Racial Identity

Racial IdentityBy:Britanny Chung, Hong Duong, and Portia LeBlanc

1What is Racial Identity?As a biological category, race is derived from an individuals physical features, gene pools and character qualities. The use of skin color is one of many labeling tools that allow individuals and groups to distance themselves from those they consider different from themselves.

The social dimension, refers to a sense of group or collective identity based on ones perception that he or she shares a common heritage with a particular racial groupBiological Dimension:Social Dimension:

Teaching approaches

Be aware of personal biasesIncorporate assignments and activities that display students different backgrounds Explain the similarities and the differences in cultures with studentsDiscover ways to encourage students primary language while teaching others about itBuild a relationship with parents

Imagine the surprise on Kylie Hodgsons face when the midwife during her caesarean section showed her two beautiful baby girls - of different races. Both Kylie and her husband have mixed-race parents, meaning that one girl inherited all-white genes and the other all-black genes, an occurrence with odds of approximately a million to one. (http://www.digalist.com/list/222)

Step 1:Choose a stocking. Try it on your hands, feet, or legs. Is the color lighter or darker than your skin?Step2:Try a different color. Can you find a stocking that is the same color as your skin?ActivitySkin Color Match-upFor example, "Can you find a stocking that is the same color as your skin?" Or "What color is that stocking you have on your arm?" Ask the children to "Try the _________ stocking. Is it lighter or darker than your own skin?" Tell the children no one's skin color is really white, pink, yellow, or red. Emphasize that everyone comes in different shades of color. No one person is the color black or white.

5SourcesBiles, B(1994). Activities that promote racial and cultural awareness. Family child care connections, 4(3), 1-4. Retrieved from http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/pdf_pubs/CHLDCARE.PDFChvez, A. F., Guido-DiBrito, F., and Mallory, S. Learning to Value the Other: A Model of Diversity Development. Paper presented at the National Association of Personnel Administrators Conference, Atlanta, Mar. 1996.Franklin, M. (1999, September 01). Preparing children for a multicultural world: diversity leaders share strategies for weaving the value of difference into early childhood. Children's advocate, Retrieved from http://www.4children.org/issues/1999/september_october/preparing children_for_a_multicultural_world/Loras, V. (2010, February 16). Multicultural activities in class [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.teachingvillage.org/2010/02/16/multicultural-activities-in-class-by-vicky-loras/ (picture of children)Roberts, G. (Photographer). (n.d.). 105142. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.digalist.com/item/2582Spickard, P. R. The Illogic of American Racial Categories. In M.P.P. Root (ed.), Racially Mixed People in America. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 1992.