Giving Compass' Take:

• Chandra D.L. Waring discusses her research into code-switching, highlighting the benefits and difficulties of the practice for black and biracial Americans. 

• Is it realistic to aim to end the need for code-switching? How can funders break down barriers that necessitate code-switching? 

• Learn how teaching code-switching can help improve students' reading skills. 

Boots Riley’s new film “Sorry to Bother You” does anything but apologize.

In telling the story of Cassius, a young black man who becomes an extraordinarily successful telemarketer after he starts using his “white voice,” it showcases the magnitude of racial and class oppression.

Colloquially, Cassius’ use of a “white voice” is known as code-switching, and the film highlights something that most African-Americans could probably tell you: The ability to code-switch is often a prerequisite to becoming a successful black person in America.

As a race scholar and sociologist, I’ve studied biracial Americans who engage in code-switching. I found that the ability to deftly code-switch has some real advantages. But it also has its fair share of pitfalls.

Code-switching is the practice of interacting in different ways depending on the social context, and it isn’t limited to race. Most of us interact differently when hanging out with friends than we would during a job interview.

However, due in large measure to structural inequality and centuries of segregation, different cultural norms and ways of speaking have emerged among white and black Americans.

I interviewed 60 black-white biracial Americans and asked them how their lives were shaped by race. I soon realized that they seemed to be pulling from a repertoire of resources in order to break down racial barriers and establish in-group membership among whites and blacks.

One participant in my study told me that he is perpetually self-conscious about code-switching out of fear that someone would witness his behavior and question his authenticity.

These are the costs of code-switching, and my participants continually risked being misunderstood and treated as outsiders.

Because of societal pressures, it’s a risk black and biracial people are clearly willing to keep taking.

Read the full article about code-switching by Chandra D.L. Waring at The Conversation.