Everyday Struggle: Switching Codes for Survival | Harold Wallace III | TEDxPittsburgStateUniversity

Code-Switching and Personal Experience

Harold Wallace III describes code-switching as changing one’s language, dialect, or demeanor to fit an environment. For him, it is also a daily strategy for being perceived as nonthreatening without losing his sense of self.

He connects this pressure to his experience as a Black man and to growing up in Los Angeles communities affected by gang violence. As a child, he witnessed a shooting and was robbed at gunpoint. He says these experiences were traumatic, though they were treated as ordinary in his surroundings.

Everyday Adjustments

Wallace learned to behave differently on the street and at school. As an adult, he still adjusts his behavior in everyday situations—for example, by smiling at people, giving them space in elevators, and making a point of appearing friendly. He argues that these small acts reflect the extra effort minorities often make to put others at ease.

Higher Education and Microaggressions

Wallace’s work in higher education is partly motivated by his lack of guidance and role models who shared his background as a first-generation college student.

At predominantly white Pittsburg State University, he is concerned about students facing microaggressions: subtle comments or actions that communicate prejudice. Examples include questioning where someone is “really” from or complimenting someone’s English based on their perceived ethnicity. He also encourages people to consider how political symbols and displays of allegiance can affect minority students.

Making Code-Switching Less Necessary

Wallace urges members of the majority to help make code-switching less necessary through LIE:

• Learn about one’s own background and about people with different identities.
• Implement that learning by building relationships and having sincere conversations.
• Embrace differences willingly.

He advocates a “salad bowl” model of diversity, in which people retain their distinct identities while coexisting. Until society makes that possible, he says, he will continue code-switching to support his family and pay his bills.

Presenter: Harold Wallace III