<p>Well I am borrowing this title from a thread that I saw in the college life forum. It was actually about an Asian applicant wondering how it feels to be a minority at a predominately white campus and figured black ppl have to have experiences. </p>
<p>I will share mine. To preface I should let ppl know that like many of the other posters on here I am the token smart black guy and as such I have mostly asian and white friends. I have 1 biracial girl who is a friend and 3 black guys but that is pretty much it. It was particular poignant bc I am currently contemplating my who I am asking to prom. I narrowed down my choices to two girls one who is Asian and the other white. The asian one is actually one of my friends but I KNOW her parents would not approve (despite the fact that I have been to thier house on multiple occasions), the other girl is the one I really want to go with but I am a little worried about if she will turn be down bc I am black. The situation just reminded me of the dichotomies that minorities especially those considered "lower" by sterotypical standards face. </p>
<p>Please share other experiences, this is NOT a thread about dating it was only about dating in my instance.</p>
<p>
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the other girl is the one I really want to go with but I am a little worried about if she will turn be down bc I am black.
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</p>
<p>Wow, if she turns you down b/c you're black, then she's probably not worth taking to the prom anyway... </p>
<p>I actually attend a predominantly black high school (about 97%), so It's hard for me to comment about being a minority in that respect. However, I have on several occasions been the only African American student in my classes at Drexel University (I'm dual enrolled). Although I had never really made a big deal out of the lack of diversity to begin with, I see now more than ever that people (at least the students at Drexel) simply don't care about race in the classroom, and so, neither do I.</p>
<p>Well I wish I had such a selection...I have had interest in boys that are white but they never had any interest in me, and as for Asian I've never seen one at my school..white boys at my school are not really interested in "thick" girls lol. The category I proudly accept. Anyway, sorry for my digression, there are very few minorities at my school so they speak to us differently and I noticed that everytine they're singing a rap song they make sure to cough when the n word is coming up..I appreciate that but sometimes I hear it slip..I'm very outspoken so I speak my mind about the little things that irritate me about how they treat me. Sometimes I feel stupid when I ask a question in class so I have to wait until after class to make any comments. The first day I was at my school in eighth grade my teacher called me colored..ever since then theyres been little incidents that led back to the color of my skin..I hate it but there's nothing I can do about it..and when we mention it to the principal and other administration they never take us seriously..its pretty corrupt..I remember when I used to wish I was white just so everyone could respect me and treat me equally but I don't feel that way anymore. I'm proud to be Black, whether I'm judged or not...it stinks that people are raised on preconceived notions though, its just up to us to change that! Well, that's my experience. Hope I helped : )</p>
<p>I love being black!!! I go to a predominately white school, but i have many friends of all colors. I just get tired of people assuming all sterotypes about blacks are true. It's a daily thing to have someone assume somthing about me; like that i dont have a father in my life, i'm poor, i like rap, etc etc. White people even try to act differently around me (i.e spitting lyrics from the latest rap song, using slang, etc). They think they are acting black! But you can't act a race, you can only imitate a sterotype. but ppl will always have those sterotypes in the back of their heads. even examples like obama do little to combat the sterotypes the average person believes in.
personally, i dont pay much attention to ignorant people. and i do find some enjoyment in having someone underestimate you, and then drastically proving them wrong!!!</p>
<p>I am a black female, and It gets hard sometimes. I go to a private school that costs boat loads of money to get into. My friend's parents are doctors, bankers, and owners of dealerships and such. It is my first year in a private school, and the transition has gone pretty well so far. Its always the "hey girlfriend", i occasionally hear from my peers, or certain ways they feel they have to communicate with me. After a while, (a quarter) they stopped speaking to me in a "black" way because they realized I am not like that at all. When I am in the presence of my black friends, I am considered white because of the way I dress, and speak. Question: What is white & what is black?</p>
<p>I like being a minority. It is something different and unique about me. Plus i love surprising people whenever i use "proper" English or have an educated opinion on something such as the stimulus plan.</p>
<p>errk, idk if i'd say i love it. it's interesting to see them sputter though.
i feel deriving any satisfaction out of it throws me into the pleasure at being "a credit to my race" category. which is disgusting.
race is an indefinable myth. there are too many exceptions, blurred edges. it should disappear.
but since it won't, being a minority is nice. i am a bit apprehensive about his whole college thing though. having to let people get over my stereotypes (i'm a mixed girl) will be a pain.</p>
<p>I love being black. I love being different, and being able to look at things from a different perspective than some of my peers (I go to a predominately white school). Although I have encountered things like superwoman and collegebound_91 spoke about, I think those experiences have helped me grow as a person. Being a minority is tough, because of the stereotypes and the surprise that people get when they see that I'm intelligent, but I don't really focus on ignorant people who stereotype or judge me because I'm black.</p>
<p>I can say that I've experienced both sides of the spectrum. Because I live in the suburbs, I am a victim of urban sprawl... And with that comes ever-changing demographics. I've stayed in the same district my whole life, and in first grade, I was the only black kid in the gifted program and one of two in my class. Now my school is 70% black. It's wild. In the beginning my friends were white, but I have friends now from every shade. It's been pretty great though because I REALLY appreciate diversity and am accustomed to change. I was stereotyped more recently since the school has become "blacker" than when I was theo only black kid in a 10 person radius.
It helps in college admissions- having advantages on the underachievement or -representation of others in the race, but it doesn't compare socially. </p>
<p>Being stereotyped is probably one of the mose frustrated feelings I have ever encountered. I hate being watched in stores. Sometimes I wear hooded jackets when it's cold and I always get a that look. That and I'm dark-skinned. That "look" is so annoying, and pretty frequent in GA.</p>
<p>Funny, I just wrote a paper about how difficult it is to be black in a white world. Both my parents are professionals and therefore, we live in a good neighborhood which means a white neighborhood. HS, I was 1 of 10 graduating blacks in a private school in NYC out of a class of 250. Therefore, most of my classes I was the token black kid. I must be smart to be able to be in that school, I must be poor to be able to afford it through scholarships and financial aid etc. Most of my friends, white, did not want to come to my home because of their parents and they assumed I loved in a bad neighborhood.</p>
<p>College, totally different. I have more of a mix but I am still different in a way. Th blacks dont like me because I try todo well in school. The whites dont like me because I am black.</p>
<p>I strongly believe in this quote "When a Black man can be just as bad as a White man and still get the same job and be treated equally, then and only then has racism ended."</p>
<p>While my kids have been one of the two or three Black kids in their grade, I think they are thought of as being "rich", "privileged" (no job), and "smart" first. Well my daughter has been called "the smartest kid in the school" ( FWIW; not so competitive). People are "surprised" when my son Bears smart.And "the Whitest Black kid" their peers know. Of course, I don't think their peers know any other Black kids.</p>
<p>I think it is a little tough far them to be "home", with extended family in the more urban and "ghetto" communities us parents where raised in.</p>
<p>I must have totally missed the boat on nearly on sterotypes because nothing tastes spicy to me and I have a low tolerance for spicy food. I think chicken is okay, but prefer beef (yay texas), and I don't eat watermelon at all. But I am a REALLY picky eater I dont eat fish or eggs or most vegatables.</p>
<p>Another anecdote, so today the people who were taking AP english took a practice AP and I was in the room draw with literally all the smartest people in the entire grade (of which I am one and was the only black in the room) and I finished the test like 30 minutes early. I get up to turn it in while all the other students were still working and someone booed. Many of the white males at my school who take AP classes don't like me because they don't like to know that a black man is smarter than they are it just gets really annoying that people are so insecure that they treat people differently.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel better, I think everyone in the african american section here is the
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token smart black guy [or girl]
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</p>
<p>I'm the only black kid taking ap classes, I scored a 98 on my calc final when the avg grade was a 77 (next highest score was an 88) :)
lol and I think that only added more to me being,well not necessarily an outcast, but i cant think of a lighter term to use.
And since I just transferred to a predominantly white school, I dont have much friends in that school.</p>
<p>I was wondering about prom too, and I just became good friends with an indian girl, and I somehow found the courage to ask her out to prom... and im glad I did, she was really happy, and a few days later someone else asked her to the prom... =]
too bad for him..</p>
<p>As long as your good friends with them, dont sweat it... Just ask your first choice before someone else does and if she says no, try the 2nd girl.</p>
<p>I asked my date last year two weeks before prom. Not a good idea. Asking with a month in advance gives perfect timing for limo, dinner, tux, etc.</p>
<p>I'm a black female in college, and I've never really let the opinions of others get in the way of anything I have ever desired to do. I've always just wanted to be myself, no matter how "non-stereotypical" of an African-American they perceive me to be. I have friends of all races, and I go to a predominately white school. In high school, I went to prom with a white guy. Now, I date men of all races (Lately, I have been notorious for dating white men. They can't seem to get enough of me, much to the resentment of the white girls who get some serious competition from me. I have never seen girls so ****ed off as when I walk into a frat house and "their men" come running) :)</p>
<p>Anyway, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." I live my life by that wonderful phrase.</p>
<p>^^^Wow I didn't know that white girls get jealous of black girls over that type of thing. All the white girls I have ever asked about it said they were chill with it. I just thought it was the white guys who get mad about black guys/white girls. I guess you learn something new everyday.
Something that I have noticed is that there is a lot of intragroup conflict over the whole interracial thing. I remember being in wal mart with my white girl friend and the stares we got were terrible.
P.S. I really like the first line of your post absolutely perfect for what I am going through.</p>