We must eradicate the slander
that says a black youth with a book
is acting white.”
Barack Obama
Racism, poor diets, crime, lousy schools, bad parenting, high unemployment, obesity, high-blood pressure, diabetes, HIV AIDS—wow! You would think that, as African Americans, we had enough problems on our plate. But on top of all those problems, many African Americans have added another problem.
That problem is the notion of “Acting White.” It is a notion that has hampered our progress for decades. Students don’t apply themselves, because for some inexplicable reason, being smart isn’t cool. If smart isn’t cook, then is being dumb the “new cool?”
In the ‘hood, Blacks can be accused of “acting white” all because they enjoy reading, how they dress, how they speak, whether they love math and science, and so forth.
So, in some circles, if a black person uses proper grammar, rather than speaking in slang, fragments or broken English, that person is likely to accused of “acting white.” It’s as if speaking like an uneducated person is authentically black.
Other groups in America don’t deal with the notion of “acting white.” They know no group has a monopoly on learning or ambition.
We must be smart about issues like this. For starters, we should ask who benefits if education and learning among African Americans is discredited as “acting white?” Only the enemies of black people will benefit if believe the pursuit of education is “acting white.”
Immigrants from India, Asia, Europe and Africa come to this country, and they’re not sidetrapped by nonsense. Neither they nor their parent think they’re acting white by passionately pursuing education.
Consider the case of Kwasi Enon. He’s a young Ghanaian immigrant who received scholarship offers from the eight Ivy League schools: Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell, and Pennsylvania.
As is often the case with high-achieving students, Kwasi’s parents were heavily involved. His father said, "People think Kwasi is like an angel or somebody who was sheltered. Really, we gave him a lot of freedom, even though at the same time we were very strict with him in terms of academics and the way he behaved. “We only pray that going forward he will stay focused and not be distracted.
“I tell him academically, performance-wise, school-wise, you’ve got to stay at the top of the game. He’s been disciplined; he’s been trained; he’s been guided. We’ve motivated him.
“We’ve directed him to be a high achiever. And he knows this is what’s expected of him. No two ways.
“He has no choice. The choice is to do well, and it’s ingrained in his head that he’s going to perform and be a leader. . . So he knows what he has to do . . . He’s coming from a smart family. We are motivating him to do well.
“I tell him you’re not going to see the rewards now. You’re going to see them in the future. Be patient, and sacrifice. Every kid is special, but if they do the right things, they can get to where he is.”
Rather than seeing the pursuit of education and wanting to be the best as “acting white,” let us learn a thing or two from Enon’s father.