How did/does it feel being the token black dude in college?

[Sugar]

Didn't have these problems. Went to an HBCU

:reallytho: Lucky. Try being black in college at fukking Nebraska

White people are awkward as fukk breh

 

[FukkaPaidEmail]

I go to a mostly white school in the middle of Detroit so Im like to go to guy for all random shyt,like driving random white girls to the Coney down the street at 11 pm,referring weed men,and questions about the hood in general.

One white girl saw me brushing my hair and was like " is that how u guys wave it up?".I've never had group work issues.shyt has been an interesting experience. .

White freshman girls though ,good eating.

 

[HowardHughes]

 

[Izanami]

I was in a program that took inner city kids woke them up early in the morning to go to school in the burbs. From 6th-12th. I was the only black kid in many of classes. I had my circle of black friends who went to my HS with me and they were my closes friends though. I always had white friends who treated me like I was no different though and I appreciate the fact. It never really bothered me too much but looking back I wish I choose a different route when going to college.

Looking back I wish afterwards someone put me on HBCU or a diverse school. My girl is a Hampton Grad 2012. And I always tell her how jealous I am. I visited a few times and when I went to 12 to 2 I felt I just recommend going to a diverse school or a HBCU.

 

[hood b. goode]

I'm going to keep it 100% I was at the University of Michigan during that entire Affrimative Action lawsuit for the law school and undergrad programs.

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Things were cool the entire time I was there, but when this shyt popped off...people started getting bold. Like riding the bus to class and you can hear people saying little shyt like, "Just because he is Black doesn't mean he should be here". Or people asking me, do I play for the Football team or the Basketball team. Some times that shyt was harmless other times it was insulting...Like "bytch I'm in the same Latin class with you". But the higher you go in education the less black people you will see in certain parts of the country. Or they expect you to carry the race when certain topics are discussed. Like in Law School this Jewish White Kid kept saying during an argument about Affirmative Action (like white women don't receive benefits from it too) that slavery was over and black people need to show personal responsibility. I agreed with him and then said that we need to stop funding Israel because the Holocaust is over. ... He wasn't pleased about that shyt but I take it as an honor my grandparents and parents fought for me to be the only Black Man in the room. Going places that they never dreamed of. Take it in stride. And expect the unexpected.

Was there too...go blue

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

Threads like these make me SOOO glad I went to and HBCU. It appears blacks that go to HBCU's tend to be better adjusted and prepared for coporate Amerikka. Most blacks that go to majority white universities tend to have this naive notion that "race doesn't matter." Black's that go to HBCU's tend to get that reality rap once they hit campus.

Unfortunately many HBCU's have an open door policy, so you have a lot of students that aren't very serious about education on campus.

 

[newworldafro]

Only experienced tokenism in my classes. The only time it sucked was when race related topics are brought up. Professors would say some stuff and everyone would back at me for confirmation.

all HBCU everything here...but I did take AP classes in high school...so I was that lone or 2nd chocolate chip in a sea of vanilla

I remember AP U.S. History...when it was time to talk about slavery and I'm sitting at the front of the class keeping my composure was some wild shiit.....it was just information but I could feel the presence of my cohorts eyes watching my reaction...

Teacher: ............so slaves were treated as property.......
Me: ..........................internally ()
Classmates:

 

[Ohnoits]

damn, what was the issue/challenge going on at school? and environment that made him snap?

It was mostly shyt at home not the school itself. I actually think the school was tolerant, I had few issues while there with administration or students, but he was from one of the roughest neighborhoods in B-more and every few weeks he would get a phone call that one of his homies was dead.

He was like the only one to escape and go to college, and I guess he just couldn't cut it. It happened when he went home on break one year for a funeral.

My school had a pretty prevalent suicide rate on campus though. The coursework was real rough and the expectations were real high. Regular white students would crack under the pressure too, but I knew him personally and knew his issues were more about being the Black man in the White man's world. I tried to talk to him about it but I didn't know it was that bad.

 

[MostReal]

Being in MS & having a coveted position at work & being the only black guy on the team really puts me in these positions.

I remember one time this white girl said one of the patients had a stroke & that he was aphasic. I went in the room like , I just spoke to dude, he good.

Went back in the room...chatted it up with dude. turns out white girl just couldn't understand him because he was so country & used slang. So now, they used me as the 'interpreter'

 

[Ohnoits]

Being in MS & having a coveted position at work & being the only black guy on the team really puts me in these positions.

I remember one time this white girl said one of the patients had a stroke & that he was aphasic. I went in the room like , I just spoke to dude, he good.

Went back in the room...chatted it up with dude. turns out white girl just couldn't understand him because he was so country & used slang. So now, they used me as the 'interpreter'

When my pops did consulting they would call the people up and be like "Please meet Dr. (generic white sounding name) at the airport with a car." They would show up (this was back in the 70s-80s) and be completely shocked that a Black man in a suit got off the plane like "You're Dr. ???" My Dad:

But it's paid off in the long run because since he was the only black man working in that position with that educational level everyone from those days knows him and they spot him easily when he goes on trips now. So we off their guilt/nostalgia.

 

[cleanface coney]

if it was liek that i would transfer

 

[big_moe]

what school

yoo i grew up in etobicoke homie but i go to sheridan college in oakville i can count the amount of n*ggas on my fingers

 

[Swagnificent]

Well the most noticeably racist thing I remember from college was that for some reason everyone assumed I was an athlete. During the first couple of weeks of school, people would walk up to me and be like so are you on the football team or basketball team? I was like WTF makes you think I'm an athlete. I'm here based on academics just like you cac. When I went to the doctor on campus, they would also ask if I played on any of the teams. I ain't even that tall or swool. I'm just a black man of average build and size yet for some reason I'm only here cause I'm an athlete.


Also, around campus we had security guards and for some reason they would always ask me for my ID. Now they never asked the white folks walking ahead of me or the white folks walking behind me. They would only ask me and other black students. I'm wearing the school hoodie, and sweatpants, just like every white kid at the school whose going to the library or a friends dorm on a weekend. I learned to live with after a while. I started preempting them cacs by just having my ID out as I walked by them everyday. I'd look at them nikkas like YES I GO HERE.

 

[BLAZO da GAWD]

this thread is too much real life

 

[beenz]

look, unless ur at an HBCU, you're gonna be the token black. especially once u start hitting those 300 and 400 level classes. I went to a college that was like over 90% white, so even when I took the gen ed courses in a lecture hall, it was possible to NOT have a black person in the class. shyt, it's no big deal, u just deal with it. It kinda prepares u for the real world when ur in an office as the only person of color which happens a lot as well.