“The Negro Artist and The Racial Mountain”

When reading “The Negro Artist and The Racial Mountain” I began to think about my high school experience. Some of the  Black students would say that another Black student is “talking white” or “sounds white”, when that person spoke with proper grammar rather than slang and/or cursing. They would also comment on how certain white people were “acting Black”.  When one student was considered to be “acting Black” they would be goofing off, disruptive, disobedient, and talking inappropriately. These statements make blackness sound  less than, and uneducated, while white is “unconsciously a symbol of all the virtues” (Racial Mountain). This is similar to the “Negro poet” wanting “to be  white” (Racial Mountain).

White is considered to be the standard and what Blacks must strive to be. The” white man does things”(Racial Mountain) well and  Black people are supposed to follow his example.

The internalization of negative stereotypes is very prevalent in the Black community. Some people actually believe that, “talking white” is better and means that you are educated, while in actuality they are speaking like how any person speaks their language. Some people in the Black community hold on to these  stereotypes about themselves which just perpetuates the negativity. They may believe that since they can never be white they will never be good enough. These views can effect them in different aspects of their lives i.e. school, and jobs. They may give up because they know that they cannot reach the white standard, which can cause other problems in their life as well.

 

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