Beyond Acting White: Reframing the Debate on Black Student Achievement

Beyond Acting White broadens the extant conversation on the Black-White achievement gap that has been dominated by the notion that Blacks underperform in school because they fear (being accused of) acting white. The authors elucidate the limitations of this explanation by presenting new research that theorizes race as a social phenomenon, unmasks the heterogeneity of the Black experience, and contends with the specifics of social context in the culture and organization of schools and communities.