Question

but once these students left those mostly black neighborhoods for top colleges such as indiana university, purdue university or notre dame, they were suddenly surrounded by a culture they hadnt experienced firsthand. on top of the normal pressures of leaving home and family to take on a ramped - up academic challenge, they had to learn how to navigate white social structures while retaining their own sense of what it meant to be black.
i learned early on, thanks to that g - word nonsense, that expertly navigating another culture wasnt a rejection of where id come from or a signal that i was any less authentically black. and returning to my roots wasnt being phony or perpetrating a put - on.
it was being fully who i am.
this is a lesson too many other young people from too many other cultures have to learn the hard way - making their way in an american culture that too often still demands assimilation 1 or marginalization 2. as more cultures join americas melting pot, thats why code - switching remains so valuable.
its a reminder to be fully who you are at all times, while making sure youre understood well enough to be valued, respected and considered.
how does deggans describe his friends who never learned how to code - switch?
a they were overwhelmed by the dominance of white culture.
b they were treated differently for not being able to adhere to the dominant culture.
c they were considered unintelligent for not being able to match the conversation style.
d they loss their sense of self as they tried to balance multiple cultures.

Explanation:

The text discusses students from mostly black neighborhoods going to top colleges and having to learn how to navigate white social structures while retaining their own sense of identity. Code - switching is about being able to move between different cultural (in this case, likely racial - cultural) communication styles. The relevant part of the text for code - switching is “they had to learn how to navigate white social structures while retaining their own sense of what it meant to be black”. This implies a balance between two cultures (black and white in the context of the text, which is a form of multiple cultures).

Answer:

D. They balance multiple cultures.