This notion of the burden of acting white and ogbu s cultural ecological theory more broadly have provided one of the dominant theories used to explain the black white achievement gap. Coping with the burden of acting white springerlink. In 1986, nigerian sociologist john ogbu coauthored, along with signithia fordham, a study that concluded african american students in a washington, d. Success in education in particular depending on ones cultural background can be seen as a form of selling out by being disloyal to ones culture. If fordham and ogbu were correct, the social sanctions for acting white should be most severe in places like the segregated school, where opportunities are most limited. Fictive kinship is proposed as a framework for understanding how. Jun 24, 2010 an early description of the phenomenon comes from a paper by john ogbu and signithia fordham in 1986, and their work was less a revelation of the counterintuitive than an airing of dirty laundry. The acting white theory originated in the 1980s with dr. Signithia fordham is a prominent anthropologist who studies how race influences black. The acting white hypothesis, for example, is commonly applied to black boys burden in school e.
As we shall see, it was an eclectic blend of history, ecology and psychology. According to the acting white hypothesis, african american students who do well. The results of my studies, of course, point in precisely the opposite direction. In their landmark study, fordham and ogbu 1986 reported that african amer ican high school students identified academic success as acting white. Although his later writings tend to substitute the vague notion of social forces for caste, he never explores recent developments in class theory as an alternative hall, 1997. The other major limitation in ogbu s theory was how he conceptualized ethnicity. The fordham university theatre program is highly regarded as one of the most outstanding ba theatre training programs in the country. Coping with the burden of acting white by signithia fordham and john. Peer support for african american male college achievement.
A paper presented at the 83rd annual meeting of the american anthropological association, denver, co, november 1418. In their research at capital high in washington, d. Fordham and john ogbu published black students school success. For nearly two decades, researchers have debated fordham and ogbu s claim that minority students achieve at lower levels because of their peers oppositional attitudes. Fordham and ogbu 1986 set the stage with their pathbreaking and. Fryer 2005, cook and ludwig 1997, fordham and ogbu 1986, steele and aronson 1998. Fordham and ogbu 1986 claimed that the choice between representing an authentic black self and striving for academic success creates a burden of acting white and con tributes to the relatively low academic per formance of black students for examples of. The focus of this analysis is the resulting conflict experienced by academically successful and unsuccessful black students in one. In this paper, we focus on a highly controversial and wellpublicized aspect of black peer. The acting white phenomena, as it occurs, is not responsible for black academic underachievement, nor is it reflective of a broad cultural frame of reference, as fordham and ogbu 1986 suggest. What president obama gets wrong about acting white the. Because fordham and ogbus burden of acting white theory 1986.
Watch our students perform in both mainstage productions, and in our studentrun studio season. An empirical analysis of acting white sciencedirect. Fordham and ogbu 1986 argue for the existence of an oppositional culture among black youth that eschew behaviors traditionally seen as the. In response to fordham and ogbu s findings, ensuing research has sought to evaluate the acting white effect with quantitative analysis. John ogbu s ethnographic research and is commonly used to explain presentday achievement gaps between black and white students. The study, which was widely dispersed and is still relevant today, attributed black students lower academic achievement to the association between doing well in school and acting white. A lmost 20 years have passed since fordham and ogbu 1986 published the article, black students school success. Black students school success coping with the burden of acting white. Findings from individual interviews contradict the hypothesis. Specifically, the students viewed getting good grades in school, working hard to get good grades, and spending a lot of time in the library. Fordham and o gbu traced the roots of the oppositional. The question of whether or not acting white attitudes are prevalent has been debated in academic literature.
Apparently, black childrens general perception that academic pursuit is acting white is learned in the black community. The 1986 article was a result of fordhams participation in an ethnographic. Fordham and ogbu 1986 argue for the existence of an oppositional culture amongblack youth that eschew behaviors traditionally seen as a prerogative for whites. In this study, internalized racism and fordham and ogbu s 1986 acting white hypothesis were explored among highachieving african american male undergraduates at six predominantly white universities. It is the resulting tension between those students who choose to behave in ways which their peers define as acting white and those students who opt to limit their behaviors in the. In 1986 fordham and ogbu introduced the idea that black students continue to underperform in school because of their cultural opposition to acting white. Citeseerx citation query black students school success. The researchers suggested that black students socialize their peers into thinking that.
Collective identity and the burden of acting white in black. Ogbu claimed that they underestimated the historical racial experiences of ethnic minority groups foley, 1991. The coeditors of the recently published book beyond acting white horvat and. Ogbu s research that popularized the phrase acting white in the mid1980s to help explain why black students might disdain behaviors associated with high achievement, like. Gender and race differences in american college enrollment.
Jul 24, 2014 the concept of acting white gained traction with a 1986 research paper called black students school success. Evidence from the education longitudinal study of 2002. It is the resulting tension between those students who choose to behave in ways which their peers define as acting white. The appropriate public policy choice to address the achievement gap may depend critically on its underlying source. For nearly two decades, there has been a divisive debate among sociologists, cultural anthropologists, newspaper journalists, and policy makers on the existence of acting white. In 1986 signithia fordham coauthored, along with ogbu, a study which concluded that some african american students in a washington, d. The book would not be complete without revisiting fordham and ogbus 1986 acting white hypothesis. Black adolescents have learned a welldefined fear of acting white. Fordham s ogbu j 1986 black students school success coping. In 1986, professors signithia fordham and john ogbu introduced this phrase into our cultural lexicon, presenting evidence that black academic underperformance might be partially or largely attributable to a devaluation of academic success by black students themselves. Collective identity and the burden of acting white in black history. Pdf when the burden of acting white is not a burden.
Although they did not coin the term its origins are obscure, it was an ethnographic study by anthropologists signithia fordham and john ogbu, published in the urban journal in 1986, that did the most to bring it to the attention of their fellow academics. Senator barack obama, 2004 democratic national convention keynote address. Fictive kinship is proposed as a framework for understanding how a sense of collective identity enters into the process of schooling and affects academic achievement. Fordhams book is an excellent presentation of the original ethnographic study. In the united states, acting white is a pejorative term, usually applied to black people, which. Coping with the burden of acting white signithia fordham and john u. Ogbu further echoed these findings in his 2003 book black american students in an affluent suburb. In 1986, nigerian sociologist john ogbu coauthored with signithia fordham coauthored a study that concluded that highperforming africanamerican students in a washington, d. This article critiques fordham and ogbus 1986 acting white hypothesis of black academic. It is simply one of many possible coping responses to feelings of devaluation that black youth encounter.
They now suggest the importance of considering black peoples expressive responses to their historical status and experience in america. But over the past 10 years, a myth has settled in that the acting white idea has. Yet it remains among the most influential publications address ing the academic underachievement of black students and the black white achievement gap. In 1986 ogbu coauthored, along with signithia fordham, a study which concluded that some african origin students in a washington, d. After more than 15 years of comparative study of minority education, i concluded that i would have to study two additional factors, namely collective identity and cultural frame of reference to more fully explain the variability in minority school performance. Signithia fordham and john ogbu, though, introduced the idea in the academic literature. Fordham and ogbu 1986 asserted that the negative connotation associated with the term acting white was part of a larger oppositional peer culture constructed by black americans in response to their history of enslavement and the persistent inequality they face. In the united states, acting white is a pejorative term, usually applied to black people, which refers to a persons perceived betrayal of their culture by assuming the social expectations of white society. The program combines the intimacy of a small conservatory with an exceptional liberal arts education, and the rich resources and opportunities available in the world capital of the performing arts.
A 1986 ethnographic study by signithia fordham and john ogbu sparked controversy among education researchers by suggesting an acting white effect could be a source of the blackwhite achievement gap in u. In the acknowledgements of her book blacked out, fordham thanks her mother for. In acting white, fordham and ogbu recognize that the relation between. This notion of the burden of acting white and ogbus cultural ecological theory more broadly have provided one of the dominant theories used to explain the blackwhite achievement gap.
Ogbu further echoed these findings in his 2003 book black american students in an affluent. The social scientists john ogbu and signithia fordham first called attention to this phenomenon in the 1980s. The book would not be complete without revisiting fordham and ogbu s 1986 acting white hypothesis. View behindthescenes for magnolia, the first production of our 20172018 mainstage season. Signithia fordham and john ogbu, published in the urban. Review of black american students in an affluent suburb hepg. In 1986, i published an article with signithia fordham on how oppositional collective identity and cultural frame of reference or. Fordham and ogbu 1986 argue for the existence of an oppositional culture among black youth that eschew behaviors traditionally seen as a prerogative for whites. In 1986, nigerian sociologist john ogbu coauthored with signithia fordham coauthored a study that concluded that. The notion that acting white is simply attributable to selfsabotage is even less persuasive.
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