African Diaspora

The Diaspora has been an integral part of the African culture for many
>years. Since slaver, people of African decent have dealt with the imposed
>"veil"; it represents society's view of African Americans as a problem and
>it's refusal to accept the African Americans as contributive members to
>their society. Moreover, the "Diaspora" deals with the "double
>consciousness," the looking of self through the eyes of others while being
>graded by the society around the African American. The task is to analyze
>six articles as they relate to the "Diaspora", noting the articles
>controversy (if any), the forms of communication, and/or the contribution
>African Americans have made to other cultures.
>
>"Attitude Leads to Altitude For Black Teenagers," written by Clarence Page
>of the Courier Journal, published on August 7, 2003, discusses the
>education of black students in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. A
>major premise of the article is that the black students scored lower
>academically than white students. John U. Ogbu, an anthropology professor,
>who is well known in the field of "student achievement", completed a probe
>into the situation. The probe found that African American students scored
>lower than white students in education and placed the blame towards the
>"society and schools on one hand and the black community on the other." In
>fact, the article refers to parenting, the environment, and peer pressure
>as the main factors in the student's demise.
>
>African-Americans today place a considerable amount of blame on society
>for their shortcomings. Society and the school systems hinder the
>educational growth of today's youth by inadequate aide, role models, and
>unnecessary stereotypes. However, the controversy over who is to blame may
>never be acknowledged. Yet, the African Americans must live the "veil" of
>inferiority and society must accept African Americans as equals.
>
>The cultural