In the conference of the University of Michigan’s Department of Afroamerican and African Studies I met with a recent graduate of the university’s Sociology program, Sean Dajour Smith for approximately an hour. In addition to being a graduate of the program, Smith is qualified as an expert due his leadership of various large scale social change events, a multitude of different cultural organizations and the university, including the Black-Asian Coalition and Students for Justice, as well as a contributor for the Huffington Post. During this conversation, we talked primarily about his observations of double consciousness of his peers, studies, and experiences in regards to African Americans. Interesting points in the conversation include Smith’s point that double consciousness is most evident in code switching …show more content…
In regards to the perceptions widely else on a predominantly White campus, Smith argued that whiteness is commonly seen as neutrality as Black is to be at deficit .To offset this in his personal life, Smith says that he has adjusted in ways that make him appear less threatening such clothing ways that would be considered formal and his argument is supported in the shift in responses he gets in accordance. This is one form of codeswitching evident in many instances on campuses and Smith states that from his own observation he has observed other ways where the aspects of a Black person’s physicality can change to be accepted in accordance with the European gaze. Also, Smith states that from his observation, the presence in a White spaces forces African Americans to move close to “blackness” and embrace identity due to the dilution that would occur otherwise and retain a sense of identity. By being a marginalized individual there’s a plit in identity where on either chooses one or has a balancing act that is