Fear of 'acting white' is 'not the issue'

A helpful distinction that I make in my own work that I think would help here is distinguishing between students’ rejection of, and antipathy toward, schooling and not education or achievement. By this, I refer to how children, esp. children of color and the poor, are objectified, treated like objects. Why should they bear the burden of change for their institutionally imposed isolation in pre-AP classes or in classes that otherwise accentuate their minority status? -Angela

Published: Oct 12, 2005
By PATRICK WINN, Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL -- Fears of being mocked for "acting white" don't cause many black students to avoid good grades or advanced classes, according to a new study.
But too often, the study says, educators use the "acting white" excuse as a cop out, an explanation for why black students don't score as well on average as whites.

Straight-A students of all races are equally susceptible to the "geek" or "stuck-up" label, according to the report, published in August in the American Sociological Review.

"This is a society that puts social pressure on high achievers to put their halo under a rock," said William Darity, a UNC-Chapel Hill professor who helped conduct the study. "That's not unique to black kids."

With UNC-CH professor Karolyn Tyson and Duke University researcher Domini Castellino, Darity studied interviews with 120 students of different races from eight North Carolina schools.

They chose schools from urban, suburban and rural settings. Some were mostly black, some mostly white, and others roughly equal.

The labels sometimes varied. High-achievers might be called "preps" in one town and "high and mighty" in another.

But the researchers found only two black students -- both in the same school -- who feared that academic success would get them accused of "acting white."

"What kids talk about is not wanting to be called 'brainiacs,' " Darity said. "It's not as much about race ... but whether kids are seen as thinking they're better than everyone else."

Advanced classes

Though most black students interviewed were not afraid of the "acting white" insult, for some, advanced classes still brought on fear.

Fear of being overwhelmed by tough material. Fear of being the only black student in class.

Last year, Chapel Hill High School senior Al Mask was the sole black face in an Advanced Placement U.S. history course. Roughly 13 percent of the high school's students are African-American.

"Basically, black students feel alienated by that traditionally white environment," Mask said. "It's an issue of comfort. That's just human."

The "acting white" explanation, he said, is society's way of pointing fingers back at students instead of school leaders.

At Durham's Hillside High School, which is roughly 90 percent black, Principal Eunice Sanders said accusations of acting white "aren't an issue" for students.

Belonging to the school's rigorous International Baccalaureate program -- which puts students on a college-prep track -- is a source of pride, not shame, she said.

"We have kids who really jockey to be the top one in the class," Sanders said. "And there's nothing better than being known as both a good student and a good athlete."

1986 study

The "acting white" hypothesis was widely accepted by educators after a 1986 study called "Black Students' School Success: Coping with the 'Burden of Acting White,' " Darity said.

But the scientists who conducted that study, published in The Urban Review, didn't adequately back it up, Darity said, nor has anyone else.

"Our position is not that it never occurs," Darity said. "It's just that the context in which it occurs has never been looked at."


The study outlines three types of resistance to high achievement.

* A general fear of being called "dork" or "nerd" that crosses race and class boundaries.

* A race-driven "acting white" version of that fear, in which successful black students are afraid of being seen as traitors.

* A class-driven version, in which successful students fear lower-income peers will see them as "snobby."

The second version, according to the study, has "captured the sociological imagination." But it's far less common than most educators think, Darity said.

Mask, who is college-bound, agreed.

"We're not afraid of someone saying, 'He's acting white,' " Mask said. "That's not the issue. It's just a way for everyone to ignore the bigger problem."

Staff writer Patrick Winn can be reached at 932-8742 or pwinn@newsobserver.com.
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