Blackness as Failure

I became particularly interested with Lebron's explanation behind the systematic oppression that black children face in America. In his example of second-generation West Indians, he outlines how teens distance themselves from the idea of American blackness to establish that they are almost "a different stock" and even go so far as to cultivate an accent in preparation for a job interview in an effort to show employers that their values are not aligned with those of black Americans (66).

While reading chapter two, I became reminded of a popular video that shows how black children have adopted values that influence them into believing that being born with white skin is almost obviously superior than being born with black skin. In the video, they associate traits such as beauty, intellect, and positive behavior with white skin color. At around 7:30, however, one black child finally seems to show a preference for her own color when she points to a white doll after being asked to identify which is "bad". Yet, after being asked to provide further clarification, the black child admits that she believes the white doll is bad because the doll has a history of making racist comments toward other dark-skinned dolls. According to the black child, a white child is at risk of exhibiting negative behavior only when they call attention to the assumption that black children deserve a lesser place in American society.