Race roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves
based upon our assigned race. For example, an educated black person who dresses in a blue collar outfit, listens to country, prioritizes their career is often considered "Acting white",
outside the racial role they are supposed to
play.
A person's expression of their racial role can be more important to sustaining their identity if they are of an ambiguous ethnicity. For example, President Barack-Obama, being born to both white and African
parents, was often the
target of 'acting white' before his presidential race.
J-Cole, having a similar proportion of ancestry to Obama, is nevertheless unquestioned in his expression as a
black individual through his musical, hair and dress style.
In other words - for racially ambiguous people - they cement their identity by acting as the stereotypes that people come to expect from a particular race.
