WE MUST REPLACE A PRESUMPTION THAT MINORITIES WILL FAIL WITH AN EXPECTATION OF THEIR SUCCESS: When doing research with young drug dealers in California, anthropologist John Ogbu found himself both impressed and immensely saddened. “Those guys have a sense of the economy. They have talents that could be used on Wall Street,” he remarked. “They have intelligence – but not the belief that they can succeed in the mainstream.” Somewhere along the line, probably long before they became drug dealers, that belief had been wrenched out of them.
Creating an atmosphere in which people learn they cannot achieve is tantamount to creating failure. The various academic programs that do wonders with “at-risk” youths share a rock-hard belief in the ability of the young people in their care. These programs manage to create an atmosphere in which the “success syndrome” can thrive. Instead of focusing so much attention on whether people with less merit are getting various slots, we should be focusing on how to wide – and reward – the pool meritorious people.
Ellis Cose
November 24, 1996, Newsweek