“Acting White” Within American Black Culture

If you’re African American, you’ve likely heard the proverbial phrase “acting White.” You know – that caricature given American Blacks who’ve made it out the “woods of economic despair” and are now looking down upon their ethnic peers for being less than the affluent type. As a further matter, these same Black folk, who were once poor, are now mingling with the White, rich, and powerful, wherein their newfound riches [NOT wealth] – have inspired entirely different personalities.

This brilliant article, [The Black Bourgeoisie and Acting White], explores the phenomenon, “acting White,” an infamous phrase and mockery profoundly etched into American Black culture for decades, if not centuries, before the behavior was formally studied and provided any academic description.