Social + Cultural Capital

Ken Camell ll
July 11, 2019
Ethnic Studies 1
Forum Post Week 4

1. Explain and reflect on the tension some youth face between maintaining cultural authenticity and being perceived as serious students. How much does this resonate with your personal experience?

As I mentioned before I was the only Melanated/Black guy at a private school in Larkspur (Marin County) however I didn't mention my classmates used to touch my hair out of lack of knowledge and I wasn't accustomed to this reaction from my classmates  since I had only lived in Berkeley Ca, and North Oakland ,Ca. I didn't get angry when I was confronted with these awkward culture shock moments since I aspired to be the anti stereotypical Black dude. With that being said I learned to adjust my vernacular (code switch) as I navigated between the paradoxes of Oakland and Marin County. My cultural authenticity (born in the land of The Black Panther Party For Self Defense + Oakland Raiders) was and still plays a major role in my identity. And as I previously shared  "in order to reduce racial tension or the ignorance and fear that racism breeds I admit to treading on the line of being the racquet ball club side of myself and an Oakland version of Bryant Gumble " however I did not compromise my integrity and neither did Bryant Gumble .

3 Which explanation for the achievement gap do you find the most convincing? Why?

Based on research provided by The Center For American Progress I concluded income /wage disparity is the most convincing explanation for the U.S educational gap. The U.S federal minimum wage is $ 7.25 / hour and depending on which state you live in  and which industry you work in you will not make $7.25 / hour. therefore your quality of life suffers and the probability increases that the educational gap widens for all people in this demographic . I was surprised by some of the statistics professor Boza shared such as the U.S average GPA (grade point average) for college students based on race. The GPA data was relatively close; Asian 3.26, White 3.09, Hispanic/Latino 2.84, Black 2.69 . Thanks to previous Ethnic Studies courses I had some familiarity with property taxes funding local schools which often results in low income areas ending up with substandard (unequal) schools. So I was refreshed to encounter an insightful article discussing the U.S educational achievement gap. The Center For American Progress is dedicated to bridging the equality and achievement gaps to counter the "growing levels of income and wealth inequality which are contributing to long standing racial and ethnic gaps in education outcomes , occupation outcomes etc.- "Robert Lynch and Patrick Oakford"

4. How is social and cultural capital important for school success? How has social and cultural capital affected your own educational experiences?

I love how professor Boza concisely explained "social capital is who you know whereas cultural capital is what you know"(Boza pg 157) .  Due to my love of sports music and drugs my social capital was always wealthy although my cultural capital status was tested. In the 8th grade my English teacher (Mr Kuilty) took my rhymes/poem I was writing and threw it in the trash. He said I don't know why people waste their time on this stuff... I lost respect for him as a teacher ,fortunately I passed his class . According to sociologists Prudence Carter "it's possible for a non dominant group to possess cultural capital".Prudence used music as an example of cultural capital noting that "African American/ Melanated youth whose direct access to underground hip hop music" provides a sense of value exclusivity due to mainstream America being too far removed from independent/underground music (non corporate). Therefore contrary to Mr Kilty's perspective and  french sociologist Peierre Bourieu's definition of cultural capital, non dominant groups can also dictate cultural capital.

Golash-Boza, Tanya Maria. Race and Racism a critical approach New York : Oxford University Press

2015.https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2014/11/10/100577/the-economic-benefits-of-closing-educational-achievement-gaps/