Im black (or as the goverment wants to call me African American), i like manga (japanese comics), anime, all types of music and reseaching different cultures. i cant dance, i try my best to avoid fights and arguments and when it comes to my clothes i usually cover up. people at my school tease me by saying that im an oreo (black n the outside but white on the inside), but i dont get it. they tell me i should act more black, but my questin is "what is acting BLACK". i think just because i dont like to be loud, swear, and do drugs doesn't make me less black.When i asked them what it means to act black they never give me an exact answer, they just say i shouldn't act so much like a white girl. Does it matter how i act to be apart of my race? Am i turing my back on my race because most f my friends are white? i mean isnt a friend someone you share commen interests with? i dont get how im not "acting" black? or is there such a thing as acting "black"?
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The author of the following asked that we pass along the following article (The Arrival of the Thrivals) to you. It answers some of the questions you've asked here.
http://www.mba.wfu.edu/apps/files/thrivals.pdf
"Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you." - Kahlil Gibran
"If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them." Isaac Asimov
keep being you! it really gets to me about the whole "black" personality. people wonder at why african americans get picked on all the time for their "attitudes". it's because they've made a name for themselves.
i think you should make a new name! screw what others expect from you! they should'nt even be expecting something specific from you! THERE SHOULDNT BE AN EXPECTATION IN THE FIRST PLACE. everyone has a right to individuality. you have a right to be you no matter your race, color, gender, etc.
SO BREAK FREE. BE YOU. TELL EVERYONE ELSE YOUR HAPPY TO BE OREO BECAUSE IT TASTES SOOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN THEIR IDEAS OF "BLACK" PRIDE. lol.
^_^ i'm rooting for you.
-jp
"To be great is to be misunderstood..." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I believe it is so racist for anyone of any culture to tell someone that they said "act black".
When you come to think of it those who say that sometimes think that all blacks are (like you said) loud, swear all the time. and wanting to fight.
I believe that everyone should just see that African Americans (blacks) are not the same. I believe how you act comes from within your household and also if you want to be characterised as everyone else.
You are just being yourself, screw what others think about you. I will be honest, I do hate when whites (mainly w/w) try to be and act black, that irks the sh*t out of me--and most of them did not grow up in projects or the hood. Many blacks do grow up in a descent environment, so they are exposed to being civilized and not ignorant. Why in the heck would some white person want to resort to acting ignorant amazes me--and I'm black. Just my opinion.
You've just contradicted yourself. You cangratulate the author on being herself and not following a racial stereotype, then you turn around and say you hate it when white people behave in a manner that goes against White stereotypes.
"I will be honest, I do hate when whites (mainly w/w) try to be and act black"
I would say that many are not necessarily trying to act Black, as they are trying to act 'ghetto'. If you end up in a predominantly white area, you will find middle class white youth trying to act like youth from the ghetto. For the record Black middle class youth do this too. In fact if they don't, they get called things like oreo.
White kids from middle class backgrounds try to emulate ghetto culture, because being from the ghetto or acting ghetto is the same thing as acting dangerous. The same way some middle class white youth become skinheads or punks. They are trying to communicate the same message; 'I'm dangerous, don't fuck with me'.
"Why in the heck would some white person want to resort to acting ignorant amazes me"
Some white people are ignorant, it's as simple as that. Cash and priviledge do not necessarily breed enlightenment, intelligence or civility, anymore than being part of a race does. Some White kids are just that; kids. They are young and experimenting with things, trying to make an identity for themselves.
Poverty and the lack of education that it facilitates, can breed ignorance and cause people to behave in an ignorant fashion, not a skin colour. Impoverished areas can sometimes be dangerous areas, because people are more desperate to survive there. This danger is compounded when they are surrounded by wealthy affluent areas, as the reminder of the disparity of wealth in America is rubbed in their faces.
Some kids look from poorer areas at wealthy ones and they don't see the opportunity for education and healthy living that lies there. They selectively see just the crassest part of what wealth affords; huge cars, massive homes, Crystal, Hennessy, gold everything, Hummers, decadent parties, diamonds, designer clothing etc.
Likewise many kids look from wealthy areas to poorer areas and they view it selectively; all they see is rap stars, forties, smoking weed, etc. They do not really see the hardship that goes with these elements. They don't see the living with no cash, the food stamps, the children with nothing to eat, the alchoholism, the real violence, the fear.
The divide is not racial, it's socio-economic. To test this theory, just round up a group of middle class Black kids from various areas and dump them out in the middle of the ghetto for a while, see how they relate to their 'brothers and sisters'. You can do the same with the White middle class kids, drop em off in a predominantly White area of a ghetto somewhere and see how well they relate.
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I am the people my mother warned me about.
You should just be you. Forget what others think about you. But the whole commnt about blacks swearing, and being loud is pretty much stereotyping your race. Not all blacks are loud and swear. For the most part white people swear and are loud also. I am black and Im not loud at all, I am very intelligent and present myself in a respectful matter so your stereotyping your culture just as much as the kids at your school are stereotyping you.
I agree totally. The one thing that gets me as a black male is people still saying "Acting Black." Im sorry but im 19, and been black my whole life but I still dont know how to act black. The term that needs to be substituted for acting black is acting ghetto, or actin like a nigger--an unlearned, illiterate, uncultured person. A nigger can be black, white, asian, hispanic, or whatever race. Also that comment posted about black people making a name for themself as ignorant, rambuncious , violent individuals-- as a white female you need not talk. Look at Brittany Spears, K-Fed, the Columbine Boys, All the serial rapist and killers. The only difference is our wrong doings get magnafied in the media and on tv yours don't. You faild to mention all the positive blacks such as King, Latemore (invented the lightbulb and pretty much everything that Thomas Edison stole and said was his own) X, Parks, West, Felder, and the list goes on and on.
just my thought when i finished reading naturelovers comment
acting "black" as you so call it does mean that you have to act ignorant. I like a lot of country music and wear polo shirts and I love my african american culture and embrace it. if white people choose to listen to music song by black artist and wear certain clothes, then let them. No race has to follow a certain guideline of how to act and what to wear.
I feel you, you should just be yourself.
Its all anyone can really ask of you.
P.S
the person that wrote this.
^_^ i'm rooting for you.
I just thought I would say that is just too cute I reminded me of a little kid for some reason idk im weird leave me alone lol =]
Change is eminent lets face it the world is in for a serious awakening
Be yourself. Middle class black youth who try to act 'Black', are really only trying to act 'Ghetto'. What they are doing is the exact same as middle class White kids who try to act 'Black'. Only a racist could believe otherwise.
What you are doing is acting in an educated and refined manner, if some Black people want to tell you that's actually acting 'White', then you might want to tell them to have a little more pride than that. If they aren't from the ghetto and insist on acting ghetto, tell them to go hangout with the wiggas, because a couple of weeks on the sunbeds is all that seperates the two groups from each other. Wiggas with tans, that's all they are.
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I am the people my mother warned me about.
First off, they probably mean try to give in to your culture, now that doesn't have to be the negative part. Being black, doesn't mean selling or doing drugs, or being loud, or nothing like that. (And alot of kids or teenagers in the 'ghetto' do that because they have to, they don't have alot of opportunities that alot of kids in the suburbs do, everything is not open to them, they have to go searching for those things, and plus some kids don't have the time to do that.) All African-American youth are not like as you are saying. I am just saying that you should explore different culture, be as you are, but embrace the positive things about your culture. You avoid arguements, you're not loud, that's cool. I know alot of kids that are black, who are like that, and one in particular...Me!! I am a non confrontational person, people think that I am weird, but some people like that and some people don't. And I don't really care, but if some one does something that truly gets to me, I will say something. I am not loud but I will surely get my point across. I explore different cultures also, I listen to all different types of music, learn about all different types of historians and countries, but I LOVE black history. (I was in a black history bowl in fifth grade) You seem like a cool person, so just be you, f**k what they say!
Please define what acting ghetto means.
Acting ghetto would involve acting in a manner that emulates characteristics that flourish in poor areas, where education, money and opportunity is at a defecit. Poverty breeds a toughness that is needed to survive, so acting ghetto is like acting tough in that respect. Poverty results in reduced educational opportunities, which results in ill-education, which in turn can foster ignorance. Poverty can lead to a lack of employment opportunities and descrimination in disadvantaged areas, so crime is an unnfortunate reality in ghettos, through gangs, dealers, stick-up kids and what have you. So in that respect, acting ghetto is acting dangerous.
For example, a kid who lives in a nice neighbourhood, who goes to a good school, who has good employment prospects has no reason to act tough or dangerous, yet some will dress in fashions that have originated in poorer areas from a culture that necessitates putting on a tough front so that you don't get walked over or taken for a joke. All over the Western world in poorer areas of cities it is commonly felt that the more educated you become and the more affluent you become, the softer you get, well, often it works the other way too; the poorer a person gets and the less education they get, the harder they get.
So I guess acting ghetto means acting in a manner that would be appropriate for integrating into a poorer, more hostile and disadvantaged area; Acting tough, loud and under-educated. If you were to look at say, Talib Kweli and listen to his music and message, you would find a very different expression of Black culture compared to what you would find listening to someone like Young Jeezy. Does that make Kweli less Black or Jeezy more ghetto?
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I am the people my mother warned me about.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tuffgong
My taste in music and the way I dress makes people say the same thing about me. Don't get me wrong I love being black, but I hate how black people get insulted by the stereotypes that most of us lead. So keep being yourself girl. We were born originals don't die a copy.
It's mostly sterotype. Although I don't know the true meaning of "acting black". You basically act according to your environment. If you live in the projects or the ghetto of course you might have to "act" tough to fit in in your neighborhood. But if that is not you, you are not going to "act" that way away from your hood. Just because your skin is a certain color does not mean you have to be a certain way. People should not treat people accordingly. My daughter loves japanese anime she always has and she goes to a mixed race school. I don't see her needing to "act" more black. She is who she is and you are who you are. If someone can not accept you for you don't associate with them.
I like to ski, ice skate,swimming, golf, volleyball and love sushi. I get good grades in school, I don't fight and I don't like rap. Do I consider the fact that I enjoy most activities that were once considered "white" past times, turning my back on my culture?? No!! I consider it to be turning to my heart to lead the way and you should too!!
Remember, if you are not true to your self, you can never be true to another.
First of all let me say that I to go through with you are feeling about acting "white". since i was in third being the only black girl in my class, my black friends tell me that i act and talk white (if there is even a such thing). I like all types of music from rap, to rock, to country. sometimes when my black friends see me listening to linkin park then i'm a white girl but I love lil boosie too.
Now to my point , you wrote "just because i don't like to be loud swear and do drugs does'nt mae me less black". That is true it doesn't, but you are making it seem like the majority of black people do drugs, are loud and swear. EVERYONE DOES THOSE THINGS. honestly in my school the rich white kids do most of the drugs and you would have a better chance of being there friends if you joined in. There are a lot of white people that swear and are loud. I would really prefer it if you would not label black people by saying that we do those things. you hate it when people say your white cause you do and like certain things, but you turn around and lable black people for doing certain things. the key to all this stop acting white and acting black thing is to stop believeing sterotypes.
I get the same speech from my FORMER friends who didnt take me for face value and embrace the way I was and love me for it. The right people are gonna love you for YOU and thats it. There's no need to compromise yourself for anyone elses opinions or for anyone elses views of you. This turns right back into a stereotype thing.. SO what if I wanna speak proper english and do something with my life. Im doing me regardless. And thats all I can ask from myself.
Kamil b. Inmon
Valerie A.
I really sad that you go to school with such ignorant people. Individuals are complex beings that are exposed to a number of different cultures experiences and sounds. There is no person that completely fits into a sterotype. Stereotypes is just an analysis of a group or erson on the surface based at that present time. I am black or considered african American, Ghanaian American depending on who I come into contact with, and how much that person has been exposed to in ther own life. I am not loud on a daily basis, but I can be at times. I use profanity when I am really irate about someting, but that is rare. I like hiphop and rhythm and blues, but also dig pop, soul country , classical and world beat music. People should just learn to get toknow the individual irrespective of their race or gender. Because if we do not we will be missing out on some things that we
might have in common.
it sucks that everyone is so convinced you should be like a stereotype. Let them know that these stereotypes are the fuel for discrimination and hate, and that's something you're not about.
http://progressiveu.org/blog/leslieq
Check it out...it's a work in progress.
I've gone through
and still go through
this i looked at all
these stereotypes
of blacks and thought
maybe i need to change
then i realized it's everyone else
that needs to change
and the only way to
change people's
ignorance is to educate them
they should know that no one has
the right to say what is black, white or what ever
Also it's not acting black it's acting ghetto
Because not only black people are ghetto
And not all black people are ghetto
Being ghetto doesn't make you black
DNA does that people
people in Africa aren't ghetto
That doesn't make them any less black or African
people follow stereotypes
and it's ignorant
and the worst part is
people make up stereotypes
for they're own race or group
and don't see how negative
s- typing can reflect on themselves
and how types only serve to
oppress