Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur

by Ron Christie

In the tradition of Randall Kennedy’s Nigger and Shelby Steele’s The Content of Our Character, Acting White demonstrates how the charge that any African-American who is successful, well mannered, or well educated is “acting white,” is a slur that continues to haunt blacks. Ron Christie traces the complex history of the phrase, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to the tensions between Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X to Bill Cosby’s controversial NAACP speech in 2004. The author also writes candidly of being challenged by black students for his “acting white,” and also of being labeled a race traitor in Congress by daring to be Republican. This lucid chronicle reveals how this prevalent put-down sets back much of the hard-earned progress for all blacks in American society. Deftly argued and determinedly controversial, this book is certain to spur thoughtful discussion for years to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, Social Commentary, Politics

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2010

Reviews

[VJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ron Christie whines through this entire book. I waded through 9 chapters before finally reading of his experiences with being called a sellout, an Uncle Tom, and being charged with acting white. Methinks he doth protest too much.

The most disturbing chapter was Chapter 8, Black Power, Moral Relativism, and Radical Chic. Christie's analysis of naming suggests he doesn't recognize the power of consumer culture. He thinks that Black parents gave their children "black-sounding" names while giving thought to long-term consequences of those names. He fails to see the practice as a fad or trend that may be long-lasting among the socially segregated and economically devastated communities of color. Having witnessed the naming of children from the same family with both "white-sounding" and "black-sounding" names, it seems that the idea of trend or fad and the influence of consumer culture should not have been overlooked in this analysis. Everything with Christie is oversimplified in an effort to support his argument that many people are engaging in charging high-achieving Blacks with "acting white." Choosing "black names" as demonstration of "a level of black pride and awareness" is oversimplification, but interpretation is individual and is used to serve individual purposes.

It seems odd to me that Christie does not recognize the racism inherent in the decision of any employer to pass on a qualified applicant because they happen to have a "black-sounding" name. I think Christie is incapable of seeing racism so desperate is he to believe that we're all judged by the content of our character rather than ethnicity. He seems absolutely blind to power and how it is wielded when discrimination is its aim.

Another disturbing aspect of this blurb was its androcentricity. I longed to read a discussion of Condoleeza Rice, but was only offered a brief description of how Maxine Waters humiliated the author by charging him with "acting white" once she discovered he was a Republican working for another Republican.

I appreciate the history he covers here, but the whining makes this a tedious read.Guess I'm just one of those people who doesn't believe young people are tremendously affected by charges that they are "acting white." There are many more significant issues occurring in the schools and in homes that prevent Black students from achieving than being taunted with "acting white." Christie never suggests that there might be structural problems contributing to disparities in Black academic achievement.

I'm sorry I wasted my time reading this drivel.

[Marchea Sovde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read!

Ron Christie puts into words the thoughts that I have had for many years. Sadly, things have not gotten better since the publishing of this book.

[Adrienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have gathered some insight about Black historical figures I never knew about such as Marcus Garvey (Jamaican who resided in U.S. and then deported back to Jamaica), who believed in the industrious nature of blacks and not their equality. He did not believe that we should try to be like Whites, or supremacists. However, W.E.B. Du Bois had contrast views than Garvey did such as black integration and equality with whites that was established by a strong baseline of knowledge through education. I am quite familiar with W.E.B. Du Bois, and his Talented Tenth, but Garvey argues and accuses Du Bois as a sell-out and acting or becoming white. Yet I disagree with the fact that being highly educated and well-spoken does not make us white, since our skin tone does not change and those who believe in white supremacy does not change their views on blacks no matter how much education they have. But I do agree that we should be well-educated, knowledgeable, even of those who tried to deter us from learning, reading, and writing at one time, and to be articulate; which does not make us white or acting as such. (I know personally I went through these racial slurs of acting white because I was testing above normal, college level in the eight grade, and spoke articulately and well-educated, and allowed the naysayers to deter me from who I was which led to changing my dialect to an accent and trying to speak like them--now know it is best to be who you are and not what people want you to be to please them).

Overall, the book exemplifies that there was social and economic inequality to whereas Black leaders searched and gave ways to be socially equal to Whites; even having laws changed such as Plessy v. Ferguson and 50+ years later Brown v. Board of Education (which is also discussed in the book) that showed segregation was not equal (separate but equal does not work).

Great read including great leaders to encourage change among segregation, social inequality, and freedoms from racial discrimination to name a few; learning about these historical figures.

"...manner in which whites perceive blacks from the days of slavery through segregation...blacks were assumed to be ignorant, immoral, and not equal with whites (pages 184-85)."

Leisure read 2016

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is the potential for a good book on this topic, but that book would need to be handled by someone who has not fallen so much in lockstep with the conservative party line.

It was interesting (in a kind of infuriating way) how selective Christie was with what examples to use and what closely related things to omit. For example, lauding Brown v. Board of Education, and integration, without paying any attention to white flight from schools, attacks on school funding, and other problems that are right there. Eventually it makes sense, because his overall point is that racism is over, and problems that Black people have now are not related to civil rights. To hold to that theory, you need to be able to ignore a lot.

So then there are curiosities, like his defense of the rejection of affirmative action by Bill Cosby and Clarence Thomas, and his admiration for them, but it was written in 2010. Does the sexual abuse by Cosby and the literally financial selling out of Clarence Thomas change anything? (Probably not. A 2023 clip has Christie acknowledging the racism that still exists in the country, but nothing else seems to show any growth.)

There could be something to be found in the press ignoring of Ralph Nader referring to Barack Obama for "acting white", but making a big stir over Jesse Jackson doing it. However, if your contention is that pressure to maintain Black identity is the biggest problem, ignoring not only that racism remains (and remaining, means that no amount of attempts to conform to whiteness will be sufficiently accepted for anything other than tokenism), you cannot say anything helpful.

Christie believes that he was not offered jobs after graduating is because affirmative action devalued his degree, because other Black people got in who did not deserve it (unlike him), and so he was damaged. He never seems to consider that the racism that kept high achieving Black students out of those schools without affirmative action might have affected his ability to get hired.

Likewise, he looks at resumes with "Black-sounding" names being turned down as a sign that those names signal that the applicants were probably raised poor, and are therefore undesirable. So Black parents should give their kids white names, fooling prospective employers into thinking that these applicants were not affected by economic issues rooted in structural racism. Sounds like a plan.

This book is not the best argument for the academic rigor of Christie himself.

I will add that for a more insightful analysis of the conflicts between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, try Ibram X. Kendi.

[Meredith M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ron Christie has appeared this year on BBC's 100 Days, 100 Days Plus and Beyond 100 Days with Katty Kay and Christian Fraser. I That's why I looked into his background and found this book - a book I think would be best delivered as a series of talks by Ron but needs a diligent edit in print form to avoid repetition and stay punchy for maximum impact on message.

[Charlie Rosenthal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but this is just a 200 page apology for Ron Christie's conservatism. Beyond that, much of his analysis is just not all that rigorous. Not a serious work of history, though he does make some interesting points. For example, his discussion of Bill Cosby and Barack Obama making effectively the same point about acting white and Cosby getting excoriated for it, while Obama was not is thought provoking, though, in my estimation, Cosby coming across as a grumpy old fart had a lot to do with that. Also, Christie simply does not comprehend the importance of black power at all.

[Dacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to reading this book. Having been on the receiving end of the "acting white" slur many times, I was interested to see his analysis of it. For the most part, the book was very good although he used a fair amount of repetition of specific phrases. I also thought that he injected a little too much of himself in the book...his personal feelings overshadowed the analysis and factual presentation in some parts. That being said, I applaud Mr. Christie for being unapologetic in his beliefs/ideology. I do recommend this book...the history included makes it worth reading.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history portion of the term "Acting White" in this book. The book goes from Uncle Tom all the way to Obama. My only issue is the author implement that racism is not a issue in today's world. Other than that the book is amazing.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Acting White to be very well written, persuasive, thought provoking, and honest. It remains topical even in 2010. I’ve recommended this book to friends and to family members alike.