Not "Acting Black"

by Jennifer Slavin

There is a gap between Black and White students’ academic success. It is a big problem and schools are trying to close the gap. One of the main problems is that if a Black student works hard in school, they are made fun of and said to be “acting White.” Many Black students purposely slack off on their schoolwork because they want connect with other Black students. One of my good friends in high school was Black, and he was one of the only Black students in the honors classes. He worked really hard and wanted to get ahead in life and become a lawyer. He was friends with all different groups of people, both Black and White. In my senior year, a girl wrote an article about him in the newspaper saying that he was not a “real Black” because he did well in school and he spoke proper English. This article not only really upset him, but it started a lot of controversy in my high school. No one should be singled out and made fun of for doing well in school. Teachers should be aware that this problem is occurring in many areas and should try to break the stereotypes of who does well in school starting at a young age.