Code Switching and Black Baby Boomers

Recently I came across an article regarding the slang words and phrases we, as baby boomers, used to say as young adults and the fact that these words are no longer spoken by the younger generations.  After reading the article, it occurred to me that many of my black friends and I have been code-switching practically all of our lives (that means at least 50 years).  Now for all of you "educated white folks" reading this post, code-switching is the practice of interacting in different ways depending on what environment we're in.  It's what we do when we are interacting OUTSIDE of our own communities. We change the way we talk when we switch from our world to yours.  Why?  One reason is because we would have no opportunities for growth or advancement in the business world since whiteness is the dominant culture.  Whites, on the other hand, do not see or feel the need to code switch because their way of speaking is considered natural, normal and legitimate.  I could certainly write a whole blog about code-switching but the purpose is to show how different the slang talk was for whites and blacks during my young adult years.

Here are some of the words my generation used:

THREADS--clothes 

GAS--something or someone is a lot of fun 

FLIP A WIG--to get very angry or upset 

GROOVY--cool  

SQUARE--uncool  

DROP A DIME--make a phone call 

DRAG--boring 

KICKS--doing something for fun 

SCRATCH--money 

Now I will admit I am familiar with all of these words, however, they weren't widely used in my circles.  THREADS was universal for clothes "Those are some nice threads you got on!" and while I heard many of my white friends use the terms SQUARE and DRAG, the only time I really used the word GROOVY was when I was singing lyrics to Groovy Situation by Gene Chandler:

Oh it's a groovy situation

A splendid combination

That we should meet

At a time like this...... 

DROP A DIME may have meant make a phone call but in the black community it meant (and still means) to tell on someone or betray them. (to rat them out)<another slang phrase. 

SCRATCH may have meant money to white baby boomers but we called money BREAD.

KICKS meant some nice shoes

Other words we used that white baby boomers didn't....

FLY--meant good looking or fine

THE MAN--the police (or someone in authority over you like your boss)

RAP--conversation

RIGHT ON!--to be in agreement with

BAD--good!

CRIB--your house

JIVIN' "Stop jivin' around man!" Stop lying or playing around. 

CAN YOU DIG IT?--Do you understand?

If you can dig it, that's outta sight!

Peace.

The Survey Says Black Students Do Better With Black Teachers DUH

OK, here we go again with another survey.  This one, conducted at Johns Hopkins University, says black students---especially those who come from low-income families---tend to fare better in school when they are taught by a black teacher.

The study involved about 100 thousand black students from North Carolina who entered third through fifth grade between 2001 and 2005.  According to Nicholas Papageorge, the caucasian Johns Hopkins University economist who co-authored the study, when black students were taught by black teachers they demonstrated higher test scores and less likely to become a drop out statistic.  He also found that race played a profound role in how teachers judged a student’s abilities. “When a black teacher and a white teacher looked at the same black student, the white teacher was about 40 percent less likely to predict the student would finish high school.”  And I’m willing to bet she/he would be less likely to encourage the black student to do better—instead setting that black male student up for failure and the pipeline to prison.  

No disrespect to Papageorge, but this is the overwhelming sentiment in the black community and has been for MANY years.  We KNOW the significance and impact a black teacher has on the life of a black student who may or may not be struggling. There’s something called the identity factor.  It’s a well known fact that children, as well as adults, relate better to people and things they feel most comfortable with.  Black children have black mothers (for the most part) and other relatives.  In many instances, the black teachers they interact with remind them of their mothers, aunties or even grandmas and, as any black child will tell you, you WILL respect them---even when you don’t like what they do.  And back in the day we all know if that teacher threatened to call your parents, you were doomed.

The late NASA Astronaut Ronald McNair is a wonderful example of a man who succeeded despite all the odds set up against him.  He was raised in the segregated South (South Carolina), went to all-black schools (including college) and was all the while being encouraged and motivated by his black teachers. Most black teachers understand the black child experience and can be more nurturing because of their own experiences growing up.  

As a mother and grandmother, I made it a point to see that my daughter and grandson had a black teacher influence in their lives because they deserve a chance to succeed and be appreciated for who they are and very few white teachers know what that means for our kids.

Perhaps this study would have more merit for me if the researchers did a comparison study on black baby boomers versus black millennials.  That might shed some light on differences in attitudes, since millennials are supposed to be the most diverse generation compared to baby boomers---many of whom were just starting to benefit from the Civil Rights movement.  Perhaps there is a not only a racial gap but also a generational divide when it comes to education.

And I didn't get one dime for my expert opinion. Ha!

HIV & AIDS Appears to be an Epidemic Among Black Baby Boomers

When my husband and I decided to get married back in 2005, we both felt it was important to be tested for HIV/AIDS. This was only logical since both of us had been around the block a time or two or three. Although we had no reason to believe either of us were infected, We had no problem doing it and are glad we did.

Sadly, that's not the case nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 43 percent of blacks between the ages of 50-55 are living with HIV/AIDS and 51 percent among those 65 and older. That's the equivalent of 1 in 4 baby boomers living with the disease.

BUT IT GETS WORSE!

Many don't find out about the disease until they have to go in for some type of ailment and then you have those who never find out because they refuse to get tested. According to a study conducted at UCLA, researchers found several barriers that may be preventing our generation: a mistrust of the government and conspiracy theories about AIDS. The study, which looked at a small group of people recruited from public health venues, found that 72 percent of the participants did not trust government, and they believe the government is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves. Another 30 percent believe in AIDS-related conspiracy theories, including that the virus is man-made and was created to kill certain groups of people. Forty-five percent of the study's participants had not had an HIV test in the previous 12 months.

What the survey doesn't address is the stigma attached to the disease. The old school church communities identify HIV & AIDS with shame and damnation to hell. It's past time for older blacks to take the blinders off and deal with important health matters and know that God forgives you for whatever sin you may have, knowingly or unknowingly committed.

To read more about the story go to: Black Health Matters

Do the Children of Black Baby Boomers Lack Motivation to Carry the Torch

This post was inspired by an article I read in the Buffalo News .

The article in the Buffalo News was titled: Black community suffers when no one steps up to keep businesses running. The article focused on a 71-year-old black man who cashed in his life savings to start his own business 41-years ago. Now he wants to retire but there's no one around to take over. His grown children, according to the article,are turned off by the long hours and the responsibilities so they don't want to carry the torch. The business owner now fears his worst nightmare: his business will fold.

The article further states the absence of succession plans to carry black-owned businesses into the next generation is a national problem with far-reaching implications. The phenomenon derails economic momentum, preventing a transfer and accumulation of wealth, and it can confine black communities to lingering poverty. It erodes the hard-fought gains of the previous generation, handicapping and forcing the next generation of entrepreneurs to start their ventures from scratch.

So what happened? Why is it that the children of black baby boomers lack the desire to follow in their parents footsteps---especially if their parents have laid out a clear path for them? Do the children of black boomers also feel a sense of entitlement as their white counter-parts?

Or perhaps it's OUR FAULT? According to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, only 15 percent of the nation's 2.1 million black-owned companies have identified and groomed successors. Have we not taught our children enough about the value of owning your own business and what it means to hand it down to the next generation?

Perhaps it's a combination of both.