oppressed well within the set guidelines of the oppressor (Freire, 2000, pg. 47). Critical Race Theory outlines this system of oppression as it relates to white and non-white races. By using the critical race theory coupled with the system of oppression described by Freire (2000), I propose that within the system of oppression, the oppressor must keep its own members in line with the prescribed guidelines by reinforcing the social norms from birth. Freire (2000) suggest that the interest of the oppressors lie in “changing the consciousness of the oppressed not the system” (pg.34). Identifying as white, therefore, starts at birth when members of the white class work to reinforce social norms that began with our founding fathers at Plymouth Rock. This long history of white privilege was taught to me and I continue to teach it to my children. As an educator of white affluent high school students, I believe we provide college and career counseling based on this white privilege system of oppression as well. Here, I journey even closer to unraveling the myth of white privilege as I encounter the intersection of an affluent white student choosing a career after high
Present-day debates over racial issues are often viewed on television or in everyday life. When considering The Souls of Black Folk, the readers in the Twentieth-Century America can draw direct parallels to events, stories, and the stories of those in the past to today. The chapter "Of the Coming Of John" helps us interpret the present inequities in educational opportunities. There is also resentment for affirmative action that has been spoken by the dominant white male that reflects the court decision on affirmative action of modern time. The reader can contemplate the passage of Du Bois' essay to substitute the words "colored" and "Negro" with African-American, Nigger, illegal alien, Mexican, inner-city dwellers, and other meanings that articulate people that are not listed as a majority.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Sue both demonstrate from their research that Whites do not comprehend the impact of their unconscious biases. These biases towards students of colour in a white-based post-secondary school environment can result in stress and weak interracial relationships. This is an issue since the significance of these everyday actions is not fully recognized and acknowledged. I will elaborate on a variety of examples, specifically the influence of the peers, and faculty.
In public schools, students are subjected to acts of institutional racism that may change how they interact with other students. In the short story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by Packer, readers are allowed to view firsthand how institutionalized racism affects Dina, who is the main character in the story. Packer states “As a person of color, you shouldn’t have to fit in any white, patriarchal system” (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere 117). The article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” by Brodbelt states “first, the attitudes of teachers toward minority group pupils” (Brodbelt 699). Like the ideas in the article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” Dina encounters institutionalized oppression on orientation day at Yale.
Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework that may be useful for examining how racial climate impacts the undergraduate experiences of African-American students on college campuses (Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore, 2010). CRT draws from a broad base of literature in sociology, history, ethnic studies, women’s study, and law (Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore, 2010). CRT consists of five elements: 1) the centrality of race and racism, and their intersectionality with other forms of subordination, 2) the challenge to dominant ideology, 3) the commitment to social justice, 4) the centrality of experiential knowledge, and 5) the transdisciplinary perspective (Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore, 2010). Applying CRT to education is different than other CRT applications as it challenges traditional paradigms, methods, texts, and separate discourse of race, gender, and class by showing how social constructs intersect to impact on communities of color (Murphy, Gaughan, Hume, & Moore,
Different social classes come with different perspectives and challenges, usually the belief is that higher society is much happier than those in the lower rank, but not including race into the education does not give all sides of that story. By evaluating parts in Cane by Jean Toomer, Quicksand and Passing by Nella Larsen, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston story of class and race is being told. Color and classism have gone hand in hand for many years and evaluating the lives of characters that are considered the lowest of the low and yet made it up the totem pole brings up an important discussion. The conflicting ideas of race and class actually encourage racism and ruin the lives of characters in the black bourgeoisie.