Urban Legends - Debunking The Myth Of Acting White
by Ras Baraka
I watched Barack Obama on MNBC at the National Democratic Convention in Boston. He stood tall, well groomed, articulate, and charismatic. He almost looked like he was coming from F.O.I. class. (He is out of Chicago.) He spoke eloquently and said all the right things. He was just enough for black people and right on for everyone else. He seemed informed enough about the position of black people in this country and our need to continue the struggle for democracy. He also said this couched in enough conservative rhetoric to get the RNC, on their convention webpage, to say that the only thing they liked about the DNC convention was Barack Obama’s speech and his declaration that black people knew it was time to destroy the myth that getting an education was acting white. While I truly believe that it is too early to have anything disparaging to say about Mr. Obama, and I don’t want to seemingly get in the way of an upcoming African American political leader that may do us some good, (or be labeled a hater) it all scares me. He reminds me of Cory Booker though the jury is still out. These new young black conservative democrats pop up from virtually nowhere, Ivy League educated and well versed in black quotations and Civil rights trivia. On the surface they appear as a Godsend. The new black leadership we were long waiting for, but upon further examination or if you follow the money trail you will find some strange ultra conservative folks hanging around.
In the Newark mayoral race Booker won the support of Conservative columnist George Will. Why would George Will be interested in Newark politics in the great state of New Jersey is beyond me? He also spoke at the Manhattan institute, the conservative think tank. He won national prominence as a new black reformer that was not burdened by the methods and ideas of the civil rights movement. He sat on the board of E- cubed, a Bradley/Walton family foundation creation designed to push for vouchers and destroy public schools. This based on the ideas of Milton Friedman and the Libertarian philosophy that the marketplace could even all-social problems and government programs and intervention should be as minimal as possible. Except those that would further their agenda of course as vouchers does. This kind of conservative support at best is strange. At its worse speaks to a larger strategy to begin to turn the ideas of a younger upcoming generation that has been neglected for years by its elders, against their parents. It tries to infiltrate the traditional black support of the Democratic Party. It is also an effort to begin to gain control of major cities and it’s would be base of activists that logically would seek to further the gains and ideas of the civil rights movement. More importantly, to begin to garner support for their more conservative ideas in urban centers while at the same time affecting statewide and national elections. These young charismatic leaders are almost all bred in these Ivy League schools and institutions. They are given financial support and national media attention. They sound like they fell right out of the black church and hold the trappings of young civil rights leaders but be still, and you will hear what they are really saying. The accountability speech and the responsibility speech is a means to destroy government programs, to decrease spending in education and anti poverty programs, to derail affirmative action and set asides, to make us the blame for the reason why these schools can’t teach our children or hold their interest. You can’t legislate values or fund a program that will make black children understand the importance of education, so why is the government responsible for raising your child. It’s not. So what we have to do is to get black people to love education the way they love to dance and sing. If you can’t hear the inherent racism in that…/the same black people that after slavery fought for education and established many of the statewide public school systems in the south when there were black lawmakers during reconstruction; The same black people that fought for equal opportunities in education and busing only to be met with white hatred and violence. When reading was illegal they read in secret and learned the Bible when books were off limits. I have never known a period in history when black people did not value education or did not see education as an integral part of their own salvation. Now in the era of digital technology and 90 million dollar sneaker deals, pimp my ride, corporate scandals, and not so smart presidents it definitely has become increasingly difficult to make any American youth understand the longevity and practical value of a thorough and efficient education.
What I really want to get at though is this growing urban myth that black people don’t like education, that we think being educated is acting white and somewhere deeply inherit in our culture is a lack of value for education. Maybe it came from slavery. I used to hear this being whispered from time to time at political meetings or conferences on education. Then the whispers began to grow louder, and finally Cosby, angry at why the civil rights movement and the struggle for democracy in this country did not bear the fruits expected, gave a scolding and dangerous speech at Howard University. It was dangerous because it opened the door for every nut of every nationality and their hatred for the black community. The Economists, a conservative magazine, began to recognize Cosby as a social critic. I guess they never saw “Black History Lost Stolen or Strayed.” They praised Cosby for his criticism of Black street culture and his notion that it was time to give up the excuses and blame us for having low expectations (or as the Bush calls it soft bigotry) thus low results. Cosby was no longer participating in the “conspiracy of silence about blacks’ dismal performance in school.” Its not poverty. Its not racism. Its not parity in school funding. Its rappers that are responsible for the state of black America. In fact we are the only people that have come here (well we were knocked over our head and dragged here) that have not been able to take advantage of the American Dream. As if the majority of people in this country that are poor are not white, that are failing are not white, that are on welfare are not white, that commit crime are not white, that even buy rap music are not white, that own the radio stations and communication outlets that play it are not white, that constantly cut money for education are not white.
We live in a country that does not value education or children for that matter. How many times have you seen our children in the streets shaking cans for uniforms, instruments, trips, or any other small thing that their district can’t afford. Soon they may be out there shaking cans for more teachers, or a new school building.
by Ras Baraka
I watched Barack Obama on MNBC at the National Democratic Convention in Boston. He stood tall, well groomed, articulate, and charismatic. He almost looked like he was coming from F.O.I. class. (He is out of Chicago.) He spoke eloquently and said all the right things. He was just enough for black people and right on for everyone else. He seemed informed enough about the position of black people in this country and our need to continue the struggle for democracy. He also said this couched in enough conservative rhetoric to get the RNC, on their convention webpage, to say that the only thing they liked about the DNC convention was Barack Obama’s speech and his declaration that black people knew it was time to destroy the myth that getting an education was acting white. While I truly believe that it is too early to have anything disparaging to say about Mr. Obama, and I don’t want to seemingly get in the way of an upcoming African American political leader that may do us some good, (or be labeled a hater) it all scares me. He reminds me of Cory Booker though the jury is still out. These new young black conservative democrats pop up from virtually nowhere, Ivy League educated and well versed in black quotations and Civil rights trivia. On the surface they appear as a Godsend. The new black leadership we were long waiting for, but upon further examination or if you follow the money trail you will find some strange ultra conservative folks hanging around.
In the Newark mayoral race Booker won the support of Conservative columnist George Will. Why would George Will be interested in Newark politics in the great state of New Jersey is beyond me? He also spoke at the Manhattan institute, the conservative think tank. He won national prominence as a new black reformer that was not burdened by the methods and ideas of the civil rights movement. He sat on the board of E- cubed, a Bradley/Walton family foundation creation designed to push for vouchers and destroy public schools. This based on the ideas of Milton Friedman and the Libertarian philosophy that the marketplace could even all-social problems and government programs and intervention should be as minimal as possible. Except those that would further their agenda of course as vouchers does. This kind of conservative support at best is strange. At its worse speaks to a larger strategy to begin to turn the ideas of a younger upcoming generation that has been neglected for years by its elders, against their parents. It tries to infiltrate the traditional black support of the Democratic Party. It is also an effort to begin to gain control of major cities and it’s would be base of activists that logically would seek to further the gains and ideas of the civil rights movement. More importantly, to begin to garner support for their more conservative ideas in urban centers while at the same time affecting statewide and national elections. These young charismatic leaders are almost all bred in these Ivy League schools and institutions. They are given financial support and national media attention. They sound like they fell right out of the black church and hold the trappings of young civil rights leaders but be still, and you will hear what they are really saying. The accountability speech and the responsibility speech is a means to destroy government programs, to decrease spending in education and anti poverty programs, to derail affirmative action and set asides, to make us the blame for the reason why these schools can’t teach our children or hold their interest. You can’t legislate values or fund a program that will make black children understand the importance of education, so why is the government responsible for raising your child. It’s not. So what we have to do is to get black people to love education the way they love to dance and sing. If you can’t hear the inherent racism in that…/the same black people that after slavery fought for education and established many of the statewide public school systems in the south when there were black lawmakers during reconstruction; The same black people that fought for equal opportunities in education and busing only to be met with white hatred and violence. When reading was illegal they read in secret and learned the Bible when books were off limits. I have never known a period in history when black people did not value education or did not see education as an integral part of their own salvation. Now in the era of digital technology and 90 million dollar sneaker deals, pimp my ride, corporate scandals, and not so smart presidents it definitely has become increasingly difficult to make any American youth understand the longevity and practical value of a thorough and efficient education.
What I really want to get at though is this growing urban myth that black people don’t like education, that we think being educated is acting white and somewhere deeply inherit in our culture is a lack of value for education. Maybe it came from slavery. I used to hear this being whispered from time to time at political meetings or conferences on education. Then the whispers began to grow louder, and finally Cosby, angry at why the civil rights movement and the struggle for democracy in this country did not bear the fruits expected, gave a scolding and dangerous speech at Howard University. It was dangerous because it opened the door for every nut of every nationality and their hatred for the black community. The Economists, a conservative magazine, began to recognize Cosby as a social critic. I guess they never saw “Black History Lost Stolen or Strayed.” They praised Cosby for his criticism of Black street culture and his notion that it was time to give up the excuses and blame us for having low expectations (or as the Bush calls it soft bigotry) thus low results. Cosby was no longer participating in the “conspiracy of silence about blacks’ dismal performance in school.” Its not poverty. Its not racism. Its not parity in school funding. Its rappers that are responsible for the state of black America. In fact we are the only people that have come here (well we were knocked over our head and dragged here) that have not been able to take advantage of the American Dream. As if the majority of people in this country that are poor are not white, that are failing are not white, that are on welfare are not white, that commit crime are not white, that even buy rap music are not white, that own the radio stations and communication outlets that play it are not white, that constantly cut money for education are not white.
We live in a country that does not value education or children for that matter. How many times have you seen our children in the streets shaking cans for uniforms, instruments, trips, or any other small thing that their district can’t afford. Soon they may be out there shaking cans for more teachers, or a new school building.
