Kaleab Haile

10/5/2014

Acting White
According to Fryer and his analysis conforms that acting white is a vexing reality; I totally agree, in addition to this
the problem not only in school but in our daily interaction, especially with the blacks. But I dont really know if I
can agree acting white was labeled to characterized academically inclined minorities; there are some factors I have
considered, but the major once is maybe the meaning of the phrase has completely turned its significance. In the
black community it means that the way we talk, the way we act, even sometimes but rarely when we go by the
books even the kind of sport we play all of this could make me labeled as acting white.
I read an article once about blacks from Africa; it gave an excellent explanation which I made me to
disagree, what president Barack Obama suggested. Reading books, getting good grades is perceived as acting
white. With one thing in mind which I am not in Africa, but the mind set never change. Because, in many African
culture and family households; if you are not doing well in school, it is more likely than not to be disowned.
Therefore, I will join my thought summarizing what John McWhorter said; contrasts African American youth
culture with that of immigrants who havent sabotaged themselves blaming acting white in a racist society
attend to do well.
After reading the account of students popularity, it is true that acting white remains a genuine issue even
worthy of getting attention by the president. According to the reading this is the third time which the problem
surfaced with a new look underlying the relationship between popularity and achievement. High achieving black
student actually more popular than whites within their race. I dont agree or disagree on this point but I do feel
that maybe this is one sided study; it goes on to say Hispanics lose popularity at an alarming rate? It does not even
make sense. But if this is true it is a very big problem to our feature generation.

In the objections one thing is mentioned; could high achieving minority students be more socially isolated? Well
again if this is true; how can this be? If high achieving black student gain more popularity, how can he be isolated?
But regardless of the race,, high achieving students are able to cultivate friendship.
There are always two sides to any issue, when we talk about this social self sabotaging disease; can we use this
as a motivator, self evaluator? When whites provide blacks with inferior schooling, we see many blacks are high
achieving students. Whites impose job ceiling and fail to reward blacks for their achievements. Blacks began to
doubt their own intellectual ability, began to define academic success as white peoples prerogative. This is a wide
spread cultural problem not only in academic but in many ways. But at the end in my conclusion even thou it is
hard we can always rise about any self sabotaging whether we call it culture,, disease whatever it maybe, when we
think about thinking and know the direction and path we take in life it settles all matter.