ACTING "WHITE": THE UNSPOKEN, UNDERSTOOD HIERARCHY OF BLACKNESS

Abstract

This thesis will examine how a variety of extenuating factors serve to complicate a black person's self-identity, as well as determine acceptance or exclusion from the black community in the United States. The introductory chapter will explain my personal interest and history with this occurrence. Racial theory and the sociological framework for the thesis will be explained in the first chapter. The effect of education on the perception of blackness will be discussed in the second chapter. The third chapter will highlight the seeming incompatibility of blackness and affluence. Finally, the enactment of blackness, such as in style and speech, will be examined in the fourth chapter.