In Search of the African American Nerd - Part 2

Calling an African American a Nerd is the ultimate tribute to his determination and her drive. It attests to a willingness to do whatever it takes to become the best they can be at whatever they choose to do, often under the adverse circumstances of poverty or racial bias.

There are many unknown African American Nerds out there; some remain behind the scenes of innovation, sequestered in labs and offices doing the research they love. Then there are the well known Nerds, like Clarence Thomas, a sitting member of our nation's highest court. As a law student, attorney and sitting judge, he had to have spent an awful lot of time with his nose in books. That's what Nerds do.

African American Nerds read and also write books. They teach as well, medicine and technology and the great Russian classics. They are an important force in Contemporary History and really not that illusive at all....If you know where to seek them out.

How to Spot the African American Nerd
Besides the books they carry, one certain way to spot an African American nerd is the title before or after his name. (Phd., JD, Dr) There's no getting around it, even if he's managed to hide the Nerd trait with a cool exterior, a person who spends that much time in school earning the credentials the world requires for full credibility in a professional field has got to be a Nerd.

There are those who complete years of field research and class time, then write a book-sized dissertation to earn a Ph.D. Lawyers get their undergrad degrees, attend 3 additional years of Law School, and still must pass a tedious exam to prove their legal worth.

Doctors graduate from Med school with an M.D. at the end of their name; but they become doctors only after completing nearly a decade of study and hours of on the job training for little pay. Although the world may not think it's cool to label these dedicated professionals African American Nerds, it's time they stood up and claimed the title for the grand compliment it is.

Cornel West, Ph.D.
Of course you don't need to know Dr. West's title or his career path to realize he is a Nerd. If you have ever seen him on television you may have noticed, although he dresses in stylish, dark suits, he still has an 'Ivy League Professor' look about him, a definite Nerdism trait. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

When he speaks on television talk shows he calls everyone 'brother,' including the President of the United States. Those subtle shades of high school pseudo-cool whisper 'African American Nerd' for sure.

Dr. Ben Carson
Shows like Grey's Anatomy romanticize physician's lives; but only a Nerd, with his quiet life and limited social interactions, has the kind of dedication to the science, technology and the sheer determination it takes to successfully separate a pair of twins conjoined at the head. That's what Dr. Carson did; and he was the first to do it.

If you read his biography, the basis for a recent made for TV movie, you will learn that Carson spent his early years dodging trouble; but hiding beneath that juvenile delinquent's exterior was a truly inspiring and highly successful African American Nerd.

Tavis Smiley
Tavis is the coolest personality on Public Television. He's good looking and dresses well. He's got a deep, mellow voice to go along with that handsome exterior; but deep inside, he is a Nerd for sure.

He's a serious intellectual, well versed in so many topics. His guests cover the spectrum of public figures from politics to entertainment; but his particular thing is books. He has an author on nearly every show; and he knows each book so well, one can imagine him staying up all night long to finish the last page before moving on to the next volume.

Books. That's a Nerd thing, you know. Just tune in to The Tavis Smiley show. You'll see.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates
Even if all of America didn't know who Dr. Gates was this time last year, you can bet they do now. He's one of those Beer Summit guys; but long before he was arrested for entering his own Cambridge home, PBS watchers, African American scholars and informed Americans knew exactly who he was.

You need only examine the the key words in his curriculum vitae: PBS, documentary, producer, author, Harvard Scholar, to recognize classic African American Nerd tendencies.

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
As African American Nerds grow to adulthood, they establish laboratories, think tanks and sometimes lone sanctums of academia. They produce technological breakthroughs and inventions. Some share their knowledge of the world in hallowed halls of education while others wield the law as their tool of choice. Then there are those who become President of the United States.

In campaigning for our president, attending rallies, getting charged up as he spoke to the masses, many Americans certainly thought to themselves, 'He's different.' Judging from TV commentary and comedy skits, many let his glass-less eyes and stylish dress and everpresent unflappable demeanor fool them into thinking the 'difference' they felt was that infamous Barack Obama Cool; but that perceptible 'difference' was actually African American Nerdism.

President Obama is a classic case study of the African American Nerd with a unique twist; contrary to classic Nerd behavior, he has paired for life with the rarest, most beautiful Nerd of all, the Female African American Nerd.

While many applauded America's first President of Color, Nerds of all races, colors and creeds across the land were most certainly high-fiving one another and whispering to themselves, 'Finally, a Nerd in the White House.'

A Stereotype Takeaway-
Do all African American Nerds really know each other? No, of course not. That's an idea about as stereotypical as all Black people knowing each other. Do all highly successful African American Nerds know each other? Now that may very well be true.

President Obama is indeed friends with Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Both President Obama and Dr. Gates know Dr. Cornell West and they have all been on The Tavis Smiley Show.hmmmm... Oprah knows them all. And she is 'different.' Perhaps under that rich, well dressed exterior and all that panache, she's a Female African American Nerd as well. Now wouldn't that forever change the world's perception of African American Nerds.

http://www.biography.com/articles/Clarence-Thomas-9505658
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley
http://carsonscholars.org/
http://www.cornelwest.com/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~amciv/faculty/gates.shtml