Acting Right or Acting White

Abstract

Minority underachievement in certain settings (i.e., educational) may stem from stereotypical-based assumptions related to racial identity among members of minority groups. Previous studies have identified a phenomenon among minority groups referred to as the “acting White” accusation. The present study investigated the prevalence and perceptions of the phrase among college students at a historically Black university (HBU). The majority of students were familiar with the phrase and heard the phrase often within the past 6 months. Most students disagreed with the validity of the phrase, but believed it is attributed to speaking standard English rather than academic performance or preference in dress and music. Class standing was associated with responses to the phrase, suggesting the efficacy of educational matriculation as opposed to age. Policy implication and areas of further investigation are offered.

Cultural invalidations: Deconstructing the “acting White” phenomenon among Black and Latinx college students.

“…Several themes, including speech and behavior, style and social preferences, and academics and success, replicate previous investigations with younger adolescents (Bergin & Cooks, 2002;Neal-Barnett et al, 2010). Speech patterns were the most frequently reported characteristic of AW and this supports previous research indicating that speech patterns are the most heavily targeted attribute of AW (Neal-Barnett et al, 2010;Webb & Linn, 2016). Black females in this study emphasized speech patterns 2-3 times more frequently than any other sociodemographic.…”

“…Academic achievement was the least frequently reported theme for AW and this finding, along with recent work (Webb & Linn, 2016), suggests that academic achievement is not as central to AW as previous literature suggested (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986). Although Fordham and Ogbu (1986) proposed the “AW hypothesis” as a deterrent to academic achievement, results from this study indicate that the vast majority of Black and Latinx youth continue to hold high academic beliefs despite being frustrated by AW accusations.…”

“…This change demonstrates an important developmental shift in how youth conceptualize the AW label over time. It is likely that adolescents continue to develop a more in-depth understanding of AW as they age, but only a handful of studies have sampled late adolescents (Durkee & Williams, 2015; Webb & Linn, 2016). Missing from the literature is a clear comprehension of how late adolescents internalize AW invalidations.…”

Gifted Ethnic Minority Students and Academic Achievement

“…However, there is very little known about the extent to which ethnic minority students find academic success in gifted education programs. What is known is that ethnic minority students experience tremendous difficulties in predominantly White educational spaces (Covay, 2013;Webb & Linn, 2016). As such, it may not necessarily be a given that learning in gifted education Whiting, 2006).…”