Obama on ‘acting white’ Being president, Barack Obama commands the attention of all Americans when he addresses matters involving war, the economy, the budget and immigration. But being the first black president, he has a unique authority to address matters of race, particularly in addressing black listeners. He did that the other day speaking at a town hall meeting, an event connected to the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, a public-private program to help young minority males. Praising America’s ideals of diversity, he lamented, “Sometimes African-Americans, in communities where I’ve worked, there’s been the notion of ‘acting white’ … where, OK, if boys are reading too much, then, well, why are you doing that? Or why are you speaking so properly? And the notion that there’s some authentic way of being black … that has to go.” It’s not a new message, and it’s one with considerable resonance among African-Americans. Actor and comedian Bill Cosby has decried “boys attacking other boys because the boys are studying, and they say, ‘You’re acting white.’” Filmmaker Spike Lee told a college audience: “When I was growing up, we never, ever, never ridiculed someone because they were a good student. Your generation, they now equate intelligence with acting white [...] ilinnews/obama-on-acting-white/
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 06:15:58 +0000
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