December 05, 2005

Considering Rick Badie's What is so 'unblack' about being intelligent?

Rick Badie’s article, “What is so ‘unblack’ about being intelligent?" sure struck a chord with readers who are dismayed about the peer pressure among black youth to avoid the pursuit of academic excellence in order to “keep it real” or “stay black”. The article and all of the comments that it generated are worthy reading. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/sharedblogs/ajc/badie/entries/2005/12/01/what_is_so_unbl.html?imw=Y

 

This subject is near and dear to my heart. I remember when I first stepped foot on the Stanford University campus as a freshman. I was shocked to discover this kind of are-you-black-enough judgment coming from many upperclassmen of the school's small black community. Evidently, my class was one of the first entering classes whose black population was comprised of mostly middle-class kids. And as we showed up with all of the trappings of affluence, we were immediately challenged about our “blackness”. Needless to say, the more we participated in “white” activities, the more we were considered trying to be white.

 

Posted by Gina Carroll at 17:45:54 | Permanent Link | Comments (4) |