Download White racial identity

White Racial Identity
Theories and Developmental Models
Socio-political definition of race
Remember, race is:

A socially constructed system of classifying
individuals according to phenotypical
characteristics that are genetically determined
but not always consistent.

“A concept which signifies and symbolizes social
conflicts and interests by referring to different
types of human bodies.” (Omi & Winant)
Who gets to define “whiteness”?
“The colored people of this country know and understand the white people
better than the white people will ever know and understand themselves.”
-- poet and anthologist James Weldon Johnson (1912)
“While the average Nordic knows nothing of how Negroes actually live and
what they think, the Negroes know the Nordic intimately.”
-- Black journalist and novelist George S. Schuyler (1927)
Whiteness as a group identity
 Four factors influence strength of racial/ethnic
identity
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Copyright Arunas Juska, Ph.D.
Size
Power
Discrimination
Appearance
http://core.ecu.edu/soci/juskaa/SOCI2110/Lectures/Race/sld007.htm
Whiteness as a group identity (cont.)
 Strengths of paradigm
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Acknowledges social construction of race
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Acknowledges political meaning of racial construction
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Acknowledges existence of racist institutions and racial socialization
 Limitations of paradigm
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Fails to recognize that all Whites benefit from white skin privilege
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Fails to acknowledge unintentional racism
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Fails to acknowledge “relative evil” of different racist behaviors
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Normalizes white racism, causing many to avoid dealing with the issue on
both a personal and community level
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Does not recognize personal progress toward unlearning racism
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Does not prescribe any plan toward increasing social justice
Whiteness as an equivalent to racism
 James Baldwin: On Being “White” and Other Lies (1984)
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“Adopting and treasuring a white identity is absolutely a moral choice, since there
are no white people….As long as you think you’re white, there is no hope for you.”
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“The cost of whiteness involves not only a struggle of whom to exclude from the
private club of full humanity but of what huge sections of the human experience to
exclude from one’s sense of self or visit surreptitiously after dark.”
 Noel Ignatiev, publisher of Race Traitor
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The white race is a historically constructed social formation. It consists of all those who partake
of the privileges of the white skin in this society. Its most wretched members share a status
higher, in certain respects, than that of the most exalted persons excluded from it, in return for
which they give their support to a system that degrades them.
The key to solving the social problems of our age is to abolish the white race, which means no
more and no less than abolishing the privileges of the white skin. Until that task is
accomplished, even partial reform will prove elusive, because white influence permeates every
issue, domestic and foreign, in U.S. society.
The existence of the white race depends on the willingness of those assigned to it to place
their racial interests above class, gender, or any other interests they hold. When possible, it
[Race Traitor] will support practical measures, guided by the principle, Treason to whiteness is
loyalty to humanity.
Whiteness as racism (continued)
 Strengths of paradigm
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Acknowledges social construction of race
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Acknowledges political meaning of racial construction
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Acknowledges existence of racist institutions and racial socialization
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Acknowledges that racism can be unintentional
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Acknowledges that all Whites benefit from white skin privilege
 Limitations of paradigm
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Does not acknowledge “relative evil” of different racist behaviors
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Blames and attacks white Americans, causing many well-intentioned to
avoid dealing with the issue on both a personal and community level
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Does not recognize personal progress toward unlearning racism
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Does not recognize any societal progress, short of abolishing whiteness
Whiteness as privilege
 The privilege to be oblivious to, to
ignore, or to deny the impact of race
and racism in our society
 The privilege to surround oneself with
members of own racial group, if one
wants to do so
 The privilege of interacting with people
in authority who are members of own
racial group
 The privilege to be judged as a person,
rather than be stereotyped as a
member of a group
 And…The privilege to not have to
wrestle over what it means to be white
Who tends to
recognize privilege?
Whiteness as privilege (continued)
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One of the important steps that whites must go through in learning about racism and
their role in combating it is to recognize themselves as white. While...ethnic minorities
are forced by their racial oppression to be aware of themselves as members of racial
groups, whites generally have the luxury to feel "normal," not aware of their whiteness.
Echols, Gabel, Landerman, & Reyes. (1988). An Approach for Addressing Racism, Ethnocentrism, and
Sexism in the Curriculum.
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If we follow through on the self-reflexive nature of these encounters with Africanism, it
falls clear: images of blackness can be evil and protective, rebellious and forgiving,
fearful and desirable — all of the self-contradictory features of the self. Whiteness,
alone, is mute, meaningless, unfathomable, pointless, frozen, veiled, curtained,
dreaded, senseless, implacable. Or so our writers seem to say.
Toni Morrison, from Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (New York:Vintage Books, 1993) p. 59.
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[Blacks are mired] in a very natural process of inversion in which we invert from
negative to positive the very point of difference — our blackness — that the enemy
used to justify our oppression. ...One of the many advantages whites enjoy in America
is a relative freedom from the draining obligation of racial inversion. Whites do not have
to spend precious time fashioning an identity out of simply being white. They do not
have to self-consciously imbue whiteness with an ideology, look to whiteness for some
special essence, or divide up into factions and wrestle over what it means to be white.
Their racial collectivism, to the extent that they feel it, creates no imbalance between
the collective and the individual. This, of course, is yet another blessing of history and
of power, of never having lived in the midst of an overwhelming enemy race.
Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (New York: Harper Perennial, 1990).
Whiteness as a developmental process
 Janet Helms’ (1990, 1995) White Racial Identity Model
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Assumes existence of white superiority and individual, cultural, and
institutional racism.
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Sees white racial identity as an oppositional identity
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Assumes individuals start with a racist identity and must first move
away from such an identity before they can develop a non-racist identity
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Assumes individuals can be in more than one “stage” at a time (i.e.,
have multiple statuses)
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Posits that different statuses are associated with different ways of
processing racial data
White Racial Identity Development
Six statuses of white racial identity (Helms, 1995)
 Contact
 Disintegration
Abandonment
of racism
 Reintegration
 Pseudo-Independent
 Immersion-Emersion
 Autonomy
Redefining a
positive White
identity
Contact
 Passive lack of racial salience and awareness
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Unaware of most forms of racism
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Unaware of white-skin privilege (class exercise on Thursday)
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Unlikely to attend to or remember racial stereotypes
 Limited interactions with non-whites
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Most relationships with other Whites
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Exposure to people of color mostly vicarious (e.g., media)
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Possible cross-race friendships with “pre-encounter” people of color
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Naïve curiosity and/or timidity about people of color
 Color-blind philosophy and ideology
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Evaluates people of color with “white” criteria
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Responds to racism with denial
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Perpetrates racist behavior unknowingly (e.g., “You’re not like most Blacks)
Disintegration
 Increased awareness of racial inequalities
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Usually due to interactions with members of minority group
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Recognition of moral dilemmas associated with whiteness
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Freedom and democracy vs. racial inequality
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Individual merit vs. racial stereotypes
 Most relationships still with other Whites
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Cross-racial interactions feel threatening and increase anxiety
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Copes with discomfort by avoiding cross-racial interactions
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Tries to convince other Whites that people of color are not inferior
 Color-blindness no longer espoused
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Knowledge of racial inequality creates cognitive dissonance, which manifests in
feelings of guilt, depression, helplessness, anxiety, discomfort, & resentment
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Seeks and attends to information to the effect that racism is not the White
person’s fault or no longer exists
Reintegration (into “Whiteness”)
 Relatively good awareness of racial inequalities
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Members of minority groups blamed for inequalities
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Negative stereotypes about minority groups prominent
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Selective attention to information that confirms racial stereotypes
 Idealization of whiteness
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Endorsement of white superiority (e.g., intelligence)
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Strong preference for relationships with Whites
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Enjoyment of racist humor that promotes white superiority
 Guilt and anxiety transformed into fear and anger
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Active Expression: oppression, violence
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Passive Expression: avoidance of people and situations
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Possible endorsement of minority group superiority in domains that are usually
considered of lesser importance
Pseudo-Independent
 Intellectual enlightment about racism
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Questions inferiority of (and stereotypes about) people of color
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Begins to acknowledge responsibility of Whites for racism
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Begins to realize how he/she may help perpetuate it
 Greater interaction with people of color
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Intellectual acceptance and curiosity about people of color
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Sincere desire to help people of color
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Focus on helping people of color meet majority group standards (become more
white)
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Unaware that criteria may be inappropriate
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May be met with suspicion from both Whites and people of color (marginalization)
May still unintentionally perpetrate racism
Immersion-Emersion
 Emotional intense period of “soul searching” for a healthy
racial identity
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Focus shifts from changing people of color to changing self and other white
people
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Honest reflection on what it means to be “white” in this country
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What is an appropriate personal response to racism?
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May be associated with some guilt, but dominant emotions are generally hope
and motivation
Autonomy
 Internalization of healthy, positive, White identity.
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Race and people of color are no longer a threat
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No longer feels need to oppress or idealize people because of group membership
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Actively seeks to learn from other cultural/racial groups
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Increasingly aware of relatedness of various forms of oppression
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Ongoing racial self-actualization
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Guilt is replaced by motivation and commitment to fighting racism
Stages (Schemas) of White Racial identity Development
Phase 1: Abandonment of Racism
CONTACT
DISINTEGRATION
REINTEGRATION
Phase 2: Defining a Nonracist White Identity
PSEDOINDEPENDENCE
IMMERSION/
EMERSION
AUTONOMY
Critiques of White Racial Identity Model
1.
Erroneously based on racial/ethnic minority identity
development models.
2.
Too much emphasis on the attitudes toward minorities; not
enough on attitudes toward self or own racial identity.
3.
Linear development conceptually inaccurate
4.
Implicit hierarchy based on creator’s ethics
(Behrens & Rowe)
Double Consciousness
 “It is a peculiar sensation, this double
consciousness, this sense of always looking
at one’s self through the eyes of others….
One ever feels his twoness, -- an American, a
Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two
unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in
one dark body…” (Du Bois, 1903).
 White double consciousness exists too, but
only in last two “stages” of development
Whiteness as a developmental process
 Strengths of paradigm
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Acknowledges social construction of race
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Acknowledges political meaning of racial construction

Acknowledges existence of racist institutions and racial socialization
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Acknowledges that all Whites benefit from white skin privilege

Acknowledges unintentional racism

Acknowledges “relative evil” of different racist behaviors
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Normalizes internalization of racism without normalizing racism
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Prescribes plan toward becoming non-racist
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Recognizes personal progress toward unlearning racism
 Limitations of paradigm
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Assumes development begins at a particular point
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Fails to recognize influence of demographic and socializing factors
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Fails to prescribe plan toward increasing social justice
Interracial Comfort Index
ICI; Claney & Parker, 1989
Please respond to these items based on your perceived or actual
level of comfort in various situations involving Black individuals.
Indicate your responses according to the following scale:
1. Hiring a Black individual to care for your children.
2. Working with a Black individual.
3. Hiring a Black individual to do complicated repairs on your house.
4. Being employed by a Black individual.
5. Voting for a Black individual for a local government position.
6. Voting for a Black individual for president of the United States.
7. Sharing membership in a social club with Black individuals.
8. Sharing public transportation with Black individuals.
9. Helping a Black individual in physical distress.
10. Helping a Black individual in emotional distress.
11. Reading a novel about the lives of Black people.
12. Participating in recreational activities with Black individuals.
13. Inviting a Black individual into your home for dinner.
14. Being a close friend of a Black individual.
15. Sitting next to a Black male/White female couple in a theatre.
1 very low comfort
2 low comfort
3 average comfort
4 high comfort
5 very high comfort
The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI)
Racial Identity
Racial Salience
Racial Centrality
Racial Regard
Racial Ideology
“The extent to which one’s race is a
relevant part of one’s self-concept
at a particular moment or in
particular situation”
“In general, being Black is an
important part
of my self image.”
“A person’s affective and evaluative
judgment of his or her race.”
“The individual’s beliefs, opinions,
and attitudes with respect to the way he or
she feels that the members of the race
should act.”
Public
“Overall, Blacks are
considered good by others.”
Nationalist
“Blacks and Whites can never
live in true harmony because
of racial differences.”
Oppressed Minority
Private
“I
feel good about Black people”
“The same forces which have
led to the oppression of
Blacks have also led to the
oppression of other groups.”
Assimilation
“Blacks should try to work
within the system to
achieve their political and
economic goals.”
Humanist
“Blacks and Whites have more
commonalities than
differences.”
Sellers, R. M., Shelton, J. N., Cooke, D. Y., Chavous, T. M., Rowley, S. A. J., & Smith, M. A. A Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: Assumptions, Findings, and Future Directions.
African American Identity Development, 275-299
The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI)
Racial Ideology
“The individual’s beliefs,
opinions, and attitudes
with respect to the way
he or she feels that
the members of the
Race should act.”
Nationalist
• Emphasizes the uniqueness of the
Black experience
•Believes that Blacks should be in
control of their own destinies with
minimal input from other groups
(Self-determination)
•Believes that Blacks should work
and/or socialize together in order to
promote the advancement
of the race
(Preference for African American
social environments)
Oppressed Minority
•Emphasizes the commonalities of
Experience between African Americans
And other oppressed groups
•More likely to view coalition building
as the most appropriate strategy for
Social change
•Equally interested in the culture of
other minority groups as
they are in their own
Humanist
Assimilationist
•Emphasizes the commonalities of
African Americans and the rest of
American society
•Believes in working within mainstream
structures to change these systems
and achieve life goals
• Stresses the importance of social
interaction between
Blacks and Whites
•Emphasizes the commonalities of
all humans
•Believes people should be viewed as
Individuals, not representatives of
their race
•May hold strong beliefs in a larger
force that impacts the destiny
of all people
•Less likely to define themselves in
terms of race; likely to exhibit low
levels of racial centrality
Sellers, R. M., Shelton, J. N., Cooke, D. Y., Chavous, T. M., Rowley, S. A. J., & Smith, M. A. A Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: Assumptions, Findings, and Future Directions.
African American Identity Development, 275-299