John uzo ogbu may 9, 1939 august 20, 2003 was a nigerianamerican anthropologist and professor known for his theories on observed phenomena involving race and intelligence, especially how race and ethnic differences played out in educational and economic achievement. To explain black students underachievement we must consider black peoples expressive responses to their historical status and experience in america. Nov 30, 2002 the book, black american students in an affluent suburb. Oct 08, 2014 acting white remains a barrier for black education.
Coping with the burden of acting white, signithia fordham and the late john ogbu contended that one important reason for academic underachievement among african american youth is the overarching, cultural devaluation of educational attainment within black communities. John ogbus academic colleagues reflect on his life and work. No, acting white has not been debunked the daily beast. What president obama gets wrong about acting white the.
Ogbu a note from marcellina ada ogbu acknowledgments marcellina ada ogbu part one. The theory and empirical foundation of ogbus scholarship, which some have mistakenly reduced to the acting white hypothesis, is fully presented and revisited in this posthumous collection of his new writings plus the works of. John ogbu has studied minority education from a comparative perspective for over 30 years. Ogbu, 9780805851038, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. John ogbu s ethnographic research and is commonly used to explain presentday achievement gaps between black and white students. Its time to abandon the acting white theory once and for. A study of academic disengagement lawrence erlbaum associates, is by john u. He stirred controversy in 1986 when he coauthored a study that concluded african american students in a washington, d. Acting white is a slippery and politically explosive phrase, with little consensus on a precise definition. Signithia fordham and john ogbu, though, introduced the idea in the academic literature. Moreover, internal discrimination through the accusation of acting white fordham and ogbu 1986 is linked with more psychosocial and mental health problems in black youth and emerging adults. A theory of success and failure education week teacher. Ogbu preface marcellina ada ogbu acknowledgments marcellina ada ogbu foreword roslyn a.
Table of contents for minority status, oppositional culture. Jan 30, 2017 in his 2003 book black american students in an affluent suburb, john u. 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. Minority status, oppositional culture, and schooling. Collective identity and the burden of acting white in black history. No one ever denies that on average foreign blacks seem to like school and excel at it better than longstanding black americans. Black american students in an affluent suburb sociocultural. The list included being enrolled in honors or advanced. Acting white remains a barrier for black education. Ogbu concluded, as he had previously done following research in a washington, d. I suggest possible implications of the centrality of acting white for the academic performance of black students and the identity of african americans more. 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. In their widelynoted 1986 article, black students school success. 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.
Fordham and ogbu 1986 further formalize the link between racial discrimi nation, acting white, and educational outcomes. Ogbus own chapters present how his ideas about minority education and culture developed. Jul 20, 2019 the origins of the acting white charge. Seeking to move the body of scholarship on the achievement gap beyond the limited explanatory power of the acting white phenomenon, carter. Review of black american students in an affluent suburb hepg. Ogbu surmises that black children learn these attitudes and responses at an early age from their families and others in black communities with whom they form fictive kinships. Black students interviewed in this book almost never say, there is no such thing as acting white. Jul 24, 2014 the concept of acting white gained traction with a 1986 research paper called black students school success. Jun 24, 2010 ogbu with astrid davis published an ethnological survey of shaker heights, ohio describing the acting white problems effects there in detail, while a documentary on race and education. Oct 22, 2014 in the 1980s, the nowdeceased nigerian anthropologist john u ogbu popularized the expression acting white to supposedly explain how black cultural attitudes hinder black advancement.
Ogbu, an anthropology professor at the university of california at berkeley and a wellknown figure in the field of student achievement for more. They now suggest the importance of considering black peoples ex. A study of academic engagement, published in january, was getting so intense that if things. The social sciences lost a theoretically rigorous thinker when john ogbu died. Many classbased analyses of the blackwhite achievement gap would lead one to believe that middleclass black students should enter school with the cultural. Collective identity and the burden of acting white in. His theory of acting white has been the subject of intense study since he first wrote about it in the mid80s with signithia fordham, then a. Ogbu claimed that they underestimated the historical racial experiences of ethnic minority groups foley, 1991. The history and status of a theoretical debate john u. The results of my studies, of course, point in precisely the opposite direction. In their research at capital high in washington, d. 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.
Ogbu, an anthropology professor at the university of. John ogbu, the late university of california at berkeley professor and researcher, studied the phenomenon in the welltodo cleveland suburb of shaker heights in 1997. But to what forces should one attribute the blackwhite achievement gap. Acting white in 1986 ogbu coauthored, along with signithia fordham, a study which concluded that some african origin students in a washington, d. Nov 30, 2002 today there is a long article, why are black students lagging, that at first appears to be a discussion of the upcoming book by berkeley anthropology professor john ogbu, a nigerian immigrant who coined the term acting white in the 1980s to describe the behavior and attitudes of black students who disdain high achievement. Somehow many african americans usually the affluent, disconnected ones have swallowed this misconception about africanamerican youth being anti. In 1986, nigerian sociologist john ogbu coauthored with signithia fordham coauthored a study that concluded that highperforming africanamerican students in a washington, d. Root causes of shaker schools racial gap were poorly. The theory and empirical foundation of ogbus scholarship, which some have mistakenly reduced to the acting white hypothesis, is fully presented and revisited in this posthumous. John ogbu wrote a whole book squarely documenting black kids being told that doing well in school was white.
This book never says or can prove that ogbu was absolutely wrong. Sometimes it seems everyone has a confident opinion. This book is the definitive and final presentation of john ogbus cultural ecological model and the many debates that his work has sparked during the past decade. School success beyond black and white details carters ethnographic inquiry into the attitudes and cultural norms of sixtyeight black and latino students in yonkers, new york. John ogbus ethnographic research and is commonly used to explain presentday achievement gaps between black and white students.
Aug 20, 2003 these identities, according to ogbu, orient black students to view school success, for instance, as acting white and as affronts to their identities. Long before the acting white controversy, ogbu was well known for his work in the hybrid field of educational anthropology. The study reported in this book jointly sponsored by the community and the school district in shaker heights, ohiofocuses on the academic performance of black american students. The book would not be complete without revisiting fordham and ogbus 1986 acting white hypothesis. The authors support their argument with ethnographic data from a high school in washington, d.
The notion that acting white is simply attributable to selfsabotage is even less persuasive. Coping with the burden of acting white springerlink. Between his early work in the 70s through his most recent book, ogbu demonstrated a willingness to refine and honestly reflect on his arguments. I am writing this paper to correct the misinterpretations of the. As we shall see, it was an eclectic blend of history, ecology and psychology. He suggested that being a castelike minority affects motivation and achievement, depressing iq scores. John uzo ogbu, professor of anthropology at the university of california, berkeley, and a pathbreaking scholar in the fields of minority education and identity, died of a heart attack after undergoing back surgery on aug. John uzo ogbu, professor of anthropology at the university of california, berkeley, a pathbreaking scholar in the fields of minority education and identity, and one of the leading educational anthropologists in the world, died of a heart attack on wednesday, august 20. The myth about smart black kids and acting white that. 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. In contrast, the acting white hypothesis elevates the importance of socialization and the historical experience of the group, rather than the individual. His most recent book, black american students in an affluent suburb. 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. Furthermore, they have translated my culturalecological theory into an oppositional culture theory.
Aug 23, 2003 professor ogbu joked that the reaction to the book, black american students in an affluent suburb. Peer pressure shapes student performance sun sentinel. Collective identity and the burden of acting white in black. Some of the questions that ogbu asked himself and which others asked him include the following. He found what he dubbed an oppositional culture in which, he said, students saw academic achievement as white. Jun 30, 2008 the theory and empirical foundation of ogbus scholarship, which some have mistakenly reduced to the acting white hypothesis, is fully presented and revisited in this posthumous collection of his new writings plus the works of over 20 scholars. Policy and programmatic implications are discussed. Collective identity and the burden of acting white in black history, community, and education john u. Table of contents for minority status, oppositional. The book was based on ogbu s research in an ohio suburb, which examined the reasons africanamerican students were not achieving the same academic results as their white peers. In 1986 signithia fordham coauthored, along with ogbu, a study which concluded that some african american students in a washington, d.
The theory and empirical foundation of ogbus scholarship, which some have mistakenly reduced to the acting white hypothesis, is fully presented and revisited in this. The social price paid by the best and brightest minority students. Nealbarnett 2001 assembled student focus groups in an attempt to deduce what specific behaviors led to accusations of acting white. The acting white theory originated in the 1980s with dr. Collective identity and the burden of acting white in black history, community, and education.