ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine the beliefs of White Americans about Blacks’ intellectual ability and how the internalization of the White beliefs by Blacks affected the academic attitudes and behaviors of Black students in Shaker Heights. Internalization is defined by Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1990, p. 632) as “the incorporation of values or patterns of culture within the self as conscious or unconscious guiding principles through learning or socialization.” We found the nearest meaning to this definition in Shaker Heights during a lesson in which Sambo mentality was discussed. Sambo mentality was defined as a state of mind in which people unconsciously replay in modern society or in Shaker Heights the role (or mentality) of slaves. Several students at the class discussion gave examples of this mentality from their observations at school and in the community. The existence of the internalized beliefs and their effects on students’ work became obvious when students responded to some research questions. Here is one such question we asked students at a discussion meeting with a group of high school students: “How many of you deeply think in the back of your mind, maybe White students are really smarter than Black students?” Several students raised their hands in affirmative.
