Politically Incorrect Item ID: #441Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of DesegregationProduct Information:
Item DescriptionCommentators from Bill Cosby to Barack Obama have observed the phenomenon of black schoolchildren accusing studious classmates of acting white.” How did this contentious phrase, with roots in Jim Crow-era racial discord, become a part of the schoolyard lexicon, and what does it say about the state of racial identity in the American system of education? The answer, writes Stuart Buck in this frank and thoroughly researched book, lies in the complex history of desegregation. Although it arose from noble impulses and was to the overall benefit of the nation, racial desegegration was often implemented in a way that was devastating to black communities. It frequently destroyed black schools, reduced the numbers of black principals who could serve as role models, and made school a strange and uncomfortable environment for black children, a place many viewed as quintessentially white.” Drawing on research in education, history, and sociology as well as articles, interviews, and personal testimony, Buck reveals the unexpected result of desegregation and suggests practical solutions for making racial identification a positive force in the classroom. (20100603)
Item Reviews5 Responses to “Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of Desegregation”Leave a Reply |
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This book lacks credibility because it was written by a white guy. He has not earned the right to put forward this hypothesis. Only a black person would have credibility with this idea. If a leading black spokesperson or black educator steps forward to endorse this view, then and then only might it be worth examining. As it is now, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
What an amazing book. As a teacher, I see this attitude on a daily basis. This book is a must read for educators as well as parents.
…or does every SINGLE review by Publishers’ Weekly of a “conservative” book include sneering and name-calling?
Buck takes an insightful look into a very real educational issue in our culture today. Acting White is a powerful tool for those who want to understand why a major portion of our society is willing to accept an inadequate education. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in improving our nation’s education system.
Careful research, thought-provoking analysis, and engaging storytelling are the touchstones of this wonderful book on a little-researched topic. Buck clearly and succinctly outlines the problem (African-American students underperform their Anglo counterparts even when accounting for socio-economic status) and his stab at the cause (because they see succeeding academically as “acting white”). After presenting the research on the “acting white” phenomenon, he then takes the reader on a journey through the pre- and post- segregated south, highlighting that while the injustices of segregation were egregious, they galvanized a community around schools for their children. When these powerful institutions were destroyed during integration, the unintended consequence of making black students feel like guests in the white schools into which they were forced caused a change in their psyche. They were in someone else’s world, taught by predominantly white teachers, led by predominately white administrators, and separated from the close-knit, supportive community that their former schools had been. Thus, succeeding in this foreign environment was seen as betrayal of their race and institutions, and to this day, as something black students feel threatened to do.
In no way, shape, or form, should it be believed that Buck makes segregation into some golden age that was ruined by integration. Rather, he states that in such difficult times, the African-American communities of the South rallied around education in a way that modern, integrated schools do not. In a way, he states, integration threw the baby out with the bathwater. It is only after we recognize these problems that we can hope to develop solutions to the achievement gap in American education.
This book is a must read for historians, sociologists, educators, community leaders, parents, and policy makers, as failing to learn this history and its unintended consequences only dooms us to repeat it.