http://www.blackcommentator.com/100/100_cover_acting_white.html
where we find the following:
"To this day, the Buraku lag behind their Japanese counterparts in academic achievement. Yet when they immigrate to other countries, where they are seen simply as Japanese and not Buraku, the gap gradually disappears. Their school achievement rises.
Similarly, third-generation descendants of Koreans who had been forced into labor in Japan in the last century are among the poorest-performing students in Japan. But Koreans who immigrated to China in search of a better life are the highest-achieving minority group in China. Although Ogbu's studies offer some compelling reasons for the gap between African-Americans and whites in education, he also cautioned that we should not allow our righteous zeal to fight discrimination (and to break down barriers in education and in the opportunity structure), to cause us to ignore the personal behavior and attitudes that are conducive to academic success.
In this writing I do not propose any excuses, but rather explanations. I suppose that is my chief criticism of the black pundits and personalities who disseminate this fallacious notion of African-American students' disregard of education. They are so afraid that they will be viewed as excusing these educational issues and concerns, that they haven't bothered trying to rightly explain them either. This too, goes to the heart of how we have failed many of our children of color. We have appropriately expended a great amount of time and effort trying to instill in them a respect for education, but we have failed at the equally important task of making sure that the powers-that-be in education values and respects them."
[WS:] So basically Dr. Rhymes tells us that the behavior in question has deeply rooted social causes and past discrimination history. Gee, what a revelation! I thought it fell from the sky :)
But more seriously, he does not deny the existence of the behavior in question. He merely explains its roots. However he does not provide any ideas as to how to overcome it - if we disregard his remark about Buraku and Korean immigration as a possible hint. One cannot undo history, but one can overcome its legacy. At least the "black pundits" whom Dr. Rhymes criticizes offer something more tangible in that respect- changing the attitudes. It may or may not make a difference, but at least it is within the control of the students themselves.
Wojtek