"Why is it that grammar, poise, and immaculate speech are classified as Caucasian traits"? Why? Why is it that a well-educated, well-read, well-spoken and well- dressed African American individual doing better for themselves always has to act white? It makes no since. Jason Perry does a phenomenal job at at suggesting an answer to this question. He also does a great job outlining the reasons why we as African American people perpetuate this stereotype. Jason first states that "Typically, when someone says “You Talk White,” they usually mean that you are using proper English and your words are pronounced exactly as they should be, with no ethnic accent to be found. But the reverse is “You Talk Black” which means that you are not using proper English and that your vernacular tends to be more urban or slang based." Jason then follow ups to talk about the negative consequences of such language.
This first point effected me personally. Growing up I was told comments like this and others like "Oreo" meaning that I am black on the outside but, white on the inside. Although it did not effect me to the point that I would not continue my education it created a question mark over my head of who I exactly was. Growing up this type of mind set set me back socially with other students of color. Having those types of thoughts in the back of my head created very awkward encounters with my friends. Such as "dapping up" turn into hand shakes and waves and to this day I do not enjoy fried chicken. For a very long time this awkwardness became all to common, until one day I saw an episode of "The Cosby's." I saw every single stereotype, I had heard at school broken. I saw wealthy, intelligent, well- dressed, well mannered black people.
I then watched a marathon and found a new pride for my blackness and what it meant to be black. This wake up made me aware of the vast diversity among black people. This realization cleared me of all ignorance that was told to me and all further interactions with people of color was natural. I was confident and who I was and realized that a set of character traits can not define who I truly am.
Throughout my high school and college experience the comments stopped and became more of compliments rather than disrespect. At the end of Perry's article he wrote "Because we have an entire generation growing up thinking less of whom they are because they sound or dress differently that than people say they should. The truth is a correct way to speak does not exist." This is a powerful statement that needs to be properly addressed through the use of media. A know very few people who still believe in these stereotypes, but it is a still an issue especially with the younger generation. Although, I agree with Perry when he says that there is no proper way to speak, there is still a standard. Because we can't change this standard this means we at LEAST need to know how to code switch. We need to code switch not to conform to "White" people, we need to code switch because a majority of black people do speak the standard English and we should only represent ourselves to the highest standard.
This first point effected me personally. Growing up I was told comments like this and others like "Oreo" meaning that I am black on the outside but, white on the inside. Although it did not effect me to the point that I would not continue my education it created a question mark over my head of who I exactly was. Growing up this type of mind set set me back socially with other students of color. Having those types of thoughts in the back of my head created very awkward encounters with my friends. Such as "dapping up" turn into hand shakes and waves and to this day I do not enjoy fried chicken. For a very long time this awkwardness became all to common, until one day I saw an episode of "The Cosby's." I saw every single stereotype, I had heard at school broken. I saw wealthy, intelligent, well- dressed, well mannered black people.
I then watched a marathon and found a new pride for my blackness and what it meant to be black. This wake up made me aware of the vast diversity among black people. This realization cleared me of all ignorance that was told to me and all further interactions with people of color was natural. I was confident and who I was and realized that a set of character traits can not define who I truly am.
Throughout my high school and college experience the comments stopped and became more of compliments rather than disrespect. At the end of Perry's article he wrote "Because we have an entire generation growing up thinking less of whom they are because they sound or dress differently that than people say they should. The truth is a correct way to speak does not exist." This is a powerful statement that needs to be properly addressed through the use of media. A know very few people who still believe in these stereotypes, but it is a still an issue especially with the younger generation. Although, I agree with Perry when he says that there is no proper way to speak, there is still a standard. Because we can't change this standard this means we at LEAST need to know how to code switch. We need to code switch not to conform to "White" people, we need to code switch because a majority of black people do speak the standard English and we should only represent ourselves to the highest standard.