{"id":13300,"date":"2018-08-17T02:49:56","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T02:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=13300"},"modified":"2018-08-18T02:51:31","modified_gmt":"2018-08-18T02:51:31","slug":"black-and-biracial-americans-wouldnt-need-to-code-switch-if-we-lived-in-a-post-racial-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/black-and-biracial-americans-wouldnt-need-to-code-switch-if-we-lived-in-a-post-racial-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Black and biracial Americans wouldn’t need to code-switch if we lived in a post-racial society"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chandra D.L. Waring<\/a>, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Boots Riley\u2019s new film \u201cSorry to Bother You<\/a>\u201d does anything but apologize. <\/p>\n

In telling the story of Cassius, a young black man who becomes an extraordinarily successful telemarketer after he starts using his \u201cwhite voice,\u201d it showcases the magnitude of racial and class oppression.<\/p>\n

Colloquially, Cassius\u2019 use of a \u201cwhite voice\u201d is known as code-switching<\/a>, and the film highlights something that most African-Americans could probably tell you: The ability to code-switch is often a prerequisite to becoming a successful black person in America. <\/p>\n

As a race scholar and sociologist, I\u2019ve studied biracial Americans who engage in code-switching. I found that the ability to deftly code-switch has some real advantages. But it also has its fair share of pitfalls.<\/p>\n

More broadly, it has led me to wonder what the persistence of code-switching tells us about race, opportunities and making connections in America today.<\/p>\n

Adapting to the dominant culture<\/h2>\n

Code-switching<\/a> is the practice of interacting in different ways depending on the social context, and it isn\u2019t limited to race. Most of us interact differently when hanging out with friends than we would during a job interview. <\/p>\n

However, due in large measure to structural inequality and centuries of segregation, different cultural norms and ways of speaking have emerged among white and black Americans. <\/p>\n

But because dominant culture is white, whiteness has been baked into institutions as natural, normal and legitimate. So there\u2019s much more incentive for people of color to code-swich \u2013 to adapt to the dominant culture to improve their prospects. White people rarely, if ever, feel this same pressure in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

For this reason, the notion of a person of color deploying a \u201cwhite voice\u201d in the workplace (or anywhere in American society) isn\u2019t a new phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Biracial people create somewhat of a different dynamic due to their backgrounds. Often they have to navigate groups that are either all white or all black. In each instance, they\u2019re outsiders who need to send certain signals \u2013 or avoid certain landmines \u2013 to fit in.<\/p>\n

In my research, I explain how black and white biracial Americans deploy what I call \u201cracial capital<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

I interviewed 60 black-white biracial Americans and asked them how their lives were shaped by race. I soon realized that they seemed to be pulling from a repertoire of resources in order to break down racial barriers and establish in-group membership among whites and blacks. <\/p>\n

I categorized this repertoire into four areas: knowledge, experiences, meanings and language.<\/p>\n

The language category involves code-switching. <\/p>\n

For example, one of my interviewees bragged about her ability to code-switch<\/a>: \u201cTo some people, I\u2019ll say \u2018He was handsome!\u2019 versus \u2018He fine as hell, girl!\u2019 And I think I\u2019m the baddest because I can talk to this group and that group in the same way<\/em> that they talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t always work. One person I interviewed explained that when he didn\u2019t dap properly<\/a> at his predominately black barbershop, the other patrons laughed at him and treated him like an outsider.<\/p>\n

Other times, people are \u201ccaught in the act,\u201d meaning people witness them interacting differently in ways that are shaped by race. This makes others question their authenticity, which ultimately jeopardizes any connection. <\/p>\n

One participant in my study told me that he is perpetually self-conscious about code-switching out of fear that someone would witness his behavior and question his authenticity. <\/p>\n

Another participant echoed his concern: \u201cI feel almost bad sometimes when someone sees [me code-switch],\u201d she said, \u201cbecause they are like \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 Especially my boyfriend \u2013 he\u2019ll be like \u2018Who are<\/em> you?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

And one person I spoke with said that it was \u201chumiliating\u201d when others saw him code-switch because people \u201cjust don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the costs of code-switching, and my participants continually risked being misunderstood and treated as outsiders. <\/p>\n

Because of societal pressures, it\u2019s a risk black and biracial people are clearly willing to keep taking. <\/p>\n

An oppressive script<\/h2>\n

Code-switching would not be necessary if white privilege hadn\u2019t been embedded in every social institution in American society for centuries. More and more, researchers have been able to show how racism has been rooted in how American society is organized. <\/p>\n

In the workplace, black people face more obstacles to career advancement<\/a> and a growing racial wage gap<\/a>. In education, schools in poor black neighborhoods receive less resources<\/a>, while teachers mete out disproportionately harsh disciplinary treatment for students of color<\/a>. In politics, we see a lack of proportional representation<\/a> among elected officials and recently witnessed the election of a president who routinely disparages people of color<\/a>. In entertainment, there is a lack of diverse, nuanced, fully human characters of color<\/a>. Even in religion, deities have been whitewashed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite this documented reality, there are those who think that racism in America is a myth<\/a>, that reverse racism is a threat<\/a> or that our society is largely colorblind \u2013 a convenient way to avoid grappling with the severe discrepancy<\/a> between societal values like equality and the reality of structural, intergenerational inequality.<\/p>\n

I argue<\/a> that there would be no need for racial capital if we were truly in a \u201cpost-racial\u201d society \u2013 that is, a society where race carried no meaning. <\/p>\n

Why would black and biracial Americans feel compelled to change the way they interact \u2013 the words they use \u2013 if race no longer mattered?<\/p>\n

Although my study is about biracial Americans engaging in code-switching to bond with whites and blacks \u2013 and \u201cSorry to Bother You\u201d is about a monoracial black man engaging in code-switching to perform well in his job \u2013 for everyone involved, code-switching serves the same purpose: to create a connection that will generate opportunities.<\/p>\n

Yet the fact that code-switching is blatantly referred to as the \u201cwhite voice\u201d in the film underscores the power of whiteness \u2013 and the persistence of white privilege. <\/p>\n

Even though we are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, we are seeing racial tensions rise<\/a>. Rampant racial inequality is evidence that white privilege continues to prevail. <\/p>\n

In the film, Cassius\u2019 manager fervently urges him to \u201cstick to the script.\u201d <\/p>\n

There is no room for individuality, nuance or variation, which precisely captures the oppression of being compelled to code-switch. <\/p>\n

Whiteness is the script, and code-switching is merely a strategy to adapt.<\/p>\n


\n\"The
\n<\/p>\n

Race relations will continue to deteriorate unless our society\u2019s script undergoes some serious revisions.<\/p>\n

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