Young, Black, Mathematically Gifted, and Stereotyped.

In this paper, I describe the academic dilemma experienced by Tamara (pseudonym), a mathematically high-achieving high school sophomore. Raised in an economically stropped neighborhood, Tamara had the opportunity to attend a prestigious private high school, tuition free. Confronted by being viewed as an affirmative action student Tamara uses this negative stereotype as an extra source of motivation to achieve high marks on the admissions test. A new framework explains Tamara's reaction to this situation that I call stereotype management (McGee & Martin, 2011b). Stereotype management describes the range of strategies and various forms of individual agency that high-achieving Block students employ to reduce the academic impact of demeaning stereotypes while maintaining high standards of achievement. For Tamara, however, her high test score and ability to achieve in the face of being stereotyped was bittersweet, as she examined the potency and permanence of being perceived as less than. Keywords: mathematics education, Black students, high achievement, racial stereotypes ********** Tamara, a mathematically high-achieving sophomore, who happens to be Black, entered a testing site. At stake were five junior- and senior-level slots to attend a prestigious private high school. She arrived about 10 minutes early and began the stress-reducing breathing exercises her calculus teacher taught her. Two Asian students entered. They looked at each other and snickered shamelessly, particularly as they eyed Tamara's flaming red, tight stretch pants. Tamara though to herself, "They better not be trippin' on my pants," and pondered what assumptions they were making about her intellectual abilities. She shook it off. A Black male entered the testing site and sat as far away from Tamara as possible. Tamara had two thoughts about his action: "Either he thinks I'm too fine and my fineness will be too much of a distraction or he is embarrassed of me." Tamara concluded, "I hope he ain't one of those uppity Black dudes that don't mess with Black people. Whatever!" A few minutes later, two White female students entered, chattering away. One of the girls asked Tamara about the test time. Tamara thought that they seemed sort of friendly; then they started up a conversation. White female student #1: I heard that this test was really hard. Tamara: Yeah. White female student #2: But don't worry [speaking directly at Tamara], even if you score low you will still get in because of affirmative action. There are hardly no Black students at [private high school]. White female student #1: You are so lucky [speaking directly to Tamara]. Tamara: Oh yeah, well let's see who is standing in front of [private school] with a full scholarship come this fall! Tamara immediately realized that her comment did not fully address their assumptions of her being an affirmative action student. She honestly felt that she could not confirm or deny their perceptions of being there partly because of affirmative action. But there was one thought that Tamara had that was unquestionable: "I am the smartest person in this room." So, to top it off, she gave the girls the longest eye roll of her life. The entire testing room was silent, everyone afraid to move. Tamara wondered if the other test takers could see her heart popping out of her shirt. She broke the stillness in the classroom by popping her gum loudly and boldly. The White girls glanced at each other and sighed with relief. Although Tamara's outward expression was one of satisfied defiance, she was silently and invisibly upset and humiliated by those girls, their assumptions about her intellectual ability, and the possibility of others in the room perceiving her as less than. Now Tamara's number one mission was to get the highest score possible. During the test, Tamara used her anxiety over feeling negatively stereotyped as a source of motivation to achieve her best. …