Racial Identity: A Theoretical Analysis

Racial identity development models. Cross’s (1991) Nigrescence model was developed for racial identity development of AAs. In this model, AAs experience different stages of racial identity developments (Cross, 1991; Parham, 1981). Cross’s framework defines individual’s racial identity development through various nonlinear stages of understanding their own racial identity from childhood to adulthood.

He explains this book is about “identity contingencies-the things you have to deal with in a situation because you have a given social identity” (pg.3). Steele says that “by imposing on us certain conditions of life, our social identities can strongly affect things as important as our performances in the classroom and on standardized tests, our memory capacity, our athletic performance, the pressure we feel to prove ourselves, even the comfort level we have with people of different groups…” (pg.4). These contingences are things people have to deal with every day, things they might not even realize they are dealing

Clark’s work on identity and stereotyping has continued and has extended to not only minority groups, but to white-Americans and women as well. Research on prejudices and stereotyping has continued in the area of education. According to Steele (2004), the framework of one’s life can be controlled by their social identity and that individuals must contend to the prejudices and stereotypes that they socially must identify with. Further research suggests that those who are exposed to negative stereotypes are influenced either by believing or mimicking the stereotype or, both (Steele, 2004). Steele (2004) found that stereotypes have contributed to the underperformance of minority groups in the school setting. As suggested by Clark, Steele (2004) also believes that conforming to suggested stereotypes weakens the social identity and brings severe deficits to the ability of student to excel in the classroom. Clark’s ideas on stereotyping were elaborated in the notion that stereotype threat does not only affect minority groups, but can exhibit deficits in any group of individuals. For instance, Steele (2004) offers the example of white vs. black athletes and how in many sports (e.g. basketball or football) white athletes have shown to feel less competent in comparison to black athletes because of

Stereotypes are socially constructed, over-generalized views regarding a particular group of persons with certain characteristics that are widely accepted, and usually expected, in a society. The dominant group of a certain society, which in this case is probably Caucasians and men, usually creates these social constructions. Claude M. Steele, a researcher from Stanford University, performed multiple research studies on the idea and psychological effects of stereotypes on its victims. In his studies, he coins the term “stereotype threat” as the “social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group,” which implies that “the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes” (Steele 797).

I am a Hispanic woman who if I am honest have a lot of self hate for myself and my culture. “Internal racism has been the term used to describe the process by which persons of color absorb the racist messages that are omnipresent in our society and internalized them” (Sue, 2016). I grew up in a small border town where stereotypes are made. I never experienced much racism because we were the majority. However, looking at it now I have a lot of self hate, and I always identified as white growing up, because I am light skinned I still believe I can pass for white at least until I moved to Georgia. Living here has taught me that I miss my culture I miss the cooking, the camaraderie, the unity that Hispanics have. The other day I was asked at

Your depiction of the second week’s materials had pinpointed the generalization of African Americans which the same cannot be said for white people due to their racial group membership and lone wolf theory. People of color suffered under collective shaming with most interpretation labeling them as animals to criminals. For instance, your case with peaceful protestors for Michael Brown being of equal position to that of vandalizers, looters, and thugs. This extend to partial advantages received for the duration of the protest against President Trump were rationalized to jokes with a right to do so. Ultimately, this discrepancy proves the obvious differences of racial identity by the very existence of white

Tatum’s description of the formation of racial identity among children and young adults helps me understand why races self-segregate. She categorizes the steps of the psychological process by which individuals recognize their “place” in society as part of a racial group and seek identity within that racial group, often to the point of conforming to negative stereotypes. This reaffirms racial minorities’ sense of identity and community and the value of their culture even though it differs from “mainstream” (white, middle-class) American culture, or what Delpit would call the culture of power. On the other hand, self-segregation reinforces the notion that races are different and that race is a valid characteristic to use to distinguish between people.

In my present job, I had to question whether I belong because being a female, my co-worker saw me as inferior. At that point, I felt more proud than ever because I challenge them to outdo me in performance and intellect. There were times when I started to doubt my potential, but I had to do self-talk, put on an armorer of bravery, hold my head high, and pretend to be just as capable until it happened.

Racial identity (passing) alludes to an individual considered a part of one racial assembly additionally acknowledged as a part of an alternate racial gathering. The term was utilized particularly as a part of the U.S. to portray an individual of blended race legacy acclimatizing into the white larger part throughout times when lawful and social meetings of hypo descent arranged the individual as a minority, subject to racial isolation and segregation (Smedley).

In today’s society the high influx of interracial marriages between Black and White individuals has resulted in the biracial population increasing significantly over the past 30 years (Roth, 2005). According to the 2010 census, the number of American children that categorize themselves as biracial has increased to 4.2 million, making it the quickest emergent youth group in the United States (Census, 2010). This has led to interest in the biracial population; recent literature has shown that amongst many studies, “individuals perceive the relationship between their mixed parentage and their self identity differently” (Rockquemore & Brunsma, 2002). This is significant in the area of child development and family studies because self-identity

The beauty of society is not two persons are identical, we are all diverse and we need to celebrate differences. Race and ethnicity shape the way we see ourselves and are integral to creating outlooks on society. Ethnicity has a considerable effect on our identity and makes us who we are, and we need to learn to embrace it. The topic of embracing ethnic identity is very well defined by Jaswinder Bolina in, “Writing Like a White Guy” and by Gloria Anzaldua in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Even though many immigrate to America one should not forget where they come from, being true to oneself and acknowledging that ethnicity plays an important role for many people in defining their cultural background and race.

The discussions of race, identity, and social norms begins to seem almost unavoidable in a society that is subjected to disproportionate ideas of equality. We tend to only recognize racism that occurs in the United States, ignoring the fight for acceptance of those of African descent around the world. The articles, “Being African in India: ‘We are seen as demons’” & ‘Shock in India Over Mob Attack On Tanzanian Student” both effectively highlight the presence of race as the determinant of the choices you make, the way you are viewed by others, and ultimately the way in which you are treated in society.

The African, Mexican, and Native persons have all interacted with the Dominant American culture in some magnitude; consequently altering each different group’s racial and ethnic Identity. Throughout the semester, I have discovered that in much literature writers had an ideal perspective on their own identity as well as the identity that the dominant culture influenced them to have. While doing some research I wanted to see what would be a transitional time frame for a person to be un-conditioned of many negative symbolic meanings in regard to minorities and immigrants. My research has shown that there was a hierarchical scheme where an individual can monitor his/her identity progression from one level to the next. This

One challenge many people who are biracial face, especially when they’re young, is fitting in with people. We live in a world that sees you for your color, and if you aren’t “white enough” or “black enough” people are likely to not be as accepting. Having a This may result in someone acting like something they’re not or having to have different friend groups. Becoming introverted could also be a result of this. Another struggle biracial people face is being racially ambiguous, which means people are unable to identify what race you are, because of this people are constantly asking what you are or assuming they know exactly what your racial background is. People even question you about who you are related to. Some may think that these types of occurrences aren’t that big of a deal, but one can’t truly understand until they experience it themselves. It’s difficult to maintain your racial identity when it is always being questioned. Angie Yingst has first hand experience with questioning:

In many perspectives, racial identities mean the differences in appearances of individuals especially with regards to the color of skin. Racial identities are mostly determined genetically or biologically. This includes traits like hair, bone structure color of the eyes etc. In recent times the biological determination of race has been disputed by social scientists who also propounds that races have more fluid social contexts.