Let’s Talk-- Racial Identity
We All Have One
Check Yourself:
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What are you thinking about the information presented to you?
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What does it mean to you?
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How are you feeling?
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What conscious or unconscious beliefs are coming forward for
you?
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Stay Engaged- Cognitive Dissonance. What would it mean if
everything that you hear today is “TRUE”.
Some Assumptions
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One important perspective on the development of the United States of
America is that the USA is a race-constructed society.
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The context of the community we are currently living in-Lane
County/Oregon.
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Race is a socio-political construct (not biological)
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People who are statused as white have privileges - access to
opportunity and resources because they are white
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People of color are not privileged – do not have the same access to
opportunity and resources – and are disadvantaged as a group.
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White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack By Peggy McIntosh
Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life-Dr. Derald Wing Sue
It is important to assess and understand the power relationships related
to race in understanding and dismantling systemic racism.
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Detour Spotting- for white anti-racist by Jona Olson
“There exists a word in the American English
language that on its own incites such a reaction
that it may as well be taboo. It isn't a curse word
nor a derogatory term, but rather a simple fourletter concept that by and large encapsulates the
crux of many of our problems as a nation. It
oftentimes divides us and hinders us from engaging
in actual dialogue to address social and cultural
issues. This word is none other than "race" - and
it's about time we start having a real, honest and
thorough discussion surrounding it.”
Reverend Al Sharpton
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/08/26/2009-0826_after_paterson_squabble_we_need_an_adult_talk_about_race.html#ixzz0PLVr8eRz
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Identity is…
“the collective aspect of the set of characteristics
by which a thing or person is definitively
recognized or known”
“the set of behavioral or personal characteristics
by which an individual is recognizable as a
member of a group”
What does it mean?
Identity includes a sense of one’s social and
cultural heritage, a clear self concept, and a
secure sense of self.
Chickering and Reisser, 1993
IDENTITY-Where does it start?

“Identity formation employs a process of
simultaneous reflection and observation, a
process taking place on all levels of mental
functioning”
(Tatum,1997)
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IDENTITY (cont)-Where does it
impact?
“ by which the individual judges himself in the
light of what he perceives to be the way in
which others judge him in comparison to
themselves and to a typology significant to
them…”
(Tatum,1997)
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IDENTITY (cont)-Therefore
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“ the parts of our identity that do capture
our attention are those that other people
notice, and that reflect back to us. The aspect
of identity that is the target of others’
attention, and subsequently of our own, often
is that which sets us apart as exceptional or
‘other’ in their eyes”
(Tatum,1997)
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Ethnic Identity Development
Failure to understand students’ ethnic
and racial identity development can
lead to inappropriate and ineffective
responses in classrooms
Hardiman and Jackson, 1992
Categories of “otherness”
Beverly D. Tatum, 1997
“Otherness”
 Race/ethnicity
 Gender
 Religion
 Affectional Orientation
 Socio-economic status
 Age
 Physical/Mental Ability
Form of oppression
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Racism/ethnocentrism
Sexism
Religious oppression
Heterosexism
Classism
Ageism
Ableism
Affectional orientation (or romantic orientation) is used both alternatively and side-by-side with sexual orientation.[1] It is based on the
perspective that sexual attraction is but a single component of a larger dynamic. To holders of this view, one's orientation is defined by whom
one is predisposed to fall in love with, whether or not one desires that person sexually. Lately, the predominant use of the term "sexual
orientation" is considered to reduce a whole category of desires and emotions, as well as power and connection, to sex.
Cycle of Oppression
Socialization
Early Years
• Misinformation
•Missing History
•Biased History
•Stereotyping
Feelings engendered
Anger
Guilt
Confusion
Alienation
We collude
Cycle continues
Cycle reinforced by
• Stereotypes, omissions,
• distortions
•People/ systems/
institutions,
we know, love and trust like
• Family and
neighborhood.,
Education
• Media and Government
• Houses of worship
Both oppressed and oppressor
• We have internalized the process
•We view the misinformation as truth
•Differences = different but equal
•Difference = Wrong or abnormal
Internalization
Dissonance
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The path of liberation
13
Our self perceptions are shaped by
the messages we receive from those
around us.
As our race comes to matter to
others, it comes to matter more to
us.
Students in schools who experience a system of
oppression every day have tremendous difficulty
maintaining good grades, communicating with
classmates, connecting with teachers, and feeling
comfortable in schools.
Taub and McEwen, 1992
Racial identity attitudes influence
students’ decisions about classes, peers,
teachers, advisors, counselors, even the
extent to which they identify or
disidentify with academic work.
Even though students may be highly
prepared, the anxiety they experience
from worrying whether their peers and
teachers believe stereotypes to be true is
distressful enough to lower
performance.
Roach, 2001
During the encounter and immersion phases of
racial identity development, when the search
for identity leads toward a stereotypical image
of what it means to “be Black or Latino”,
moving away from anything thought to be
“White” may also lead to a decline in academic
performance.
Laboring under negative stereotypes
leads students to disidentify with
academic achievement rather than
risk confirming negative stereotypes
that undermine their sense of self…
ACTING WHITE
The kids in the cafeteria “know”
how to “be” Black or Latino, but
they have absorbed stereotypical
images of Black and Latino youth
from popular culture.
Academic achievement is not
part of the stereotype or popular
image of Black and Latino youth.
Race

Race as a biological fact has been
invalidated by biologists and geneticists, but
race as a social construct is very real.
Physical traits still have meaning as markers
of social race identity. It is this social race
identity that confers placement in the social
hierarchy of society, and thereby access to or
denial of privileges, power, and wealth
(Smedley & Smedley, 2005).
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A Historical Glimpse at the Concept of
“Race”
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Institutional or structural racism, defined as
the social, economic, educational, and
political forces or policies that operate to
foster discriminatory outcomes or give
preferences to members of one group over
others, derives its genesis from the origins of
race as a concept (Barker, 2003; Soto, 2004).
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Race…cont
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The status assignment based on skin color
identity has evolved into complex social
structures that promote a power differential
between Whites and various people-of-color”
(Pinderhughes,1989, p. 71)
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Racism and ethnocentrism
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Racism is the practice of discrimination and
prejudice based on racial classification
supported by the power to enforce that
prejudice (Barndt, 1991; Garcia & Van Soest,
2006).
Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own
group is the center of everything and that all
things are judged based on one’s own group.
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Prejudice and discrimination
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Prejudice is the negative (or
positive/idealized) attitudes, thoughts, and
beliefs about an entire category of people
formed without full knowledge or examination
of the facts. And
Discrimination is acting on the basis of
prejudice. Discrimination is often codified by
laws, regulations, and rules
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Oppression
. People experience oppression when they are
deprived of human rights or dignity and are
(or feel) powerless to do anything about it.
Sometimes the negative act is in the form of
….
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Types of Oppression
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exclusion, in which people are denied the
opportunity to participate in a certain right,
benefit, or privilege.
marginalization, that sense of invisibility
which results in decisions being made by
those in power that may be harmful simply
because the needs were not considered.
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Assimilation/Acculturation
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Assimilation means being absorbed into the
cultural tradition of the dominant society and
consequently losing one’s historical identity.
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Assimilation/Acculturation
acculturation in which there is an adaptation
to a different culture but retention of original
identity (Garcia & Van Soest, 2006;
Pinderhughes, 1989; Potapchuk et al., 2005;
Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 1998; Soto,
2004; Thompson & Neville, 1999).
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Institutional racism defined…
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Institutional racism is the manifestation of
racism in social systems and institutions. It is
the social, economic, educational, and
political forces or policies that operate to
foster discriminatory outcomes. It is the
combination of polices, practices, or
procedures embedded in bureaucratic
structure that systematically lead to unequal
outcomes for groups of people. (Barker, 2003;
Brandt, 1991).
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Examples of Institutional racism
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exclusions from unions,
inferior municipal services organizations, social
clubs
admissions based on test scores
seniority systems (last hired, first fired)
differential education based on preconceived
potential or ability income differentials
monocultural school curricula
predatory lending practices
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Kivel (1995)
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The Silent Obstacle
Structural Inequities
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Structural inequities have been solidified over
time. The multigenerational effect of the
privileges of free white people as compared
with the effect of slavery, “Jim Crow”
segregation, along with prejudicial
immigration rules has resulted in a set of
social structures that maintain and reinforce
the barriers to the attainment of maximal
human potential and dignity
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The Silent Obstacle
Structural Inequities (cont)
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The new challenge for the profession is to
tackle forms of racism that are more subtle
than slavery or segregation. To a large
degree, the social traditions and values within
the helping professions preclude active
promotion of the types of racism that are
overt or blatant.
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Subtle Types of Racism
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Three subtle types of racism are captured in
the concepts of ; symbolic racism, aversive
racism, and micro-inequities.
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Symbolic racism
Symbolic racism is expressed by those who may or
may not perceive themselves as racist, but justify
their negative judgment of others by asserting that
the others do not abide by traditional values of the
dominant group. So they perceive themselves as
operating based on certain “objective” standards or
“universal truths” rather than in opposition to the
group based on their race (Durrheim & Dixon, 2004)
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Aversive racism
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Aversive racism is another subtle form of
prejudice. People who engage in the practice
see themselves as non-racists, but they will
do racist things, sometimes unintentionally, or
they will avoid people without overt racist
intent.
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Aversive racism…cont
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People can perceive themselves as being fair
and practicing equality by holding forth
certain values, such as “individualism” or
“work ethic” or “self-reliance,” and take
negative action because the focal group does
not share those values.
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Aversive racism…cont
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What they believe about themselves and will
attest to is the importance of fairness,
equality, and justice, but because they have
been exposed to the ever-present societal
racism just by living in the United States, they
will reflect it in their conduct (Durrheim &
Dixon, 2004; Tatum, 1997
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Micro-aggressions/ Micro-inequities
Good people can do bad things to others in
ways for which there is no formal grievance,
but still have negative (sometimes
unintentionally) effect. This refers to microaggressions or micro-inequities.
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Micro-inequities are:
“ those tiny, damaging characteristics of an
environment, as these characteristics affect a
person not of that environment. They are the
comments, the work assignments, the tone of
voice, the failure of acknowledgement in
meetings or social gatherings. These are not
actionable violations of law or policies, but
they are clear, subtle indicators of lack of
respect by virtue of membership in a group”
(Rowe, 1990)
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White privilege

White privilege is the collection of benefits based on
belonging to a group perceived to be white, when the
same or similar benefits are denied to members of
other groups. It is the benefit of access to resources
and social rewards and the power to shape the
norms and values of society that white people
receive, unconsciously or consciously, by virtue of
their skin color (Kivel, 2002; McIntosh,1988;
Potapchuk et al., 2005;)
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Internalized racism
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internalized racism is the development of ideas,
beliefs, actions, and behaviors that support or
collude with racism against oneself. It is the support
of the supremacy and dominance of the dominant
group through participation in the set of attitudes,
behaviors, social structures, and ideologies that
under girds the dominating group’s power and
privilege and limits the oppressed group’s own
advantages (Potapchuk et al, 2005; Tatum, 1997).
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Internalized racism/ white privilege
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The challenge for white social workers and social
workers of color is to confront these inhibiting forces
to the work required to successfully confront
institutional racism. Individuals are called upon to
acknowledge that by the accident of history, they
are in positions that give them advantages over
others. And then, they are being asked to advocate
for changes that may disadvantage themselves or
their family members
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Internalized racism/ White privilege
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Others are called upon to dare to recognize
their own potential power, mourn the loss of
what might have been, and marshal their
energies to seek correction in society’s
processes. Even those within the social work
profession can be paralyzed against change
because of benefits of white privilege or the
blindness of internalized racism.
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Stereotype Threat
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Arises when students of color find themselves in situations
wherein negative stereotypes about their group could apply.
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Arises when students of color find themselves in situations
where their performance could result in their being reduced
to a stereotype, where they could be judged by a stereotype or
where judgments about them could be made based on a
stereotype.
Professor Claude M. Steele, Stanford University, 1995
Key Question:
How did academic achievement come
to be viewed as a “White” behavior?
Key Question:
How do we change the perspective
that achievement and success are
“White”?
What is identity development?
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Identity development is a series of stages
everyone must go through to determine who
they are as an individual.
What is ethnic identity development?
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A sense of group or collective identity based
on one’s perception that he or she shares a
common racial heritage with a particular
racial group
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Racial identity development theory concerns
the psychological implications of racial-group
membership, that is belief systems that
evolve in reaction to perceived differential
racial-group membership.
Identity Development
RACIAL
Conformity
Dissonance
Resistance
Immersion
Introspective
Synergetic Articulation
Awareness
IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
MULTI-ETHNIC
WHITE
Personal Identity
Contact
Group Choice
Disintegration
Enmeshment/Denial
Reintegration
Appreciation
Pseudo-Independence
Integration
Autonomy
Conformity
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In this stage, people of color identify strongly with White
Dominant Society, permitting the White society to define their
worth and value.
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Individuals in this stage often accept negative stereotypes about
themselves and their group. In addition, they know very little and
are not interested in learning about their own ethnic heritage or
history.
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Such persons usually associate with primarily White people and
have very little to do with members of their own ethnic group.
Dissonance
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In this stage, persons have experiences, or
gain insights, that cause them to question
their conforming attitudes, and cause
confusion and conflict.
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They question values of the dominant culture
they have previously held in high esteem.
Dissonance
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They become more aware of racism,
oppression, and stereotyping.
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Ethnic minority individuals may attempt to
develop friendly relations with members of
their own ethnic group with whom they have
previously not been able to identify.
Resistance and Immersion
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This is a stage of extremes, during which
individuals become immersed in their own
cultural history, values, and life-style.
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Such persons are highly motivated to
combat oppression, racism, and prejudice,
and may evidence activist behavior and an
increased distrust of the dominant culture.
Resistance and Immersion
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Overall, individuals in this stage attempt to
completely separate themselves from the
dominant group, believing that majority
people are responsible for their negative life
circumstances.
Introspection
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In this stage, individuals take a hard look at
their total rejection of the dominant culture
and total acceptance of their own group.
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Individuals often experience conflict and
confusion regarding loyalty to their cultural
groups and their personal preferences and
autonomy.
Introspection
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Internal conflict is most profound in this
stage, as individuals struggle to find a
balance between what they want for
themselves, based on personal desires,
needs, and aspirations versus what their own
ethnic group expects of them.
Synergetic Articulation and
Awareness
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Persons in this stage have acquired
knowledge and an appreciation of their own
cultural group, which enable them to value
and respect the culture and values of other
people.
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Persons in this stage have resolved many of
the previously experienced conflicts, resulting
in fulfillment of their cultural identity.
multiethnic identity development
Personal Identity
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Stage 1: Identity is based on their primary
reference group
Group Choice
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Stage 2: Identity selection is often that of
being forced into one group ethnic by societal
standards/ perceptions
Enmeshment/Denial
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Stage 3: This stage is characterized by
confusion and guilt at having to choose one
ethnic identity and a sense of dissatisfaction
that this does not fully represent oneself.
Appreciation
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Stage 4: Reference group orientation
broadens – beginning to expand their
understanding of multiple heritages but may
still maintain one group identification.
Integration
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Stage 5: – individual experience wholeness
and integration. Value of all their racial and
ethnic identities.
Now able to recognize and appreciate the
complexities and benefits of their culture (s)
and ethnicities.
White Racial Identity
Development
Contact
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In the contact stage, White individuals are
unaware of themselves as racial beings
because being White is so much the norm
that it is taken for granted.
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Those in this stage who choose to interact
across racial and cultural lines become aware
of societal pressure against doing so.
Disintegration
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In the disintegration stage, Whites are forced
to acknowledge that they are White.
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During this stage, Whites respond to
minorities in three different ways: overidentification with ethnic minorities,
paternalistic attitudes toward ethnic
minorities, or retreat back into White culture.
Reintegration
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Individuals in this stage may become very
hostile toward ethnic minorities and become
more positively biased toward their own
group.
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They are either covertly or overtly anti-ethnic.
Many in this stage are also angry and afraid.
Pseudo-Independence
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This stage is characterized by an intellectual
acceptance of ethnic minority persons.
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A pronounced feature of this stage is that,
while cross-cultural communication occurs, it
involves those minorities who are most
similar to Whites.
Pseudo-Independence
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For example, ethnic minorities with
comparable values, educational and
economic levels, and with sometimes similar
physical features to White people, might be
invited to socialize with White people.
Autonomy
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In the autonomy stage, White individuals
have greater acceptance of racial differences
and similarities.
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Differences are not perceived as deficits and
similarities are not seen as enhancers.
Autonomy
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Autonomous people actively seek
opportunities to involve themselves in crosscultural interaction because they value
cultural diversity and are secure in their own
ethnic identity.
References
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Atkinson, Morten, & Sue, 1979
Atkinson & Sue, 1993
Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1993
Cross, 1987, 1995
Helms, 1990, 1995
Kilson, 2001
Phillips,2007
Phinney, 1990
Poston, 1990
Renn, 2000
Root,1996
Wallace, 2001