Working hard at school and doing well academically is “acting white” and is culturally looked down on in the ghetto.
Often true, but there are contrary examples. Two of the smartest and best people I have known were well-educated black people who rose from humble origins during the days of segregation. Similarly, Ben Carson and his brother grew up in Detroit but their illiterate single mother worked three jobs, scorned the dysfunction of the ghetto, and strictly insisted on education and good behavior from her sons.