Why Don't We Talk About WHEN WHITE PEOPLE CODE SWITCH?

Part One: When Cornbread Becomes Code-Switching

Being your authentic self isn’t easy.

I can recall the time when I first witnessed my dad code switching. He was known for doing what he referred to as talking 'cornbread'. It was his way of saying “don't talk down to people or make them feel bad for not knowing something you already know. Keep things simple and easy to understand. Be your real self”. This was dad's take on the street slang, 'keeping it real.' He took pride in always speaking in this straightforward, 'cornbread' manner. So, you can imagine my shock when, at the age of eight, I first saw him on the phone with a white man, doing the exact opposite of what he taught me. He did what we call today “code switching”. It was a stark contrast to the father I knew.

My dad attempted to genuflect what he thought a white person sounded like. His manner of speaking was out of the ordinary, his words were pronounced in an exaggerated manner that was unfamiliar to me and his facial expressions were strained and unnatural. It was as if he were auditioning for a part in some sort of commercial.

Afterwards, once all the performing was over, he would exhibit such anger and frustration. His disgust made it crystal clear to me that he deeply resented having to code-switch.

Without witnessing his reaction, I might have grown up thinking that his performance was perfectly natural. Yet, the experience taught me that although code switching is normal, it’s not natural for any of us. Normal doesn’t equal natural.

We often talk about people of color code switching, but now it’s important to understand why white people engage in it too.

What I'm going to share may surprise you, and even evoke feelings of discomfort much like my dad experienced, but the discomfort is worth having, especially if it will help us be more authentic tomorrow than we did today.

My analysis of code switching doesn’t equate to using 'proper' English or adeptly interacting with diverse cultural groups. These skills represent effective communication but don't define the heart of code switching.

Code switching is not about being a good communicator. It’s about being driven by the feeling that you must alter your natural manner of speaking or behaving to genuflect the linguistic or behavioral patterns of the group in power.

Yes, code switching is about perceived power, who is thought to have it and who doesn’t.

Nowadays, we understand that my dad's idea of imitating a white man was a construct in his mind. The idea of talking like a 'white person' isn’t real.

Understand that the so-called 'white person' that a person of color tries to imitate doesn't exist. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all white monolithic white person. But, the question is, how did this white monolithic construct get into his mind in the first place? How does a highly intelligent, unique individual like my dad come to believe that being his true self wasn't the best choice for him? How does such a mindset become a daily habit?

The answer is survival!

What’s even more astounding is understanding how this racialized programming designed to intentionally cultivate self-doubt in people of color, ironically enough, ends up doing the same thing to white people.

Could this be correlated to impostor syndrome?

As a man of color, I've experienced code switching firsthand. Additionally, in my professional journey, I've encountered numerous individuals, both people of color and whites, who have engaged in code switching, often as a response to feelings of impostor syndrome.

Yes, impostor syndrome is also about power, our inability to perceive and feel the power of our authentic selves. This reveals that in many unexamined ways what racism has done to people of color has simultaneously done the same thing to white people just on another spectrum.

You might wonder, why would white people engage in code switching? Don’t they hold the power? Is it perceived power or real power? Are they too, unable to perceive and feel the power of their authentic selves? These questions are precisely why I penned this article. I aim to initiate a dialogue within our community about this overlooked aspect. The discourse often centers on people of color code switching, but seldom addresses when white individuals do the same. There’s something huge in this for us to discover as a community.

My dad wasn’t mimicking a real white guy; he was acting on what his mind had been conditioned to believe about white people. He was reacting to a program that painted white people as the pinnacle of success and power in society.

According to the racial hierarchy black people are at the bottom and white people are at the top and all other people of color fall somewhere in the middle.

Because of this historical arrangement most people on the racial hierarchy seek to emulate white people, as a survival strategy and to unconsciously prove they’re worthy of acceptance, to get closer to the perceived power.

So, the big question is, why do white people code switch? Are they also stuck in survival mode, trying to secretly prove they’re good enough too?

Closing:

Consider what messages white people have been receiving for the past one hundred years and how it has contributed to the spread of imposter syndrome. Now, think about the messages they have received about people of color. Historically speaking, how have white people been depicted in the media compared to people of color? For example, white women were portrayed in the media as the standard of beauty and elegance.

However, Black women, at the bottom of the racial hierarchy have historically been depicted as unattractive and angry. What sort of distortions has this created in white people’s own view of themselves and the way they relate to people of color? People of color aren’t the only ones trying to reclaim their authentic voice. And so, the question we must answer is - how do we recover our true voice, regardless of our race? This question and so many others, we shall explore in part two and three of this article series.

For those of you who have questions about part one, or you would just like to share a healthy dialogue on the subject please email me at [email protected] or share your thoughts and make comments on instagram, facebook or LinkedIn.

I look forward to having a meaningful discussion for overcoming impostor syndrome and taking back our authentic selves.

About Mahdi:

For those unfamiliar with me, I am Berwick Mahdi Davenport, CEO, and co-founder of the Soul Focused Group. Our company, a solution based educational consultancy, is dedicated to fostering personal growth through reverse engineering the purpose of racism, divide and conquer. Our approach brings people together by teaching organizations how to cultivate Human Solidarity through Self Solidarity first, which strengthens leadership, elevates emotional intelligence, improves retention rates, cultivates psychologically safe environments and capitalizes on the benefits of diversity without all the negative side effects.

Over the past three decades, this work has enriched me, thanks to the thousands of brilliant minds like yours that I've had the privilege of engaging with. My focus on code switching stems from its immense potential in empowering us all and disrupting the pervasive influence of racism. When we stop being “fake” we can unleash the power that comes from being REAL.

To discover more about the Human Solidarity Project (HSP) Approach visit our website at soulfocusedgroup.com and check out our podcast, soulfocusedradio on youtube.