The myths of oppositional culture

Informed by the Afrocentric quest to "abandon ethnocentric and racist Systems of logic and to place the un-discussed in the center of discoursed' (Asante, 1990, p. 6), this article challenges oppositional culture theory and the idea of "acting White." More specifically, this article first reveals how oppositional culture theory, at its core, is a culture-of-poverty theory of Black academic underperformance. Second, this article examines the notion of acting White and ties it to the critical literature on Whiteness, in the process demonstrating how it fosters White supremacy by making Whiteness an invisible category. Finally, it is argued that rather than a rejection of academic success, cultural agency is at the heart of Black students' resistance to acting White. It is asserted that at a fundamental level, Black students are seeking liberation from the destructive grips of White supremacy and a culturally affirming way of being human.