“Why are you talking white’?” Even as a child I was always troubled by this question from fellow African-Americans. By “talking white” I assumed my peers were referring to the fact that I generally used Standard English. But what is “white” about that? To me it always suggested a type self-hatred or mentality of low expectations that I never really understood. Why should good grades, articulate speech, college degrees, and all the perks that come with a stable, high-paying job exist solely in the realm of “white folks?”

I was fortunate in that in my small Indiana town in the 1970s this question was posed to me by my fellow black classmates with a tone that was one more of curiosity rather than open hostility. But with today’s African-American youth sadly there are reports of black students who speak Standard English and strive for academic excellence being ostracized or in some cases even threatened with physical violence for the supposed sin of being an “Oreo”.

Even President Barack Obama has not been immune to these criticisms. During the primaries, then fellow candidate Joe Biden paid Obama a rather backhanded compliment praising him as being “articulate, bright and clean.” Some African-American political leaders even wondered whether Obama was “black enough” to adequately represent African-Americans.

The problem, I think, is connected to the fact that, in this country of immigrants, African-Americans represent the only ethnic minority who were not allowed to hold on to our traditions and heritage in any meaningful way. Alex Haley’s, Roots graphically depicts the concerted efforts of white slave masters to strip black slaves of every vestige of their African identities and culture. While other immigrants may make the conscious decision to voluntarily assimilate into the great American melting pot, only African-Americans have been forced to renounce their pasts completely. And because slaves were considered chattel, rather than human beings even the process of researching the family tree of an African-American family is much more difficult than for our white counterparts.

This eradication of heritage and culture has bred a tremendous amount of resentment among blacks. In the book, “Civil War America: Voices from the Home Front”, author James Alan Marten describes the poignant and heartbreaking scene of newly emancipated former slaves taking to the roads in an often vain attempt to locate family members who had been sold to other plantations years, sometimes even decades, previously. The image of parents, children and siblings wandering aimlessly in search of their lost loved ones is one that I doubt many modern day whites ever consider when they dare to admonish African-Americans to “stop whining about the ancient history of slavery and just get over it.”

When African-Americans view slavery, Jim Crow and even the injustices that occurred in the 20th century prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 there is often a very real sense of having been robbed; not necessarily only monetarily but also in the sense of being victims of the ultimate form of “identity theft.” This is my theory behind why many African-American young people are rejecting Standard English, academic achievement and the social norms of what they perceive to be “white culture.” The pose of disaffected apathy is not a sign of intellectual deficiency or even a lack of moral character, but rather a deliberate attempt to rebel against those who are perceived to be “thieves” guilty of stealing much of African-American history. And African-Americans who do embrace the values of education, Standard English and a strong work ethic are considered traitors and sellouts, guilty of “sleeping with the enemy” for nothing more than personal gain.

Adding to the problem is simply the physical and social distance that now tends to exist between more highly educated middle class African-Africans and their lower income, rural or inner city counterparts. When I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s our racially mixed neighborhood included black citizens of various socioeconomic levels. My father was a firefighter and my grandfather a steelworker. We had one neighbor who pumped gas and worked part-time at a black owned funeral home. But there were also black people with college degrees and advanced technical training as well including a junior high school science teacher and his registered nurse wife and a lady who taught pre-med students at the university and her auto mechanic husband. When my parents said, “Work hard and do well in school so that you can have a good life,” it wasn’t just empty words. There were concrete examples everywhere to corroborate that story and as a result my sisters and I were encouraged to strive for more because we saw clear evidence that “more” was indeed possible.

But if we observe the desolate landscape of urban blight that represents far too many of our urban, African-American neighborhoods today, is it any wonder that young black people look at the prospect of committing endless hours to academic study or vocational training and think, what’s the point?

Perhaps the key is in the African-American church where blacks of various income levels are still most likely to cross paths. Churches and their well educated black members would do well to work together in designing mentoring programs for young African-Americans and perhaps their low income parents to provide the example not only of the true benefits of embracing Standard English and main stream values, but also in demonstrating ways in which African-Americans can develop and maintain a sense of possessing a separate and unique cultural identity without sacrificing opportunities for personal success.

Often as the lone black face in college prep and Advanced Placement level classes in high school I can remember nurturing my “Black Pride” in far less self-destructive ways than turning my back on Standard English. In my literature classes I always made it a point to choose books written by black authors or biographies of famous African-Americans any time I needed to present an oral book report. I sought to systematically educate my white classmates on the accomplishments of people like Julian Bond and Malcolm X and to introduce them to the works of Toni Morrison and Langston Hughes. Similarly, in my history classes I would work hard to make sure that the stories of African-Americans were introduced into the discussion. Even though our textbooks at the time did not include the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in the chapters concerning the Civil War I always managed to find a way to work it in to the classroom discussion. When we reached the chapters on World War II I remember doing a report on President Harry Truman’s controversial decision to desegregate the armed forces. In my senior economics class when I had to do a report on entrepreneurship I chose Madame C. J. Walker the first African-American female millionaire and her empire of hair care products, much to the surprise of my teacher, whom I’m not entirely convinced knew who Madame C. J. Walker was before hearing my report.

And even though I was part of the “white classes” (aka college prep) academically, I was still happily accepted at the “black table” in the cafeteria, in part, I think because of my reputation for being willing to “represent” the accomplishments of blacks whenever I had the opportunity. Although there were times when I worried that my attempts to showcase black achievement in my classroom activities were pitifully small and most likely futile I do remember one time when I was quietly encouraged. I was sitting with a group of black girl friends at school and a new girl had just transferred to our school. As I sat describing a great book that I was reading that had to do with the Underground Railroad the new girl said to me, “How come you sound so “white”?” But before I could answer another friend spoke up and said, “She doesn’t sound “white” she just sounds smart!” And later she reassured me, “Don’t feel bad; I like seein’ you up there on National Honor Society and shit, with all those white kids. It kinda makes the rest of us feel like we could do something too.”

Those are the kind of affirmations that young, high achieving African-Americans continue to need today if we ever hope to turn this disturbing trend around.

References:

Coates, Ta-Nehisi Paul. “Is Obama Black Enough?” Time, February 1, 2007.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1584736,00.html

Marten, James Alan. “Civil War America: Voices from the Home Front.” ABC-CLIO, 2003.

Matus, Ron. “Studying’s Reward: Stigma.” St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay Times, December 5, 2005. http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/05/Tampabay/Studying_s_reward__st.shtml