Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

You Sound White: The Emotional Impact of the Acting White Accusation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Children and Prejudice

Abstract

Acting White is one of the most negative accusations one Black adolescent can hurl at another. Embedded in ethnic/racial identity (ERI), acting White has nothing to do with wanting to be White and everything to do with what does it mean to be Black. In this chapter, we examine the impact of the accusation on adolescents age 10–17. We discuss the psychological construct of bother and its role in the accusation is explained. Data are presented linking the bother aspect of the accusation to social anxiety. The acting White accusation as a form of racial bullying is explored.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, L. P. (1991). Acculturative stress: A theory of relevance for Black Americans. Clinical Psychology Review, 11(6), 665–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arroyo, C. G., & Ziglar, E. (1995). Racial identity, academic achievement, and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged adolescents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 903–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergin, D. A., & Cooks, H. C. (2002). High school students of color talk about accusations of “acting White”. The Urban Review, 34(2), 113–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergin, D. A., & Cooks, H. C. (2008). High school students of color talk about accusations of “acting White.”. In J. U. Ogbu (Ed.), Minority status, oppositional cultural, and schooling (pp. 145–166). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogart, L. M., Elliott, M. N., Klein, D. J., Tortolero, S. R., Mrug, S., Peskin, M. F., … Schuster, M. A. (2014). Peer victimization in fifth grade and health in tenth grade. Pediatrics, 133(3), 440–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, W., & Moniz, D. (1993, May). Some teens deliberately fail school for the fear of “acting white”. The State. Columbia, SC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., Kohn-Wood, L., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Chavous, T., & Zimmerman, M. (2004). Racial discrimination and racial identity as risk or protective factors for violent behaviors in African American young adults. American Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1–2), 91–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, R. T. (1991). Racial identity attitudes and psychological functioning. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 19(3), 105–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cokley, K. (2007). Critical issues in the measurement of ethnic and racial identity: A referendum on the state of the field. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(3), 224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, L. J., & Cross, T. L. (1988). Is being gifted a social handicap? Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 11(4), 41–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cross, W. E., Jr. (1978). The Thomas and Cross models of psychological nigrescence: A review. Journal of Black Psychology, 5(1), 13–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M., Stadulis, R., & Neal-Barnett, A. (2018). Assessing the effects of the acting White accusation among Black girls: Social anxiety and bullying victimization. Journal of the National Medical Association, 110(1), 23–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Detweiler, M. F., Comer, J. S., Crum, K. I., & Albano, A. M. (2014). Social anxiety in children and adolescents: Biological, developmental, and social considerations. In S. Hofmann & P. DiBartolo (Eds.), Social anxiety: Clinical, developmental, and social perspectives (pp. 253–309). Waltham, MA: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Durkee, M. I., & Williams, J. L. (2013). Accusations of acting white: Links to Black students’ racial identity and mental health. Journal of Black Psychology, 41(1), 26–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis (No. 7). New York, NY: WW Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleschler-Peskin, M., Tortolero, T. S., & Markam, C. M. (2006). Bullying and victimization among Black and Hispanic victims. Adolescence, 41(163), 467–484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, D. Y., Grantham, T. C., & Whiting, G. W. (2008). Another look at the achievement gap: Learning from the experiences of gifted Black students. Urban Education, 43(2), 216–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fordham, S. (1996). Blacked out: Dilemmas of race, identity, and success at Capital High. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. U. (1986). Black students’ school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting white’”. The Urban Review, 18(3), 176–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, S., & Stallworth, L. E. (2004). Employee perceptions of internal conflict management programs and ADR processes for preventing and resolving incidents of workplace bullying-ethical challenges for decision-makers in organizations. Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, 8, 375.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fryer, R. G., Jr., & Torelli, P. (2010). An empirical analysis of ‘acting white’. Journal of Public Economics, 94(5–6), 380–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goff, C., Martin, J. E., & Thomas, M. K. (2007). The burden of acting white: Implications for transition. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 30(3), 134–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S., Bellmore, A. D., & Mize, J. (2006). Peer victimization, aggression, and their co-occurrence in middle school: Pathways to adjustment problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(3), 349–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grantham, T. C., & Biddle, W. H. (2014). From bystander to upstander teacher for gifted Black students accused of acting White. Gifted Child Today, 37(3), 178–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, R. S., & Gross, A. M. (2004). Childhood bullying: Current empirical findings and future directions for research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9(4), 379–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J. (2012, November 1). The write-or die chick: 20 years after the bullying stops. Retrieved from http://www.essence.com/2012/11/01/write-or-die-chick-20-yearsafter-bullying-stops/

  • Haynie, D. L., Nansel, T., Eitel, P., Crump, A. D., Saylor, K., Yu, K., & Simons-Morton, B. (2001). Bullies, victims, and bully/victims: Distinct groups of at-risk youth. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 21(1), 29–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helms, J. E. (1996). Toward a methodology for measuring and assessing racial as distinguished from ethnic identity. In Multicultural assessment in counseling and clinical psychology (pp. 143–192). Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hovey, J. D., & King, C. A. (1996). Acculturative stress, depression, and suicidal ideation among immigrant and second-generation Latino adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(9), 1183–1192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ideastream. (2007, October 17). Acting White/Acting Black: The search for racial identity. http://wcpn.ideastream.org/programs/sound-of-ideas/acting-whiteacting-Black-search-racial-identity

  • Joiner, T. E., Jr., & Walker, R. L. (2002). General and factorial construct validity of a measure of acculturative stress in African-Americans and Anglo-Americans. Psychological Assessment, 14, 462–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunjufu, J. (1988). To be popular or smart: The Black peer group. Chicago, IL: African American Images.

    Google Scholar 

  • La Greca, A. M., & Harrison, H. M. (2005). Adolescent peer relations, friendships, and romantic relationships: Do they predict social anxiety and depression? Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(1), 49–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Greca, A. M., & Lopez, N. (1998). Social anxiety among adolescents: Linkages with peer relations and friendships. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26(2), 83–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lew, J. (2006). Burden of acting neither white nor Black: Asian American identities and achievement in urban schools. The Urban Review, 38(5), 335–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandara, J., Gaylord-Harden, N. K., Richards, M. H., & Ragsdale, B. L. (2009). The effects of changes in racial identity and self-esteem on changes in African American adolescents’ mental health. Child Development, 80(6), 1660–1675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcia, J. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In J. Adelson (Ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 159–187). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcia, J. (1986). Clinical implications of the identity status approach within psychosocial developmental theory. Cadernos de Consulta Psicológica, 2, 23–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, M. S., Neal-Barnett, A., Demmings, J. L., & Stadulis, R. E. (2012). The acting White accusation, racial identity, and anxiety in African American adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26(4), 526–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neal-Barnett, A. M. (2001). Being Black: New thoughts on the old phenomenon of acting white. In Forging links: African American children clinical developmental perspective (pp. 75–88). Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neal-Barnett, A., Stadulis, R., Singer, N., Murray, M., & Demmings, J. (2010). Assessing the effects of experiencing the acting White accusation. The Urban Review, 42(2), 102–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neblett, E. W., Rivas-Drake, D., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2012). The promise of racial and ethnic protective factors in promoting ethnic minority youth development. Child Development Perspectives, 6(3), 295–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U. (2004). Collective identity and the burden of “acting White” in Black history, community, and education. The Urban Review, 36(1), 1–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parham, T. A., & Helms, J. E. (1985). Attitudes of racial identity and self-esteem of Black students: An exploratory investigation. Journal of College Student Personnel, 26, 143-147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paul, W., Rifkind, W., Garrison, L., Wells Jr., T. V., Karp, B. S., Birenboim, B., & Brown, D. W. (2014). Report to the National Football League concerning issues of workplace conduct at the Miami Dolphins. Retrieved from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/acrobat/2014-02/149251740-14072021.pdf

  • Peterson, J., & Ray, K. E. (2006). Bullying and the gifted: Victims, perpetrators, prevalence and effects. Gifted Child Quarterly, 50, 148–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson-Lewis, S., & Bratton, L. M. (2004). Perceptions of “acting Black” among African American teens: Implications of racial dramaturgy for academic and social achievement. The Urban Review, 36(2), 81–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S. (1990). Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: Review of research. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S., & Ong, A. D. (2007). Conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity: Current status and future directions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(3), 271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivas-Drake, D., Seaton, E. K., Markstrom, C., Quintana, S., Syed, M., Lee, R. M., … Yip, T. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: Implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes. Child Development, 85(1), 40–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R., & Berndt, T. (1990). Friendship and peer relations. In S. Feldman & G. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 227–307). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawyer, A. L., Bradshaw, C. P., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2008). Examining ethnic, gender, and developmental differences in the way children report being a victim of “bullying” on self-report measures. Journal of Adolescent Health, 43(2), 106–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settles, I. H., Navarrete, C. D., Pagano, S. J., Abdou, C. M., & Sidanius, J. (2010). Racial identity and depression among African American women. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(2), 248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M. B., Noll, E., Stoltzfus, J., & Harpalani, V. (2001). Identity and school adjustment: Revisiting the “acting White” assumption. Educational Psychologist, 36(1), 21–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. (1992). Race and the schooling of Black Americans. The Atlantic Monthly, pp. 68–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L., Dornbusch, S. M., & Brown, B. B. (1992). Ethnic differences in adolescent achievement: An ecological perspective. American Psychologist, 47(6), 723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, K. V., Lightfoot, N. L., Castillo, L. G., & Hurst, M. L. (2010). Influence of family perceptions of acting white on acculturative stress in African American college students. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 32(2), 144–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyson, K. (2002). Weighing in: Elementary-age students and the debate on attitudes toward school among Black students. Social Forces, 80(4), 1157–1189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Quintana, S. M., Lee, R. M., Cross, W. E., Rivas-Drake, D., Schwartz, S. J., … Seaton, E. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child Development, 85(1), 21–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Utsey, S. O., Hook, J. N., Fischer, N., & Belvet, B. (2008). Cultural orientation, ego resilience, and optimism as predictors of subjective well-being in African Americans. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(3), 202–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, R. (2007). Acculturation and acculturative stress as indicators for suicide risk among African Americans. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77(3), 386–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, J. V. (1990). Racial identity formation and transformation. In C. Gilligan, N. P. Lyons, & T. J. Hamner (Eds.), Making connections: The relational worlds of adolescent girls at Emma Willard School (pp. 215–231). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waters, M. C. (2000). Immigration, intermarriage, and the challenges of measuring racial/ethnic identities. American Journal of Public Health, 90(11), 1735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M., Chapman, L. K., Wong, J., & Turkheimer, E. (2012). The role of ethnic identity in anxiety and depression among African Americans. Psychiatry Research, 199(1), 31–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, C. A., Eccles, J., & Sameroff, A. (2003). The influence of ethnic discrimination and ethnic identification on African American school and socioemotional adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71, 1197–1232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yasui, M., Dorham, C. L., & Dishion, T. J. (2004). Ethnic identity and psychological adjustment: A validity analysis for European American and African American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 807–825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Martale J. Davis, Tiffany Rowell, Robert E. Stadulis & Angela Neal-Barnett

Authors
  1. Martale J. Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tiffany Rowell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert E. Stadulis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Angela Neal-Barnett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martale J. Davis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Hiram E. Fitzgerald

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Deborah J. Johnson , Desiree Baolian Qin  & Francisco A. Villarruel ,  & 

  3. Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    John Norder

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Davis, M.J., Rowell, T., Stadulis, R.E., Neal-Barnett, A. (2019). You Sound White: The Emotional Impact of the Acting White Accusation. In: Fitzgerald, H.E., Johnson, D.J., Qin, D.B., Villarruel, F.A., Norder, J. (eds) Handbook of Children and Prejudice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12228-7_26

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation