You meet a black Ivy League grad - what are you secretly thinking to yourself?

[Anonymous]

All the black kids I knew at Dartmouth were whip smart. So I don't think anything.

--Signed,

A non-black minority Dartmouth grad who loved it so much she doesn't feel the need to put down Princeton, even though it would be soooo easy.

[Anonymous]

I've never encountered this... you hang out with people with very low self-esteem, PP.

[Anonymous]

I feel proud. I think of my brother in law( a black man), who is 25 and working towards on PHD. I also think, I wish I was that smart

[Anonymous]

* working towards his

[Anonymous]

Honestly, really? I don't know that I would think anything at all. Certainly not affirmative action.

[Anonymous]

I think, "OP is an ass."

[Anonymous]

Well if his name is Antwan or her name is Rashika, I know that employers are less likely to hire them because of their names regardless of who they are (proven through research) -- and that reminds me why we still need affirmative action. Because I know even if he got a little help getting into school, Antwan is still going to have to wear a suit and carry the Wall Street Journal just to keep anxious white people from freaking out when he enters the elevator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Do I call her First Lady? Mrs. Obama? She seems like the type who prefers Michelle but I don't want to screw this up..."

Excellent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Oh Christ, I hope we don't have to have that cliched conversation about the Law School cafeteria, Le Bus, and Smoky Joe's."

Philly shout out!!!!!!Whoooooooo!!!!

[Anonymous]

My first thought? If they are good looking I wonder if they're single.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm thinking, I wonder how many times a week they mention what school they went to. Or, it must be tough to have to try to prove yourself all the time. A lot of black ivy league grads seem to constantly try to remind themselves and others of either their education, or wealth/perceived wealth.

Sadly I have also seen this many times. I even have had very accomplished friends tell me that they wished they were white or make a point to tell me that they have a lot of white friends or could have married a white person.

I absolutely don't believe you. You've had more than one black person say this to you? B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T.

Yup, have had a couple friends tell me they wished they were white because they have been closely watched or made to feel unwelcome at high end stores, pulled over while driving a nice car or not getting a job despite being very qualified. And have had others tell me about their many white friends or that they could have married a white man or woman but decided not to.

Really? It seems to me that any educated person would wish that this type of racism didn't exist as opposed to wishing they were the opposite race. Just my two sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, really? I don't know that I would think anything at all. Certainly not affirmative action.

I agree. It wouldn't occur to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I think anyone that mentions their academic pedigree (for no good reason) is tacky no matter the color of their skin.

I agree ... I've known some people where either the person or their parent brings it up, and often it's driven by being proud of the achievement. But if it's tossed around, typically just to flaunt, then that's not admirable.

[Anonymous]

I wonder about their family background-- if they come from educated parents who always encouraged education and hard work, or if they somehow rose above the kind of circumstances that are so sadly common here in DC.
Most of the black ivy-league grads I meet are the former... basically just like the white ivy-league grads. It's been rare in my experience to meet that feel-good movie kind of person who studied hard while his mother collected welfare and his friends turned to the drug trade and his community ostracized him for "acting white".

[Anonymous]

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Black-True-Story-America/dp/0452278597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279390689&sr=1-1

Some folks might find this book interesting. Lawrence Mungin was a black attorney in DC who thought that blacks were too often crying discrimination. He considered himself "The Good Black," hence the title of the book. This book, written by his former law school roommate, describes Mungin's experience in a corporate law firm where Mungin came to believe he was being discriminated against because he was black. It was quite an awakening for him.

I used this book when I was teaching race relations and it's quite interesting because one can read it either way -- that Mungin was right and he was discriminated against or that he was just being difficult and his problems were not about race. (Perhaps some DCUMers know him and would like to comment.)

Personally I think it is not so easy to separate out the differential impact that personality, friendship networks, and prejudice has on one's career. The fact that it was unclear in Mungin's case (at least to me) underlines the difficulty that some black professionals continue to face -- the uncertainty about the motivations behind things that happen in the office. As a white person, I never worry about how my race plays with my white supervisors and other white professionals in my white-dominated field. The fact that I never have to worry about it makes my life much easier so I don't lose sleep wondering whether black Ivy league grads got too many advantages from affirmative action.