“As they start to realize that in this society to be black or brown means to be seen as “less than”—whether it be less smart, less capable, or less attractive—they will often express a desire to be associated with the dominant and more powerful group,” (Noguera, Pedro A., 2008, 588). 

This quote made me immediately reflect on a student in my class. I teach in Westchester, NY at a school that is highly sought after for families and has students of primarily the upper class of society. While it is a public school, families from out of the district can and do pay a very expensive tuition for their children to attend the school. The “dominant and more powerful group” in this school is most definitely white people, with the exception of the principal who is black. Almost all teachers and administrators are white, reminding me of our class discussion last week. However, I have one black student in my class and even with school being in session only a week and a half, I have heard more than once the phrase “he’s basically white,” referring to my black student. The class laughs and the student laughs in agreement. This is troubling to me. Physically, he is black not white, but he dresses like the white kids, acts like the white kids, and surrounds himself with the white kids. He has to be “white” because he comes from an upper-class family, gets good grades, and surrounds himself with white peers. Why can’t he do all these same things and still be black? The students in my school are very aware of racial differences and this particular student does not fit their stereotype of a young black man. His classmates place the student under the “white” label, separating him from his own culture and heritage simply because of the way he chooses to live his life. He shouldn’t have to give up his racial identity to fit in with his classmates. Adolescents want desperately to fit in and this student does happen to be fitting in while looking different than the others. However, I can only hope this student can reclaim his racial identity and continue to succeed in and out of school.