Hummm...this may launch another entirely different set of discussions..

Azizi says: I believe that Black people in American societies have been and to a large degree still are measured by idealized White standards of speech and conduct. According to those Eurocentric standards, Black people are acceptable and good to the degree that they {we}approach the most idealized White standard.

Very true, but perhaps a bit limited in scope. IMHO, all people in the US are measured by standards based upon those held by the minority group that we hate to refer to as WASPs - that is, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Not to trivialize the oppression experienced by the citizens of this nation who are of African descent, just about every other group who has come here over the centuries has experienced discrimination to one degree or another, and the extent of that discrimination increases in direct proportion to their deviation from that WASP norm. It decreases as they move toward that norm (i.e., become "Americanized") and, I think, actually increases if a group tries to maintain their socio-ethnic distinction and separation. Where Black Americans are more disadvantaged in this process than most other groups is in their physical distinctiveness; that is, even if he or she conforms in dress, speech and manner (and please understand that I'm not saying they should), a very dark skinned person with short "kinky" hair is going to stand out more than a fully assimilated, third generation Bulgarian. In most cases, unfortunately or not, those who stand out are shut out.