(U-WIRE) University of Virginia -- My best friend and I were pulled over to the side of the road by a traffic cop, again. Of course it's not the first time this has happened, but this time we sat confounded by the notion that we were getting stopped while cars zoomed passed us on the highway. There was no massive sound system, no smoke billowing out the windows, no trigger that I assume normally tips off a cop to want to pull over black men in a nice ride, not that we ever had one. He assigned the stop to the fact that we were following too closely behind his patrol car, but of course, we couldn't help but get the age-old notion that our skin color had something to do with being pulled to side of the road in rural Virginia.
What came to mind, however, wasn't simply the skin that I was in, but the fact that even if I were dressed in a tuxedo, I would probably still have been pulled over. The moment brought back a vivid flash of when I saw two young black kids arguing on a playground this summer, and I heard one call the other an "Oreo" -- a term used to describe a black person who acts white. The kid defended himself by declaring: "I'm as black as you are, and just because you don't like the way I act, they don't see any difference." He's right. Nowadays no one sees any difference. In many people's eyes, the criminal element can be found in any black man -- no matter how he dresses, speaks or acts. The most we can do is be prepared for the judgment that world has in store for us and rise to the challenge.
Colin Powell did it. So did O.J. Simpson. Clarence Thomas might be the most famous one of them all. Jayson Blair, formerly of the New York Times weathered the storm and even made a name and career out it. And even Kobe is up against it now. You might be thinking that I am referring to the fact that these are black men who have become successful because of their enormous talents, and though this may be true, these are also examples of black men who have made the infamous crossover into the white mainstream community but felt a backlash from their community and from scandal afterwards. At one point or another all of these men have been called "Oreos" for either being conservative, well-educated or well-spoken, or for catering to the white public, challenging stereotypes or all of the above.
And though many African-Americans have maligned these prominent black men by calling them "Uncle Toms" for projecting less than afro-centric politics, by now, we realize that there is hardly any difference between them and the thuggish figures we champion on the covers of magazines, posters and on television. They uplift the collective character of black men, as much as they hurt it -- and they are subject to being pulled over, too.
With the coming of Tiger Woods, we realize that though many of today's most significant black men might not be as hip to the game as many of us would hope, we understand that they are pioneers in a sense and that they open doors for others. They face the same challenges with race, class and stereotypes as do the rest of us, in addition to challenges from members of the black community who down them for going up against a system that teaches them that they will never be able to reach the same potential as white men. With their success, young black boys have role models to look up to, whether they speak proper English or not. We realize that when they fail, we fail.
In black communities across the country, kids once referred to as "Oreos" are now the prodigal sons of their families. They are the hope and success of the tomorrow, the pride of their neighborhoods and the exceptions to the rule. Although their peers would argue that they are disinterested in the mentality of hip-hop and the hood, who is to say what that mentality consists of anyway? After all, there are just as many nerds as there are thugs in the hood.
Perhaps these young men aren't so much consumed by white identity politics, culture or ideals, as they are about getting ahead, helping their families and changing the conditions they were brought up in. Most people don't see it: But somewhere along the line, some of the same "Oreos" from the playground develop a sense of self that is both community-centric and knowledgeable about how to get ahead in the dominant culture. The same "Oreos" get pulled to the side of the road, and face the same race politics the rest of us do, but once they get back on, they keep on driving because they know who they are and they know where they're headed.
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Kazz Alexander Pinkard
