here be La’Shawn, Jamal, and Shatoya?”
Maybe if they re-wrote the word problems to calculate profits from grams of cocaine and similar there’d be more diversity. Or ratios figuring years in prison in relation to crimes committed, and relevant percentages. Or welfare payouts based on the number of sperm donors that are connected to one unwed mother. Things that M16 and gang thugs use in their day-to-day lives.
(I do wonder why more blacks don’t get involved in these types of competitions. I’ve met several who can kick ass in math.)
It's because it is stigmatized within the black community. It is called "acting white". Young black students who try to succeed academically are bullied and beaten down and accused of "acting white".
It's been recongized as the "bucket of crabs" effect. If you've ever seen a basket full of live crabs, when one tries to escape the basket, the others grab it and drag it back in.