Conseula Francis, director of the College of Charleston’s African-American studies program, said black women generally feel good about themselves and optimistic about their futures. She does.
However, there are a lot of pressures: “the pressure to perform, the pressure to live up to expectations, the pressure to lift others up. I think we grossly underestimate the damaging effects of that kind of pressure.”
Bernard E. Powers Jr., C of C history professor, said women noted in the survey that it is a good time to be black, yet they are still dealing with racial stereotypes.
Patricia Williams Lessane, executive director of C of C’s Avery Research Center, said she identifies with several aspects of the Post/Kaiser survey, “especially feeling like you have to work hard to beat the stereotypes about black women; feeling like no matter how hard you work and how good you are at your job, that it is never taken as seriously as the work of your white counterparts, especially if your work revolves around African-American culture.”
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2012/feb/13/education-self-worth-instilled-from-youth/
