The Power of White Acceptance In America

A personal insight into Black self-erasure in America

Photo by Tyrell Charles on Unsplash

Born Lucky

Have you ever felt so angry at someone just for existing? It’s not even their fault — you just hate the fact they are there. It’s not about who they are, but what they are.

When I attended middle school in deep South Texas, there were three education levels.

1. One for regular education. Your average classes that featured the majority of students. Your basic math, science, and whatnot. These classes largely featured African-Americans, Spanish, and anyone not blessed with the smarts, privilege, or ambition, to take higher classes.
2. Your AP classes — Advanced Placement or Honors, as the American Education system likes to call it. Basically, more challenging classes that provided a more challenging education, but looked even better on report cards. There was a certain social status from attending these classes. A discreet way of saying “My kid is smarter than your kids”. If you attended these classes, you were considered pretty smart by traditional standards.

Actually, I was a mix of 1 and 2. I was forced into Honors classes when it became obvious that I wasn’t being challenged enough.