What It's Like to Be a Black Mathematician

Re:What It's Like to Be a Black Mathematician by tptacek on Monday February 18, 2019 @03:34PM (#19194160)

Hold on, let me catch up here: your poor-neighborhood peers tell you you're "sexually inadequate" and therefore you go on to not be a mathematician? Can you connect those dots for me?

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Re:What It's Like to Be a Black Mathematician by stcredzero on Monday February 18, 2019 @03:56PM (#19194364)

Hold on, let me catch up here: your poor-neighborhood peers tell you you're "sexually inadequate"

No. My peers told me I was sexually inadequate and less than essentially human. This was also mixed up with my having been molested be a peer in high school. As a result, I was pretty much unable to have a relationship until my late 20's, and even so it was hard to sustain a relationship long term for many years beyond that. (I'm happily married now, however.)

Insults and gaslighting with regards to one's sexuality are a particularly potent psychological weapon, and from what I've seen both as a direct participant and as an observer, some people from poorer backgrounds will actively punish those who are demonstrating academic excellence, or who are cultivating themselves in some other fashion. Such people are likely just a small percentage of the general populace. However, if one "sticks out" then that small percentage tends to find you more easily.

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Re:What It's Like to Be a Black Mathematician by afiori on Monday February 18, 2019 @03:45PM (#19194273)

They are really easy to connect. Ex addicts that keep addict friends do not fare that well. Peer pressure can push you up but can also pull you down, calling you to engage in self destructive behaviours when you are already having an hard time climbing to a better life.

https://quillette.com/2019/02/10/public-educations-dirty-sec...

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Re:What It's Like to Be a Black Mathematician by stunt on Tuesday February 19, 2019 @02:09AM (#19197205)

> Can you connect those dots for me?

Living in a bad environment definitely does influence your success. Are there exceptions? Yes, plenty of them. But that doesn’t mean that there is no impact for majority of people.

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Re:What It's Like to Be a Black Mathematician by licebmi__at__ on Monday February 18, 2019 @09:01PM (#19196135)

I was told even by cousins and close family that "reading so much would make me a fag" and that I should play more soccer. And certainly didn't help my academic career when the bullying I suffered stopped when I started behaving like a problem student.

In my case, this kind of discouragement actually helped me pursue a career in STEM, as it was the perfect excuse to leave my city, but I don't thinks this kind of environment is healthy and nurturing for someone's dreams.

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