Click Here For Closing The Race Gap Problem: Teens Shun Academic Achievement

madison.com | archives: Closing The Race Gap

Problem: Teens Shun Academic Achievement: "That great unmentionable 'something' is that we, through both our broad American culture and our 'African-American' subculture, impose on black children an identity that shuns intellectual pursuits. Any child who dares resist that identity, who says 'I love to learn,' will be brutally rejected. Nothing, not even the most prejudiced teacher, has created a greater barrier to my son's academic achievement than this cultural pressure. This racism, at once rooted in and nurtured by our culture, is institutional racism in its most powerful form.
How dare anyone try to tell my son who he must be, to strip him of his gifts? How dare they try to enslave him in an identity they have created for him? The culture does this to all children, turning boys in tough guys and girls into ornaments, but there is an added twist when the children are black. To gain friendship, to be considered 'hip,' even to be defined as a black man, my son must hide his brain."