Full Packet-Racial Ethnic ID Worksheets · 2020. 6. 28. · exposure to Asian ethnic experiences. What are the messages you received from family members about what it means to be

Dr. Sandra (Chap) Chapman

SANDRA CHAPMANCONSULTING

community + education + equity

RESI Identity Worksheet Instructions & Models

Read This Page - Then Do Worksheet Part One

Take five minutes to answer the prompt on the next page. A few things to keep note of before you write.

• The three underlined words are intentionally highlighted. Researchers on racial-ethnic identity development say that we have an understanding of, feelings about, and attitudes towards the group to which we belong (our in-group) and the group to which we do not belong (our out-group).

• The writing prompt asks for you to consider where you are at this moment. This is specifically worded to remind us that racial-ethnic identity development is a journey, not a destination. Consider the current racial climate, discourse, or events that are informing your understanding of your identity.

• You will notice sentence starters along the bottom left of the next page. These are opening statements made by people as they began to consider and talk about their racial-ethnic identity. Use the opening sentences if they help you begin to write. You DO NOT need to complete all of the sentence starters NOR even use them. The main focus is the bolded prompt on the top of the page.

• Remove all other distractions and set your timer for five minutes. You can always add more to the worksheet after you have completed your racial-ethnic identity journal writing (the next worksheet). If you do add more to worksheet one, you might want to keep track of what you wrote before you did your racial-ethnic identity worksheet and what you wrote afterwards.

• When the five minutes are complete, breath and reflect. How are you feeling? What is going through your mind?


Worksheet Part One Writing Prompt Where are you in your understanding, feelings and attitudes about your

[insert your racial identity on line: _____________________________] at this moment?

I am . . .

I never/sometimes/often . . .

How do I . . .

I don’t . . .

They need to . . .

I feel . . .

I would like . . .

I don’t know . . .

We need . . .

Are there . . .

When I . . .


Read Next - Then Do Your Racial-Ethnic ID Worksheet When the Worksheet Part One Writing Prompt is complete, look through the remainder of the packet for the ONE racial-ethnic model that speaks to how you identify.

• Not all models will speak to your experience. However, the model you use will begin to help you explore your understanding of your identity in this current racial climate while following a theoretical framework.

• If people generally experience you as White in the world, I invite you to use Helm’s White ID model.

• There are two distinctly different Latinx models. Read each carefully before you decide which one to use.

• There are two distinctly different Native American Identity models. Read each carefully before you decide which one to use.

Two Considerations 1. After you complete your racial-ethnic ID worksheet, what questions do you have

about the role race plays in understanding yourself, your students, the curriculum you will teach?

2. Race is emotional and this project may bring up a range of feelings and trigger racial anxiety. What questions or thoughts do you have about the feelings that are coming up for you?

ASIAN AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENTKim J. (1981) The process of Asian American identity development from Sue, et al. (1998). Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Individual and Organizational Development. Sage Productions. Thousand Oaks, CA.

*This model was updated by the author in the book by Wijeyesinghe & Jackson (2012). New Perspectives on racial identity development: Integrating emerging frameworks. Kim’s revisions take into consideration a broader definition of Asian American racial identity whereby it describes how people deal with racism towards their group and their ability to disown the dominant group’s view of their race. She presents this new racial identity model (Asian Americans) as distinctly different from an ethnic model (Korean, Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese) as the pan-ethnic Asian American Pacific Islander community vary in so many ways.

Framework Description Guiding Question

1. I’m like my family - Ethnic Awareness

Represents the period of time before the child enters the school system, when the child’s family members serve as the significant ethnic group model. Positive or neutral attitudes toward one’s own ethnic origin are formed depending on the amount of ethnic exposure conveyed by the caretakers, if the person is part of the Asian majority, and the level of exposure to Asian ethnic experiences.

What are the messages you received from family members about what it means to be your particular Asian ethnic group?

Can you recall when your environment shifted and you had increased contact with the dominant group or White people?

1. Your Journey Through Ethnic Awareness

Sandra (Chap) Chapman, Ed. D. �www.chapequity.com


2. I’m not Black,

but am I White - White

Identification

Begins when children enter school where peers and the surroundings become powerful forces in conveying racial prejudice, which negatively impacts their self-esteem and identity. The realization of “differentness” from such interactions leads to self-blame and a desire to escape their own racial heritage by identifying with White society. Messages about shame in Asian culture may influence the messages about fitting in and/or to silence the painful experiences with race and racism.

Active White Identification growing up in predominantly White society.

Passive White Identification growing up in mixed neighborhood or predominantly Asian society, use Whites as a reference point, but do not distance themselves from Asian culture/people/ethnic language, etc.

What is the first memory you have of a racialized experience? What are the feelings and thoughts associated with this memory? Who was around to help you process what this experience meant to you and your understanding of your ethnic identity?

2. Your Journey Through White Identification (Active and/or Passive)



3. Power to my people - Awakening to Social Political Consciousness

The adoption of a new perspective, often correlated with increased political awareness. Kim believes that the civil rights and women’s rights movements, and other significant political events, often precipitate this new awakening. The primary result is an abandoning of identification with White society and an understanding of oppression and oppressed groups. This paradigm shift from personal to social responsibility releases one from guilt and feelings of inferiority because they are better able to see the root causes of systemic oppression.

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced racial tension or stress? Or witnessed racism in action? Who did you talk to? How did you (or how do you regularly) overcome racial stress, racial microaggressions?

3. Your Journey Through Awakening to Social Political Consciousness



4. Down with oppression - Redirection to an Asian American Consciousness

A reconnection or renewed connection with one’s Asian American heritage and culture. This is often followed by a realization of White oppression as the culprit for the negative experiences of youth. Anger against White racism may become a defining theme with commitment to increased contact with Asian Americans and self / group pride.

Do you feel racial-ethnic pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your ethnic group? Can you recall a time when you avoided White people, White spaces, or symbols of Whiteness? How do you engage in relationship building with White peers?

Who are the people you surround yourself with that can or do serve as a buffer, meaning they validate your racialized perspectives and help you to “bounce back” from racism?

4. Your Journey Through Redirection


Where are you NOW in your understanding, feelings and attitudes about your identity at this moment?


5. Empowered sense of self and other - Incorporation

Represents the highest form of identity evolution. It encompasses the development of a positive and comfortable identity as Asian American and consequent respect for other racial/cultural heritages. Identification for or against White culture is no longer an important issue.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as an Asian person?

What are your other social identities that inform your racial construct?

5. Your Journey Through Incorporation


BI-RACIAL AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Poston (1990). In Renn, K. A. (Fall 2008). New Directions for Student Services. No. 123. Research on Biracial and Multiracial Identity Development: Overview and Synthesis. DOI: 10.1002/ss.282

Poston (1990) was seeking to create a model that would reject the linear models previously created, for example Cross (1987). He developed a 5-Level model that was more positive than previous thinking that biracial people will never reach resolution with identity development. Missing from Poston’s model, however, is an emphasis on the impact of societal racism on biracial people’s development. I encourage participants to consider factors that have been linked to identity such as gender, social class, family and family immigration status, age, social awareness and orientation, and geographic region.

1. Your Journey Through Personal Identity

Sandra Chapman Consulting

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Framework Description Guiding Questions1. No group awareness - Personal Identity

Young children hold a personal identity that is not necessarily linked to a racial reference group.

Think of a moment in your life when you believed that race was not a big deal or had an impact on your personal goals and sense of self.


2. Your Journey Through Choice of Group Categorization


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Framework Description Guiding Questions

3. Shame, blame, guilt - Enmeshment/ Denial

Guilt at not being able to identify with all aspects of his or her heritage may lead to anger, shame, or self-hatred; resolving the guilt and anger is necessary to move beyond this level.

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced tension, stress, shame, embarrassment, or guilt about choosing one of your identities? Who did you talk to? How did you (or how do you regularly) overcome moments like this?

Framework Description Guiding Questions2. Society says I am ______________ - Choice of Group Categorization

Based on personal factors (such as appearance and cultural knowledge) and factors defining perceived group status and social support, an individual chooses a multicultural existence that includes both parents’ heritage groups or a dominant culture from one background.

How did your appearance and level of cultural knowledge about your groups impact your ability to associate with one or more aspects of how you identify?

BI-RACIAL AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT 3. Your Journey Through Enmeshment/ Denial

4. Your Journey Through Appreciation


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4. I think this is what it means to be ___________Appreciation

Individuals broaden their racial reference group through learning about all aspects of their backgrounds, though individuals may choose to identify with one group more than with others.

Do you feel bi-ethnic and/or bi-racial pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your ethnic groups or learn more about your racial heritages and culture?



5. Your Journey Through Internalization-Commitment


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5. Empowered sense of multiple identities - Integration

Individuals broaden their racial reference group through learning about all aspects of their backgrounds, though individuals may choose to identify with one group more than with others.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as a biracial person?

BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Cross (1971, 1978, 1991) from Talking about Race, Learning about Racism: The Application of Racial Identity

Development Theory in the Classroom by Beverly Daniel Tatum in Geismar, K. & Nicoleau, G. (1993), Teaching for Change. Harvard Educational Review. Cambridge, MA.

Personal Racial Color-Blindness Framework Description Guiding Questions

1. Colorblind. We are all just people – Pre- encounter

Don’t call me African American, I’m an American. I’m like everyone else.”

The African American has absorbed many of the beliefs and values of the dominant White culture, including the notion that “White is right” and “Black is wrong.” Though the internalization of negative Black Stereotypes may be outside of his or her conscious awareness, the individual seeks to assimilate and be accepted by Whites, and actively or passively distances him/herself from other Blacks.

Do you believe in a Colorblind Racial Ideology? Think of a moment in your life when you believed that race was not a salient component of your identity or sense of self.

1. Your Journey Through Pre-encounter


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BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Framework Description

2. There’s a problem now bond – Encounter

“Why is this (racism, denial or opportunities, privileges denied) happening to me?”

This phase is typically precipitated by an event or series of events that forces the individual to acknowledge the impact of racism in one’s life. For example, instances of social rejection by white friends or colleagues (or reading new personally relevant information about racism) may lead the individual to the conclusion that many whites will not view him or her as an equal. Faced with the reality that he or she cannot truly be white, the individual is forced to focus on his or her identity as a member of a group targeted by racism.

What is the first memory you have of a racial experience (encounter)? Was this directed at you or did you witness it?

What are the feelings and thoughts associated with this memory for you? Who was around to help you see and understand these racialized moments?

Are these People of Color and/or white people. Can you name one or two Black people you regularly seek to process racial stress?

Guiding Question

2. Your Journey Through Encounter


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BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Framework Description Guiding Question

3. Power to my people - Immersion/Emersion

“I’m proud of the group I belong to.” “Most White people don’t get Black people.”

This stage is characterized by the 3. simultaneous desire to surround oneself with visible symbols of one’s racial identity and an active avoidance of symbols of Whiteness. As Thomas Parham describes, “At this stage, everything of value in life must be Black or relevant to Blackness. This stage is also characterized by a tendency to denigrate white people, simultaneously glorifying Black people...” (1989, p. 190). As individuals enter the Immersion stage, they actively seek out opportunities to explore aspects of their own history and culture with the support of peers from their own racial background. Typically, White-focused anger dissipates during this phase because so much of the person’s energy is directed toward his or her own group and self-exploration. The result of this exploration is an emerging security in a newly defined and affirmed sense of self.

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced racial tension, stress, or a racial microaggression? Did you avoid white people, white spaces, or symbols of whiteness (immersion/emersion)? What did you do? Who did you talk to? How did you (or do you regularly) overcome racial stress?

3. Your Journey Through Immersion/Emersion


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Developing Critical Color Consciousness

Framework Guiding Question

4. Coalition builder – Internalization

“I’m Black and I’m proud.” “You see my Blackness, we can be friends.”

Do you feel racial pride (internalized)? How do you engage in relationship building with White peers? Are you selective about the White friends you have? Why or why not? Do you have a close White friend? What are ways this person understands race and racism that are important to you? How do you define yourself now as a Black person compared to when you were in contact?

While still maintaining his or her4. connections with Black peers, the internalized individual is willing to establish meaningful relationships with Whites who acknowledge and are respectful of his or her self-definition. The individual is also ready to build coalitions with members of other oppressed groups.

Description

4. Your Journey Through Internalization


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5. Empowered self and committed to my communities - Internalization-Commitment

“What can I do for my many Black communities?” “How do I work to dismantle systemic racism impacting Black people and all people?”

Those at the fifth stage have found ways to translate their “personal sense of Blackness into a plan of action or a general sense of commitment” to the concerns of Blacks as a group, which is sustained over time (Cross, 1991, p. 220). Whether at the fourth of fifth stage, the process of Internalization allows the individual, anchored in a positive sense of racial identity, both to perceive and transcend race proactively.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as a Black person to your various communities?

5. Your Journey Through Internalization-Commitment


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ETHNIC IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Phinney, J. S. (1996). Understanding ethnic diversity: The role of ethnic identity. The American Behavioral Scientist, 40(2), 143-152.

“Most of the research on ethnic identity has emphasized the content of ethnic identity, that is, the actual ethnic behaviors that individuals practice, along with their attitudes toward their ethnic group. In contrasts, our work has focused on the process of ethnic identity formation, that is, the way in which individuals come to understand the implications of their ethnicity and make decisions about its role in their lives, regardless of the extent of ethnic involvement. Content and process are likely to be related, but the two can be distinguished conceptually,” (Phinney, 1993, p. 64).

Three Stage Model of Ethnic Identity Formation

Diffusion-Foreclosure Overall: “I haven't really thought about my feelings around my ethnicity. I’m not sure I even have feelings about my ethnicity. Should I have feelings about my ethnicity? Why would anyone even ask the question?”

Diffusion • D: “My past is back there; I have no reason to worry about it. I’m American now.”

• D: “Why do I need to learn about who was the first of my people to do this or that? I’m just not too interested.”

• D: “My parents tell me... about where they lived, but what do I care? I’ve never lived there.”

Foreclosure • F: “I don’t go looking for my culture. I just go by what my parents say and do, and what they tell me to

do, the way they are.”

• F: “If I could have chosen, I would have chosen to be American White, because it’s America, and I would be in my country.”

• F: “I would choose to be White. They have more job opportunities and are more accepted.”

Feelings ambivalence, detachment, mild curiosity


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Framework Description Guiding QuestionsStage 1. Unexamined Ethnic Identity

Characterized by the lack of exploration of ethnicity. Existing models suggest that minority subjects initially accept the values and attitudes of the majority culture, including internalized negative views of their own group held by the majority.

What are the messages conveyed to you by family and society about what it meant to be your specific ethnic/cultural group?

ETHNIC IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT 1. Your Journey Through Unexamined Ethnic Identity


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Framework Description Guiding QuestionsStage 2: Ethnic Identity Search/Moratorium

The initial stage of ethnic identity is conceptualized as continuing until adolescents encounter a situation that initiates an ethnic identity search.

How did negative messages about your group impact your ability to associate with your group? Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced tension, stress, or embarrassment about your group? Who did you talk to? How did you (or how do you regularly) overcome moments like this?

ETHNIC IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Moratorium • Overall: “Oh my goodness! I do have some feelings and attitudes about my ethnicity. That incident on my

floor/What he said to me/What I experienced in class has influenced my realization of this. Who am I? When did this happen? Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?”

•

• M: “I want to know what we do and how our culture is different from others. Going to festivals and cultural events helps me to learn more about my culture and myself.”

• M: “I think people should know what my people had to go through to get to where we are now.”

• M: “There are a lot of people around me who aren’t in my group, and it gets pretty confusing to try and decide who I am.”

Feelings hostility, shame, confusion

2. Your Journey Through Ethnic Identity Search/Moratorium


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ETHNIC IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Identity Achievement

Overall: "I know who I am and I embrace my ethnicity. I feel pretty good about myself and proud of my ethnicity."

• A: “People put me down because of my ethnicity, but I don’t care anymore. I can accept myself more.” • A: “I have been born [ethnicity], and am born to be [ethnicity]... I’m here in America, and people of many

different cultures are here, too. So I don’t just consider myself [ethnicity], but also American.” • A: “I used want to be White, cause I wanted long flowing hair, and I wanted to be real light. I used to think

being light was prettier, but now I think there are pretty dark-skinned girls and pretty light-skinned girls. I don’t want to be White now. I’m happy being me.”

Feelings pride and acceptance


3. Your Journey Through Ethnic Identity Achievement


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Stage 3.Ethnic Identity Achievement

The ideal outcome of the identity process, characterized by a clear, confident sense of one’s own ethnicity. Identity achievement corresponds to acceptance and internalization of one’s ethnicity.

Do you feel ethnic pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your ethnic group?

INDIGENOUS AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Wilson’s Indigenous American Perspectives on Identity Development and Two-Spirit people. Excerpted from Harvard Educational Review, Volume 66 Number 2, Summer 1996, ISSN 0017-8055 “How We Find Ourselves: Identity Development and Two-Spirit People” by Alex Wilson

Wilson examines identity development from an Indigenous American perspective, grounded in the understanding that all aspects of identity are interconnected. These aspects include sexuality, gender, culture, community, and spirituality. Given Wilson’s analysis, there is no developmental model which helps define the commonality of Indigenous American identity nor one which would do the same for Indigenous American two-spirit persons.

Two Spirit People

Many lesbian, gay, and bisexual Indigenous Americans use the term "two-spirit" to describe themselves. This term is drawn from a traditional worldview that affirms the inseparability of the experience of their sexuality from the experience of their culture and community. In contemporary European American culture, sexuality is perceived as a discrete aspect of identity, constructed on the basis of sexual object choice (Almaguer, 1993; Whitehead, 1981). This conception stands in sharp contrast to two-spirit identity.

In some cultures, two-spirit people were thought to be born "in balance," which may be understood as androgyny, a balance of masculine and feminine qualities, of male and female spirits. In many Indigenous American cultures, two-spirit people had (have) specific spiritual roles and responsibilities within their community. They are often seen as "bridge makers" between male and female, the spiritual and the material, between Indigenous American and non- Indigenous American. The term two-spirit encompasses the wide variety of social meanings that are attributed to sexuality and gender roles across Indigenous American cultures.

Indigenous Ethics

The Mohawk psychiatrist Clare Brant, in his work with Iroquois, Ojibway, and Swampy Cree people, has identified five ethics that, he believes, underpin these Indigenous peoples' worldview (1990).

An Ethic of Non-Interference - refers to the expectation that Indigenous Americans should not interfere in any way with another person.


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Indigenous Ethics, Continued

An Ethic That Anger Not Be Shown - is demonstrated by the absence of emphasis on or displays of emotions in speech and other forms of communication by Indigenous American people. Implicit in this ethic is a prohibition against showing grief and sorrow.

An Ethic Respecting Praise and Gratitude - appear as a lack of affect to a non-Indigenous observer. Rather than vocally expressing gratitude to someone, a person might simply ask the other to continue their contribution, because voicing appreciation may be taken by an Indigenous American as creating an embarrassing scene. Because the idea of community is inherent in the Indigenous American philosophy and existence, an egalitarian notion of place within a society exists.

The Conservation-Withdrawal Tactic - emphasizes the need to prepare mentally before choosing to act. Thinking things through before trying them or thinking thoughts through before voicing them is seen as a well- calculated preservation of physical and psychic energy.

The Notion That Time Must Be Right - Attention to the spiritual world gives a person the opportunity to examine her or his state of mind before initiating or participating in the task at hand (Ross, 1992). This concern that time should be taken to reflect on the possible outcomes of a particular action and to prepare emotionally and spiritually for a chosen course of action is reflected in the Notion That Time Must Be Right.

Additionally, an important part of Indigenous American traditional spirituality is paying respect to our ancestors, to those who died tens of thousands of years ago as well as those who have just recently entered the spirit world. We thank the spirits of animals, minerals, and plants, and turn to them for strength and continuity. This gratitude helps to maintain or regain the balance that is necessary to be a healthy and complete person. We understand that the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual parts of ourselves are equally important and interrelated.

When one aspect of a person is unhealthy, the entire person is affected. This too is true for the entire community; when one aspect of the community is missing, the entire community will suffer in some way. Indigenous Americans may respond to homophobia and racism in markedly different ways than people from other cultures. For example, if she respects the Ethic That Anger Not Be Shown, she may appear not to react to the "isms" that affect her. If she uses the Conservation-Withdrawal Tactic or the Notion That Time Must Be Right in her response, the strength of her resistance might not be recognized. Also, the Ethic of Non-Interference would require her friends and family to respect and trust the choices she makes.


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Some important components to identity

My Identity Perspective

Indigenous Ethnics (see below)

Sexuality / Two-Spirit

Gender / Two- Spirit

Culture

Community

Spirituality

Ancestors

Earth

LATINX ORIENTATION IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Ferdman & Gallegos (2001) in Sue, et al. (1998). Racial Identity Development and Latinos in the United States. New York University Press. New York, NY.

The following is not a progression model. Instead, a Latinx person sees themself oriented in one or more of the orientations below. Read ALL of the orientations and only reflect & write in the journey space that resonates with your lived experience.

Why use Latinx? Spanish is a gendered language that does not always work for those who live outside the male/female binary system. To acknowledge and include gender non-binary people, the term Latinx is used instead of Latino or Latina. Note: Latinx is an Americanized term. Some are advocating for Latine which uses the Spanish sounds.


Your Journey Through Latino-integrated


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Framework Description Guiding QuestionsUnderstand and are able to deal with the full complexity of Latino identity; meaning Latino identity is integrated with other social identities such as culture, ethnicity, gender, and class. Those in this orientation have a sense of themselves as “both/and” rather than “either/or” and appreciate the negative and positive attributes of their different social groups. For example, a Latina can appreciate the positive aspects of her culture while still being able to criticize other features and advocate for equality for women. Latinos in this orientation are able to connect with other subgroups easily.

What are the messages conveyed to you by family and society about what it meant to be Latino or any of your other social groups such as gender and class?

I am complex and interconnected – Latino-integrated

LATINX ORIENTATION IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT


Your Journey Through Latinx-identified (Racial/Raza)


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Framework Description Guiding QuestionsNetwork and coalition building – Latinx-identified (Racial/Raza)

Individuals in this orientation continue to hold onto their pan-ethnic identity but they place personal culture, history and other ethnic markers in a prominent place. Their notion of race is a uniquely Latino one where individuals will use the La Raza as a defining term. La Raza, a significant term in the U.S, particularly for Chicanos, unites them with indigenous people of the North Americas Aztecs. They identify all Latino subgroups as a distinct racial category, much as they see Whites as a distinctly different racial category. Due to their awareness of discrimination to their group, La Raza becomes primary to culture as this individual actively fights bias towards Latino-identified group to which they belong.

Do you feel ethnic pride?

What are ways you reconnect with members of your ethnic group?

Can you recall a time when you avoided White people, White spaces, or symbols of Whiteness as a strategy for distinguishing yourself as not White?



Your Journey Through Subgroup Identified


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The primary identifier is the person’s own ethnic or national- origin subgroup, culture and nationality. They view themselves as distinct from Whites or People of Color as a whole and are oriented in a more narrow and exclusive way towards their group. These individuals view their subgroup positively, and may view other Latino subgroups as inferior. Whites are not central to their orientation, and some may view Whites as barriers to their full inclusion.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as a Latinx, Chicana/o, mestiza/o, or your specific ethnic group?

I am proudly from… (Subgroup Identified)



Your Journey Through Latinx as Other


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Individuals lack information about their specific Latino history, background and culture and see themselves as “people of color.” Some may see themselves as “minorities” while others may unite to eliminate this term. The view of self is an external one, meaning the individual in this orientation focuses on how the group is viewed by those outside of the group. They do not adhere to Latino or White cultural norms or values yet see their color as a major unifying factor to other people of color.

What are the messages you received from society about Latinx people?

How have these messages impacted your understanding of yourself?

What am I? – Latinx as “Other”



Your Journey Through Undifferentiated /Denial


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I’m just a person. Can’t we just all get along?-Undifferentiated /Denial

People in this orientation prefer to identify themselves as “just people,” claiming to be colorblind. They do not focus on the racial categorizations others adhere to and live their lives relatively oblivious to differences in general. They accept the dominant norms of society and see setbacks as individual flaws, rather than as systemic or group dynamics. There is no identification or alignment with Latinos as a whole or their subgroup.

Do you believe in a Colorblind Racial Ideology?

Think of a moment in your life when you believed that race was not a bid deal or that someone’s race did not/could not impact their life experiences.


Where are you NOW in your understanding, feelings and attitudes about your

identity at this moment?

Your Journey Through White Identified


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White-identified Latinos see themselves as racially White and value Whiteness are assimilated into White culture, and see this orientation as superior to people of color. These individuals do recognize that they are different from Whites, as defined in the U.S., but prefer all that is connected to Whiteness, even raising their children with these values. They may be bi-cultural, yet their preference for White culture puts Whiteness as an essential and primary element in their identity, for example, intermarriage with Whites is viewed more positively than intermarriage with a darker group member.

How did negative messages about your group impact your ability to associate with your group and/or assimilate with White

I’m White. – White- Identified

LATINX / MEXICAN AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Ruiz (1990) from Sue, et al. (1998). Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Individual and Organizational Development. Sage Productions. Thousand Oaks, CA.

This model was developed considering the experiences of Chicano and Mexican American clients. Keep in mind the diversity within the pan-ethnic Latinx group, which includes people who identify racially as White, Black, of Bi- Multiracial, and ethnically as belonging to one or more of the Spanish speaking countries. This model may or may not resonate for you so please consider the other Latinx orientation model.

Why use Latinx? Spanish is a gendered language that does not always work for those who live outside the male/female binary system. To acknowledge and include gender non-binary people, the term Latinx is used instead of Latino or Latina. Note: Latinx is an Americanized term. Some are advocating for Latine which uses the Spanish sounds.

1. Your Journey Through Casual


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Framework Description Guiding Questions1. What is Latinx? –Casual During this period, messages from

the environment and/or significant others affirm, ignore, negate, or denigrate the ethnic heritage of the person. Because of the lack of full affirmation of one’s ethnic identity, the person may experience traumatic or humiliating experiences related to ethnicity. There is a failure to identify with Latino culture.

What are the messages conveyed to you by family and society about what it meant to be Latino or your specific ethnic/cultural group?

LATINX / MEXICAN AMERICAN RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

2. Your Journey Through Cognitive


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Framework Description Guiding Questions2. There’s a problem, assimilate to white society – Cognitive

As a result of negative/distorted messages, three erroneous belief systems about Chicano/ Latino heritage becomes incorporated into mental sets: (a) association of ethnic group membership with poverty and prejudice, (b) assimilation to White society is the only means of escape, and (c) assimilation is the only possible road to success.

How did negative messages about your group impact your ability to associate with your group and/or assimilate with White people, culture, society


3. Your Journey Through Consequence


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Framework Description Guiding Questions3. Ashamed of Latinx heritage – Consequence

Fragmentation of ethnic identity becomes very noticeable and evident. The person feels ashamed and embarrassed by ethnic markers such as name, accent, skin color, cultural customs, and so on. The unwanted self-image leads to estrangement, and rejection of Chicano/ Latino heritage. Equally strong is the pride around increasing assimilation.

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced tension, stress, or embarrassment as a Latinx person and/or rejection of other Latinx people?

Who did you talk to? How did you (or how do you regularly) overcome moments like this?


4. Your Journey Through Working Through


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4. I’m not White, I’m Latinx - Working Through

Two major dynamics distinguish this stage. First, the person becomes increasingly unable to cope with the psychological distress of ethnic identity conflict. Second, the person can no longer be a “pretender” by identifying with an alien ethnic identity. The person is propelled to reclaim and reintegrate disowned ethnic identity fragments. Ethnic consciousness increases. There is a willingness to reexamine the erroneous mental sets.

Do you feel ethnic pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your ethnic group?

Can you recall a time when you avoided White people, White spaces, or symbols of Whiteness as a strategy for distinguishing yourself as not White?



5. Your Journey Through Successful Resolution


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This stage is exemplified by greater acceptance of his or her culture and ethnicity. There is an improvement in self-esteem and a sense that ethnic identity represents a positive and success- promoting resource. The pride in Chicano/Latino heritage is not primarily to express rejection or anger with White society. However, there is an awareness of the power and politics surrounding White America.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as a Latinx, Chicana/o, mestiza/o, or your specific ethnic group?

5. Empowered sense of self - Successful Resolution

MULTI/MIXED RACE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

PP Root (1990). In Renn, K. A. (Fall 2008). New Directions for Student Services. No. 123. Research on Biracial and Multiracial Identity Development: Overview and Synthesis. DOI: 10.1002/ss.282

The following eight factors affect choice of racial identity, though some, not all, of the factors may be at play. While each factor is represented by a distinct circle, many of them are interrelated. In addition, other factors have been linked to mixed-raced identity such as gender, social class, family and family immigration status, age, social awareness and orientation, and geographic region (Renn, 2004).

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! Sandra Chapman Consulting

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1. Your Journey Through Acceptance of the Identity Society Assigns.

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Framework Description Guiding Questions1. Passive resolution of identity - Acceptance of the identity society assigns.

Family and a strong alliance with and acceptance by a (usually minority) racial group provide support for identifying with the group into which others assume the individual most belongs. The factors that may contribute to the identity one chooses can be seen on the diagram above.

Is there a racial or ethnic group that is more prominent in your childhood and early adolescence?

Think of a moment in your life when you believed that your race was whatever you were told you were.


2. Your Journey Through Identification with all Racial Groups.

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2. Active resolution of identity status - Identification with all racial groups.

Depending on societal support and personal ability to maintain this identity in the face of potential resistance from others, the biracial individual may be able to identify with both (or all) heritage groups. Citing societal racism and internalized oppression, Root (1990) posited that teens—assuming that they are at least partly White—entered a period of turmoil and possibly a “dual existence” when they might appear popular but feel as though they do not fit into any social group.

How did negative messages about your many groups impact your ability to associate with one aspect of how you identify?


3. Your Journey Through

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3. Active resolution of identity status - Identification with a single racial group.

The individual chooses one group, independent of social pressure, to identify in a particular way (as in resolution 1).

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced tension, stress, shame, embarrassment, or guilt about choosing one of your identities?

Who did you talk to? How did you (or how do you regularly) overcome moments like this?



4. Your Journey Through Identification as a New Racial Group.

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4. Strong kinship to and with other mixed-raced people - Identification as a new racial group.

The individual may move fluidly among racial groups but identifies most strongly with other biracial people, regardless of specific heritage backgrounds. Root (1990) accounted for the impact of racism on identity and introduced the possibility of a new identity group: biracial or multiracial. She also proposed that an individual might self-identify in more than one way at the same time or move fluidly among identities. Root’s model opened the door for the emergence of empirically derived, nonlinear models of identity development in mixed-race students.

Do you feel racial pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your racial group(s) or learn more about the racial group(s) that are salient for you?

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as a multi-racial person?

Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People

By Maria P.P. Root

I HAVE THE RIGHT...

-Not to justify my existence in this world.

-Not to keep the races separate within me.

-Not to be responsible for people's discomfort with my physical ambiguity. -Not to justify my ethnic legitimacy.

I HAVE THE RIGHT...

-To identify myself differently than strangers expect me to identify. -To identify myself differently from how my parents identify me. -To identify myself differently from my brothers and sisters.

-To identify myself differently in different situations.

I HAVE THE RIGHT...

-To create a vocabulary to communicate about being multiracial.

-To change my identity over my lifetime -- and more than once.

-To have loyalties and identification with more than one group of people. -To freely choose whom I befriend and love

Maria P. P. Root, PhD, is author of "The Multiracial Experience: Racial Borders as the New Frontier"

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NATIVE AMERICAN CONSCIOUSNESS IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Horse, P.G. (2012). Twenty-First Century Native American Consciousness: A Thematic Model of Indian Identity in Wijeyesinghe & Jackson (2012). New Perspectives on racial identity development: Integrating emerging frameworks.

Horse’s model is based on five influences on American Indian people’s consciousness. He claims that we must recognize that the passage of time (see Era’s below), connection to native language and culture, contact with non-Indians, and the navigation strategies one uses to maintain “Indianness” in the current climate and culture all impact identity. Nevertheless, his model is cross-generational in regards to its historical analysis.

Indian Cultural Evolution Era 1 - Indians were totally independent - prior to contact with non-Indian people Era 2 - US Declaration of Independence and westward expansion Era 3 - US Supreme Court determines that Indians are domestic dependent nations (late 1800s into 1900s) New Era - Breaking bonds of dependency which are based on racism, paternalism, and economic oppression remaining in place. Issues of language retention, affiliation with Indian nation and modern society, advocacy for the 37 colleges and universities serving Indian nations are but a few of the current factors.

Five Influences on American Indian Consciousness 1. How well one is grounded in the native language and culture; 2. Whether one’s genealogical heritage as an Indian is valid; 3. Whether one embraces a general philosophical or worldview that derives from distinctly Indian

ways, this is old traditions 4. The degree to which one thinks of him/her/themself in a certain way, that is, one’s own idea of self

as an Indian person, and; 5. Whether one is officially recognized as a member of an Indian nation by the government of that

nation.


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NATIVE AMERICAN CONSCIOUSNESS IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT


Orientation Towards Race Consciousness

Racial consciousness, both affirmation of self and awareness of stereotypes, occurs in early childhood. Indians serving in armed forces during WWI & II were forced to choose from racial classifications of White, Yellow, Red or Black, all unfamiliar terms to Indians. This time period also marked the racist stereotype by white soldiers of Indians as redskins. Institutional racism impacted [and continues to impact] land, agriculture, education, banking, travel, and other day to day interactions. While many Indians do not ascribe to a race, aligning more with a nation or as the people, these systemic issues create a backdrop whereby Indian people experience America in similar ways to other non-whites or people of color.

Review the five influences on the cover page. Native American consciousness is influenced by these factors.

Do you have, or were you raised with, an Indian construct (particular nation) or with a racial construct, or both? How did either or both of these develop?

Who are the elders in your life or the communities with which you are connected that inform your Indian / Native American Consciousness?

1. Your Personal Orientation Towards Race Consciousness


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2. Orientation Toward Political Consciousness

The Indian Wars (1600-early 1900s) to the Indian Citizen Act of 1924, which was when Congress granted citizenship to Native Americans, demonstrates the long struggle for political distinction and self-governance. For example, the Iroquois Confederacy of New York State continues to aggressively fight for the right to issue passports. Protecting land resources, the right to address jurisdictional issues, along with language preservation and self-determination are some of the touchstones of the struggle for Indian sovereignty.

What are your people’s particular struggles with sovereignty?

Who are the current activist in this movement?

What are the feelings that surface when you recall this history?

2. Your Personal Orientation Towards Political Consciousness


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NATIVE AMERICAN CONSCIOUSNESS IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Framework Description Guiding Question

3. Orientation Towards Linguistic Consciousness

Horse (2012) states that respective Indian language is “the most potent aspect of one’s tribal identity,” (p. 114). Current work in immersion schools on Indian reservations points to success with children’s connections to identity and their past as they learn their native language. The English-only movement is a thing of the past, however English is a language not on the brink of loss. Contrast this to the dwindling population of Indian elders who are fluent in their native language. This is having an impact on this consciousness, and thus on Indian identity. It is predicted that there will be significant loses of Indian nation’s languages between 2020-2030. Current generations of Native people will be impacted by, and will influence, the importance of language retention.

What is your connection to the language of your Native people(s)? Are there elders in your community that you can, or presently, reach out to?

What is your relationship to learning, using, and passing on English?

How might you begin to understand and claim or reclaim your nation’s language?

3. Your Personal Orientation Towards Linguistic Consciousness


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NATIVE AMERICAN CONSCIOUSNESS IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Framework Description Guiding Question

4. Orientation Towards Cultural Consciousness

Identity formation, affirmation, and resolution is a process that involves meaning-making of various aspects of one’s identity. Indians seek the same emotional connections to culture, religion/spirituality, language, customs, and traditions. Some scholars on Indianness speak of the collective trauma experienced by native people, which has had negative consequences on past, current, and future generations. For example, Horse, who is of the Kiowa people, shares that they deliberately “put away” aspects of their culture in the 1900s, while also deciding which to revive. As with language, cultural consciousness will depend heavily on this generation of Indians and their willingness to learn and maintain aspects of their nation’s culture.

Do you feel cultural pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your group?

Can you recall a time when you avoided non-Indian people, spaces, or symbols in an attempt to remain closer to your culture?

Who are the people you surround yourself with that can or do serve as a buffer, meaning they validate your Indian perspectives and help you to “bounce back” from the trauma of your nation’s and collective Indian people’s past?

4. Your Personal Orientation Towards Cultural Consciousness


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5. Recovery: An Emerging Paradigm of Indian Identity

Horse quotes other scholars who note, “To speak only of cultural loss is to ignore the fact that culture is a human condition that changes as a matter of purpose,” (Lassiter, Ellis, and Kotay, 2002, 116. Found in Horse, 2012, p. 119). Guiding the changes that need to take place so that self-governance, freedom from colonization, a transition of values to the next generation, and the development of an image of what it means to be an Indian that is not informed by non-Native people is the current work of recovery.

21st Century starts a time of recovery.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as an Indian person?

What actions are you willing to take to preserve your Indian identity and consciousness?

How might you pass along essential components of Indian identity to future generations?

5. Your Journey Through Recovery


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PILIPINO AMERICAN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Nedal, K. L. (2004). Pilipino American identity development model. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. January 2004, Vol. 32, p. 45-62.

With roots in aboriginal Philippines, Spanish, and American culture, this pan-ethnic group of people is often categorized as either part of the Asian or even Spanish racial-ethnic category. There are distinct differences between Pilipinos and other members of the Asian and Pacific Islander group. Values on gender neutrality and religious/spirituality diversity, alongside sociopolitical issues, health and educational outcomes, distinguishes this group’s triumphs and challenges from other Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. Nadal’s study points to the need for this cultural group to consider their development from a unique perspective. His nonlinear and nonsequential model describes a process for native-born and second generation Pilipino Americans. Note: Nadal (2004) states that there is no F sound in the Tagalog/Pilipino language. In honor of his research, this worksheet is titled Pilipino.


1. I’m like my family - Ethnic Awareness

Early childhood memories within a strong Pilipino cultural background and community sets the stage for this awareness. Experiences with overt and covert displays of Pilipino food, language, customs, and traditions develops in the young child appositive (or neutral - meaning this is just the way things are) stance towards self and other Pilipinos. A neutral stance is likely to develop towards the pan-Asian group or other People of Color. American socialization process, which impacts all children, informs early positive views towards white/dominant society.

What are the cultural messages you received from family members about what it means to be Pilipino?

What do you recall seeing and hear others say about Pilipinos or other pan-ethnic Asian groups?

1. Your Journey Through Ethnic Awareness


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PILIPINO AMERICAN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Framework Description Guiding Question

2. Is white right? - Assimilation to Dominant Culture

Exposure to society outside of home and immediate community - perhaps entry into American school systems - heightens young Pilipino children’s awareness of whiteness. Conformity to white standards of beauty (hair, skin color, physique) can permeate through one’s life. Attitude towards self, Pilipinos, other Asian groups and other People of Color is negative, self- and group-depreciating may take place, or evening discriminatory actions towards these groups for remaining connected to Pilipino heritage and identity. There is an increase in all things white-food, music, physical standards of beauty, friendships and possibly life partners.

Can you recall when your environment shifted and you had increased contact with the white/ dominant group?

Can you recall a memory whereby values of whiteness were present? What is the first memory you have of denying or refusing anything to do with Pilipino culture, language, traditions, food or people (family events)?

What are the feelings and thoughts associated with this memory? Who was around to help you process what this experience meant to you and your understanding of what it meant to be, or to reject being, identified as Pilipino?

2. Your Journey Through Assimilation to Dominant Culture


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PILIPINO AMERICAN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT


3. Power to my people! - Social Political Awakening

Realizations of racial inequality (towards self or group) awakens the Pilipino to the social and political world. Associations with and focus on white culture is abandoned. This leads to a positive and empowered sense of duty to Pilipino people and activist / activism. A formation of an identity as Asian and/or as a Person of Color is aimed at developing allegiances with others discriminated by society. This also leads to anger towards white people and culture, sometimes involving retaliatory acts towards white people.

Was there a time when you identified as more than Pilipino? Perhaps attending events for People of Color or Asians?

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced racial tension or stress, or witnessed racism in action?

Who did you talk to? How did you (or how do you regularly) overcome racial stress/racial microaggressions?

3. Your Journey Through Social Political Awakening


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4. Power to Asians! - Pan-ethnic Asian American Consciousness

This stage is unique to Pilipinos. It is a recognition that one belongs to the larger pan-ethnic Asian social and community group. Desires for greater sense of belonging to this community (panethnic assimilation) may involve connections to and incorporation of “customs and attitudes of their socially constructed racial culture.” For Pilipinos this may include attendance at Asian cultural events and continued connections to Pilipinos with a desire to increase connections with other Asians. Past attempts at distancing oneself from other marginalized groups is replaced with a positive outlook about the shared lived experiences between Pilipinos, Asians, and other People Color. This stage may continue to involve strained relationships with white people and/or a rejection of, and ager towards, white people.

Do you feel racial AND ethnic pride? What are ways you reconnect with members of your panethnic group?

Can you recall a time when you avoided white people,white spaces, or symbols of whiteness? How do you engage in relationship building with white peers/co-workers/family members?

Who are the people you surround yourself with that can or do serve as a buffer, meaning they validate your racialized perspectives and help you to “bounce back” from racism?

4. Your Journey Through Pan-ethnic Asian American Consciousness


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5. Empowered sense of self and other - Ethnocentric Consciousness

Another unique stage for Pilipinos, this is a time of awareness of both Asian marginalization and the invisibility of Pilipinos within the Asian paradigm. Individuals maintain a positive and empowering stance towards self, group, Asians and other marginalized groups, with an emphasis on uplifting Pilipino identity as unique and distinct from other Asians. Connections with other Asian groups depends on the direction of experiences, meaning, if discrimination was received by Asians there remains a negative outlook but if this stage began with no negative experiences with other Asians groups, those relationships will continue to flourish. Of particular significance is the allegiances with Latinx, Chicanos, and other Pacific Islanders (Samoans, Native Hawaiians, etc) who have also been discriminated against by other Asians. Connections to white people shifts to including moments to educate about Pilipino people’s lived experiences and to be selective about who to trust.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as Pilipino and distinctly different than Asian person?

What are your other social identities and connections to history and heritage that inform your racial construct?

What are the basis of the friendships you have with white people?

5. Your Journey Through Ethnocentric Consciousness


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6. Empowered sense of self and other - Incorporation

This stage is marked with a heightened sense of Pilipino pride, satisfaction with who one is, and appreciation of cultural heritage and people. Ethnocentric realization shifts to a constant state of ethnocentric consciousness, “a sense of one’s personal collective identity, centered on specific concern for the issues and situations one one’s specific ethnic group,” (Nadal, 2004, p. 59). Feelings of anger or the need to empower one’s sense of self are replaced with self-appreciation and group-appreciation. Healing from experiences with other Asian groups depends on the triggers that occurred between stage 4 and 5. In the end, there is a focus on acceptance and social justice for all. Stance towards whites depends on with whom one has built trusting connections.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as Pilipino to others?

What does satisfaction with self and identity look and sound like to you? What do you do to engage in cultural pride?

6. Your Journey Through Incorporation


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TRANSRACIAL/TRANSNATIONAL ADOPTEE DEVELOPMENT Dance of Identities, by John Palmer. The information below was originally compiled by Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee and modified by Dr. Sandra (Chap) Chapman.

The Dance of Identity Theory implies that there is no one path to engaging in one’s cultural, racial, and transracial/transnational adoptee identities. The activities the adoptee chooses to engage in and the extent to which he/she/they immerses in cultural, racial, and transracial adoptee identities are solely up to the individual; there are no rites of passages or developmental stages that each adoptee must transition through. This engagement and reflection allows for the transracial/transnational adoptee to gain ownership of all three identities.

1. Your Journey Through Dancing with a White Cultural Identity

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1. Dancing with a White Cultural Identity

White cultural identity is developed once you are adopted into White homes. Adopted in infancy, you may know no other reality than the home culture, and you may believe that you are “as White as everybody else.” Older adoptees may realize that ridding yourself of primary culture and learning to be “like white” allows you certain privileges and acceptance within your home and mostly white communities. To gain acceptance or be granted honorary White status, you may reject your racial identity. You may change your physical appearance to look more White (contacts, perming, coloring, or straightening hair, plastic surgery). Immersed fully in White culture, you may even sometimes forget that you are not White, and you are reminded of this fact only when you look into the mirror or when someone outside your comfort zone asks you questions like “where are you from?” or “who are your parents?” You may believe in colorblind meritocracy, but your experiences may not always reinforce that belief.

Think of a moment about the types of messages you heard about yourself and your country of origin or your racial- ethnic group.

What are examples of stereotypical portrayals of people of your race that may have impacted your thoughts that being white is superior to being of your race?

TRANSRACIAL/TRANSNATIONAL ADOPTEE DEVELOPMENT

2. Your Journey Through Opening Pandora’s Box

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Framework Description Guiding Questions2. Opening Pandora’s Box

Racial identity is inherited at birth. In culturally white homes, racial identity may be silenced, especially as you yearn to be accepted by your family and community. You may see your race’s culture as inferior to white culture, leading you to reject learning more about your race’s culture. Early experiences of racism may be dismissed or de-racialized by people in your comfort zones as ordinary teasing – to be ignored and/or not taken seriously – leaving you no outlet for talking about these encounters. At some point, you may experience a racial incident or a series of racialized stressors that precipitates an identity awakening, a shattering of the belief that the world is colorblind. Since you will never be fully accepted as white, you may feel that you must reject everything associated with whiteness and fully immerse yourself in discovering your non-white racial identity. You may seek connection to your racial identity by traveling to ancestral homelands, and just being in a place where you are in the racial majority may help you feel connected to your racial identity. At the same time, you may feel culturally disconnected because you are reminded that, culturally, you are white.

Is there a moment when you realized you were different than your adopted parents? How did negative messages about your racial group impact your ability to associate with members of your group (if they were in your environment)?

Can you recall a moment this past year when you experienced tension, stress, shame, embarrassment, or guilt about your racial group?

Have you experienced rejection from people of your own race?

Who are /were the people around to help you navigate these moments?


3. Your Journey Through Engaging and Reflecting

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3. Engaging and Reflecting

Similar to racial identity, transracial/transnational adoptee identity is given to you by others. The desire to fit in and be like everybody else can lead you to suppress your transracial/transnational adoptee identity. Curiosity about your biological parents and racial identity can bring up feelings of guilt and gratitude, as you may have been taught messages of having been “rescued” from awful circumstances by your white parents and that you have such a better life as a result of your adoption. You may or may not have access to information surrounding the circumstances of your adoption due to availability of information or due to divulging or withholding of information by parents, adoptive agencies, cultural practices, or government policies. Eventually, you may come to realize that by denying and disregarding your transracial/transnational adoptee identity, you feel incomplete. As a result, you may seek answers to your past life, which may include birth parent search and visits to home countries or orphanages. You may seek reunion with or reconnection to other transracial/transnational adoptees by joining adult groups, attending gatherings, and blogging online. In connecting with these other individuals who share your circumstances as People of Color who were adopted and raised by white parents, you may feel a full acceptance and understanding for the first time.

What is/has been your process for understanding yourself as an adoptee and a racial person with a unique ethnic heritage, culture, and history?


4. Your Journey Through Questioning What I Have Done

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4. Questioning what I have done

Incorporating racial and adoptee identity into your understanding of self can be considered a dance with tensions, conflicts and contradictions with the people who love you best. While you continue to work towards connection to your racial-ethnic group, you also contend with white cultural ways that, at times, impede full acceptance. Confronting the feelings associated with this new awakening can lead some adoptees to lash out at white people, even parents and loved ones. This journey may also include tensions with the adoption agencies in regards to paperwork or even the agencies misinformation or discouragement to continue this exploration. Conflicts with, and alienation from, your own racial-ethnic group, and separation from white family members, may lead you to critically question if the identity journey is worth the pain.

What are the tensions, conflicts, or challenges you have faced in your journey to understand yourself as an adoptee and a racial-ethnic being?

Did/do these tensions impact your relationships with white people/loved ones?



5. Your Journey Through Empowering Identities & Executing Social Change

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5. Empowering Identities & Executing Social Change

This is the moment you take ownership of your own identity journey. You ultimately choose when and how to identify. You do not feel a need to justify or apologize your complex identities, nor do you feel embarrassed by not meeting external expectations of what it means to be a member of your racial group. You have critically engaged with your racial, transracial/transnational adoptee, and white cultural identities, and you have determined for yourself what your identities mean for you. You no longer seek approval from others. You recognize that your identity journey may not look like anyone else’s, but it is yours to determine.

How do you demonstrate racial-ethnic pride?

What are ways you reconnect with members of your racial-ethnic group? What are ways you translate your complex understanding of yourself to others?

How do you deal with the clash of other people’s myths about you compared to the reality you now possess of your racial-ethnic and adoptee identity?

WHITE RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AdaptedfromHelms, J.E. “Towardsatheoreticalexplanationoftheeffectsofraceoncounseling: Ablackandwhitemodel,” Thecounselingpsychologist. 1984, 12, 4, pp. 153-164.

Phase One- Abandonment of Racism

1. Your Journey Through Contact

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Framework Description Guiding Questions1. Colorblind. Race not a big deal - Contact

“Am I white?”

“I never really thought about it.”

People in this status are oblivious to racism, lack an understanding of racism, have minimal experiences with People of Color, and may profess to be color-blind. Societal influence in perpetuating stereotypes and the superior/inferior dichotomy associated between Blacks and whites are not noticed, but accepted unconsciously or consciously without critical thought or analysis. Racial and cultural differences are considered unimportant and these individuals seldom perceive themselves as “dominant” group members, or having biases and prejudices.

Think of a moment in your life when you believed that race was not a big deal or that someone’s race did not/could not impact their life experiences?

During childhood, were you aware of the racial identities of the people in your home, school, peer groups/friends and community?

WHITE RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

2. Your Journey Through Disintegration

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Framework Description Guiding Questions2. There’s a problem. I feel guilt – Disintegration

"Wait a minute, 'freedom and justice for all' is not everyone’s experience!? How do I deal with all of this?"

In this stage, the person becomes conflicted over racial moral dilemmas that are frequently perceived as polar opposites: believing one is non-racist, yet not wanting one’s son or daughter to marry a minority group member; believing that “all men are created equal,” yet society treating Blacks as second class citizens; and not acknowledging that oppression exists while witnessing it (a la the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles). The person becomes increasingly conscious of his/her Whiteness and may experience dissonance and conflict between choosing between own-group loyalty and humanism.

What is the first memory you have of being aware of racism at the personal, institutional or cultural levels? When you tried explaining racism to loved ones, what was their reaction? What are the feelings and thoughts associated with these memories for you? Who was around to help you see and understand these racialized moments? Are they People of Color and/or White people? Are these people still around in your life, why or why not?


3. Your Journey Through Reintegration

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3. Step back. Not my problem – Reintegration

“I don’t have privilege; I’m poor, lgbt, Jewish, a woman, without a HS/BA degree, disabled; 'They' need to change, not me."

Because of the tremendous influence that societal ideology exerts, initial resolution of dissonance often moves in the direction of the dominant ideology associated with race and one’s own socio-racial group identity. This stage may be characterized as a regression, for the tendency is to idealize one’s socio-racial group and to be intolerant of other minority groups. There is a firmer and more conscious belief in white racial superiority and racial/ethnic minorities are blamed for their own problems.defined and affirmed sense of self.

Can you recall a moment this past year when you felt race and racism was not your individual problem or you were tired of hearing/dealing with race and racism


Phase Two - Defining a Non-racist white Identity

4. Your Journey Through Pseudo-independence

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4. I get it; I want to help; I don’t know how - Pseudo-independence

“I feel so guilty about the situation, and I would like to help those worse off than me. I don’t know how.”

A person is likely to move into this phase due to a painful or insightful encounter or event, which jars the person from Reintegration status. The person begins to attempt an understanding of racial, cultural, and sexual orientation differences and may reach out to interact with minority group members. The choice of minority individuals, however, is based on how “similar” they are to him or her, and the primary mechanism used to understand racial issues is intellectual and conceptual. An attempt to understand has not reached the experiential and affective domains. Understanding Euro-American white privilege, the sociopolitical aspects of race, and issues of bias, prejudice, and discrimination tend to be more an intellectual exercise.

Can you recall a time when you challenged racism?

How did it feel? Who was it with? What was their reaction?


5. Your Journey Through Immersion/Emersion

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5. Developing allyship - Immersion/Emersion

"We need to change, not them. Are there others out there like me?”

If the person is reinforced to continue a personal exploration of him/herself as a racial being, questions become focused on what it means to be white. Helms states that the person searches for an understanding of the personal meaning of racism and the ways by which one benefits from white privilege. There is an increasing willingness to truly confront one’s own biases, to redefine Whiteness, and to become more an activist in directly combating racism and oppression. This stage is marked with increasing experiential and affective understanding that were lacking in the previous status.

What are ways you translate your understanding of yourself as a white person to your various communities?

How are you holding space with and for other white people in order to relieve People of Color from the emotional labor of tending to white fragility, confusion, and rage?

You heard a white person’s biased or colorblind thoughts, and did not respond. What do you wish you knew or wish you would have said?



6. Your Journey Through Autonomy

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6. Knowledgeable and Active – Autonomy

"I am both proud of being white and I am a supportive agent for change and equality for all races and cultures. When I have a moment of Disintegration I can make my way back here by doing my work and not relying on people of color to do it for me.”

Increasing awareness of one’s own whiteness, reduced feelings of guilt, acceptance of one’s own role in perpetuating racism, renewed determination to abandon white entitlement leads to an autonomous status. The person is knowledgeable about racial, ethnic and cultural differences, values the diversity, and is no longer fearful, intimidated, or uncomfortable with the experiential

Is there a white person who POC have named an ally that you can or do call upon to help you navigate your white privilege, redefine your whiteness, and take action as a change agent to combat racism?

How and when do you revisit your stance in the world? What is your daily practice?

When you have encountered your own racial fragility or racialized moment, what strategies do you use when you either find yourself in Disintegration, Reintegration or in the intellectual space of Pseudo- independence?

Documents

Full Packet-Racial Ethnic ID Worksheets · 2020. 6. 28. · exposure to Asian ethnic experiences. What are the messages you received from family members about what it means to be