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My vexation is "contemporary cultural activism" and the readiness of "crusaders" to ignore the dilemma of the "black-white scholarly gap;" the gap whereby black students trail their white counterparts in scholarly achievement.
African-American linguist John McWhorter discusses this gap in his bestseller, "Losing the Race." He states that the gap is unrelated to "ignorant excuses" like underfunding, excessive minority poverty, dialect, etc. Those theories have been considered but the gap persists across all economic classes. He does not "blame" his culture; instead he contends that the scholarly gap is due to historically based challenges within black-America that shape how "intellectualism" generally is perceived by that population. Dr. McWhorter's courage of expression is admirable.
My beef with contemporary cultural activists is that they backed off the black-white scholarly gap and recoiled from exploring the gap's true underpinnings. Crusaders disingenuously turned away from considering these culturally based perceptions as factors in forming the ongoing scholarly gap.
"Multicultural competence/respect" is principled and praiseworthy. In contrast, "contemporary cultural activism" forbids fair-minded review of minority issues, and prohibits objective, constructive dialogue such as that which influences the majority. Contemporary cultural activism encourages excessive political correctness; it is evasive, divisive, and counterproductive. I feel ASHA should guard against confusing these two distinct social forces; one honorable; one obtuse and misguided.
I believe ASHA has the unique posture and research base to influence the scholarly gap using creativity, tact, and courage. I encourage our organization to explore and engage the scholarly gap.
Paul Imbert
Kenmore, NY
judgingsociety1@aol.com
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