A New Kind of Woke: Notes On Respectability Politics and Racism

How does respectability politics and "wokeness" work together? Here are some thoughts.

My goal for the blog each week is to write something that solves a problem, teaches a concept in a new way, and entertains. 

This week, though, is not like previous weeks. 

Right now, I have more questions than answers about my chosen topic. So I'm hoping that by writing about my thoughts here, you and I can make the path clear together.   

The Catalyst

It all started with an email.

One of my friends forwarded me an email that her professor sent, in private, to African American students in her master's program. 

Under the guise of providing friendly, familial advice, the professor called out the African American students in the program for not attending a mid-week alumni happy hour. Apparently, only 1 African American student attended out of the 13 students that were there in total. The email then goes on to tell the students that, even though it may not be fair, if they want to get ahead like Becky and Bo…