- 1. The Poverty & Inequality Report - The Stanford Center on
Poverty & Inequality 2014 One of the countrys three
federally-funded poverty centers - a nonpartisan organization
dedicated to monitoring trends in poverty and inequality. The
report provides a unified analysis that brings together evidence
across seven key domains, thereby allowing a global assessment of
where problems exist. Labor Markets Poverty Safety Net Income
Inequality Wealth Inequality Health Inequality Education It is
difficult not to be struck by the sheer number of indicators for
which the current year is one of very worst over the period we have
covered (13 years). For Blacks, in every indicator category, this
was the worst, second, third or, at best the fourth worst year in
terms of inequality. Race remains and exceedingly powerful
illusion.
2. Nope, we are not post-race. We are not post-racism. Such
assertions are preposterous and unworthy of our time. 3. Is it
possible to achieve post racism? Is achieving post-race necessary
to achieving post-racism? Is it possible to achieve post-race?
These ARE good questions, VERY worthy of our time. 4. Is it
possible to achieve post-race? Yes it is. And I want to introduce
you to some people who have. 5. 54 years old Father of two Born in
Costa Rica Raised in Dorchester, MA since 4yo Boston Public Schools
through 6th grade METCO, 7th-12th grades, Dover, MA Wesleyan
University BA Psych BU School of Social Work - MSW Simmons School
of Social Work Ph.D. Educator Phillips Academy Andover Lesley
University Psychotherapist Carlos Hoyt, Jr., LICSW, Ph.D. Nominally
Black adversely racialized race transcender 6. Beyond Zebra: The
Transaction, Transposition, Transgression & Transcendence of
Race 7. In the places I go there are things that I see That I never
could spell if I stopped with the Z. Im telling you this cause
youre one of my friends. My alphabet starts where your alphabet
ends. -Geisel, 1955 8. In terms of theorizing, a number of the
instruments reviewed here were based on models conceptualizing more
and less advanced ways of experiencing ones racial or ethnic
identity. But what happens beyond the highest or most optimal
statuses posited ? Dr. Seusss On Beyond Zebra (Geisel, 1995) asks
what kinds of letters (and hence things and ideas) come after Z.
Similarly, if we hypothesized that there might be more [beyond our
current conceptualizations of racial identity], what might we find?
Interviewing people who have done a great deal of racial and ethnic
identity exploration, growth, and change over their lifetimes could
help shed light on what kinds of processes may evolve. -Fischer and
Moradi, 2001 9. My journey has taken me past constructions of race,
past constructions of mixed race, and into an understanding of
human difference that does not include race as a meaningful
category. -From Race and Mixed-Race: A Personal Tour. Spencer in
Penn, 2002, p.10 10. BUT Rainer does most certainly recognize and
contend with racialization. Select Sort Attribute Essentialize Act
Rainier has ceased to hold a self-racialized sense of self, but he
is acutely race-conscious and a staunch campaigner against racism
and an advocate for racial justice. 11. WHO ARE THE RACE
TRANSCENDERS? A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Contributing to
Non-racial Identity Development in Individuals Commonly Ascribed to
Black/African American, Biracial or Multiracial Identity Groups 12.
Felix Von Luschan's chromatic scale for classifying skin color.
Used extensively throughout the first half of the 20th century in
race studies. Problematic because it was very inconsistent. Largely
abandoned by the early 1950s. Can you find your skin color here?
Can you find your identity here? 13. There is nothing more personal
than identity Do we look alike? Are we the same race? 14. Precursor
Research Rockquemores study of biracial identity development (1999
n=177) 1. Border exclusively biracial. Neither black nor white.
(~60%) 1. Singular exclusively black or white. (~20%) 1. Protean
Well, shit, it depends on what day it is and where Im goin.? (~6%)
1. Transcendent?! (~14%) 15. Rob was adamant that race was a false
categorization of humanity and did not want to be thought of as a
member of any racial category whatsoever. Robs greatest desire was
to be understood by others as the unique individual he was, to be
appreciated for his particular gifts and talents, and not to be
pigeon-holed into a pre- formulated category that carried with it a
multitude of assumptions about the content of his character. Rob
was not black, white, or biracial. He was a musician, a thinker, a
kind-hearted individual, a good friend, a Catholic, and a
hard-working student with dreams and ambitions. For Rob, race had
interfered with others perceiving his authentic self, and he could
see that it would continue to color how others viewed him, his
work, and his personal talents in the future. he didnt see himself
in any [racial category] andhe resented being falsely stuffed into
a rigid and unrepresentative typology or being excluded as an
outlying case. -Rockquemore, Beyond Black 2002 16. Definition of a
race transcendent self-understanding Consciously deny having any
racial identity whatsoever Simply do not use race as a construct to
understand the social world or their relative place in it Dont wish
to be white, they are not bitter about being black; they simply
disavow race as part of their sense of self Not the typical
color-blind ideology --are aware of how race negatively affects the
daily existence of people of color. Very likely experienced
discrimination, yet they respond by understanding those situations
as part of a broad societal problem; one in which they are deeply
embedded, but not one that leads to their subscription to racial
identity. -Rockquemore, 2002. 17. Much to my amazement, delight,
and relief, people contacted me. 18. The Research Question What are
the factors that contribute to the development of a non-racial
identity formation in individuals commonly ascribed to
Black/African American, biracial or multiracial racial identity
groups and who, as such, are expected to subscribe to a racial
identity? ______________________________________ It is assumed that
in a society where racial group membership is emphasized, the
development of racial identity will occur in some form in everyone.
-Tatum, 1992, p.9 19. Black Racial Identity Development Model 1.
Preencounter The African American individual seeks to assimilate
and be accepted by Whites, and actively or passively distances
him/herself from other Blacks. 2. Encounter 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. 3. Immersion/Emersion the simultaneous desire to surround
oneself with visible symbols of ones racial identity and an active
avoidance of symbols of Whiteness. 20. 4. Internalization willing
to establish meaningful relationships with Whites who acknowledge
and are respectful of his or her self-definition 5.
Internalization-Commitment find 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 (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. 21. Nowhere in racial identity
theory is there room for or representation of a person who 1. Feels
pretty good about him- or herself 2. Has no desire to be White 3.
Has no desire to be Black 4. Has no desire to be racialized in any
manner whatsoever. 22. Key Characteristics of the Participants T1
T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7* T8* T9* T10 Sex M M F F M M F F F M Age 34 42 29
18 55 57 39 26 23 53 SES WC LMC MC MC MC MC M-UC MC MC LMC Edu BA
PhD BA 2yrBA PhD PhD MD BA BA BA Geo USA USA SoAfr USA USA USA Can
USA USA USA Diversity High Bi Low Low Bi High Bi Low Low MixLow
MixLow MixHig h Low Trn Since All Life All Life All Life All Life
Since 35 All Life All Life All Life College Since 33 Pheno SES =
Socioeconomic status WC = working class; LMC = lower middle class;
MC = middle class; UC = upper class Edu = Education level Geo =
where living at time of interview Diversity = level of racial
diversity in family of origin. Low = little variation in immediate
family; Bi = one black, one white parent; Mix = racial mixture
beyond Black and White Trn Since = How long held a non-racial sense
of identity. Pheno = Phenotype in terms of skin color (using Von
Luschans scale) * Transgressive but not fully transcendent 23.
Narratives of Race Transgression and Race Transcendence 24.
Semi-structured Interview Categories 25. The distinguishing aspects
of the process that emerged from the narratives include: 1.
Exposure to messages about race and racial identity 2. Syntonic or
dystonic reactions to messages about race and racial identity 3.
Critical assessment of messages about race and racial identity 4.
Catalyzing or crystalizing experiences leading to personal
synthesis 5. Adoption, adaptation or abnegation of messages about
race and racial identity 6. Ramifications of a non-racial sense of
identity 26. Process of Race-syntonic, Race-transgressive or
Race-transcendent Identity Development Exposure to messages about
race normative identity. Typically the presumption of racial group
identification. Dystonic reaction and critical assessment of
race-normative messages leading to the crystallization of inchoate
transgressive or transcendent racial identity orientation or the
catalysis of a transgressive or transcendent racial identity
orientation. Adoption* of race normative messages (expectations,
prescriptions, etc.) about identity without alteration. Adaptation
of race normative messages (e.g. multiracial or mixed).
Transgressive of racial worldview, but not transcendent. Abnegation
of messages about race and racial identity. Embrace of a
non-racial/transcendent identity Ramifications of fully adopting a
racial worldview/identity. Ramifications of an
adapted/transgressive racial worldview/identity. Ramifications of
renouncing a racial worldview/identity. Syntonic reaction to race
normativity likely leads to some form of the conventional
subscriptive racial identity development process. *Participant
narratives illustrate that movement from initial syntonic adoption
of adaptation of race normativity is possible (e.g. T10s journey).
Movement from abnegation and a non-racial identity towards an
embrace of race was not evidenced. 27. Significance The construct
of race is increasingly failing to contain the authentic
self-perceptions of those cast in its binary and/or limiting
parameters. 28. Five Epigenetic Eras of Race I. PreRacialization
The entire history of humankind before the enshrinement of
essentialized inherited, immutable subgroup differences II. The
Terrible Transaction Roughly 1619 (first Africans arrive in
Jamestown) through the Naturalization Act of 1790 and race science
period (Linnaeus, Jefferson .) III. Redemptive Transposition
Maintaining the notion of racial difference while trying to
ameliorate racial inequality. 14th Amendment (1868) through the
Civil Rights Era VI. Increasing Transgression Mixed race appears as
a choice on the 2000 US Census V. (Inevitable?) Transcendence 29.
Published spring 2013 In 21st-centuary America, my family would be
described as multiracial. But in the world I grew up in the
American South of the 1950s and 1960s, where the idea of race and
identity determined who you were and your place in the world -- you
were either black or white. 30. She had never articulated her
non-identification in concrete terms. That is, until she began
brainstorming for her Expos paper. After floating around ideas and
fiddling with labels and words, Maouyo suddenly conceived of a term
she felt most accurately captured her own identity: araciality. 31.
Race Transacted (speciously) Transposed (redemptively) Transgressed
(increasingly) Transcended (inevitably?) Should we be surprised? We
should - are obliged to be - prepared. 32. In light of this
reality, are we living up to our principles? The complexities
associated with cultural diversity in the United States affect all
aspects of professional social work practice, requiring social
workers to strive to deliver culturally competent services to an
ever- increasing broad range of clients (NASW, 2007, p. 7) cultural
competence in social work practice implies a heightened
consciousness of how clients experience their uniqueness and deal
with their differences and similarities within a larger social
context. (NASW, 2007, p.9) Social workers should obtain education
about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and
oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color,
sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief,
religion, and mental or physical disability. (NASW, 2007, p.14) 33.
1.Theory 2.Pedagogy ------------------ 3. Practice 4. Policy 34.
Correct the False Fundamental Assumption of RID Theory It is
assumed that in a society where racial group membership is
emphasized, the development of racial identity will occur in some
form in everyone. -Tatum, 1992, p.9 It is assumed that in a society
where_______ is emphasized, the development of _______ identity
will occur in some form in everyone. Religion-religious?
Heteronormativity-heteronormative? As social workers, we take pains
to and are proud to NOT impose such assumptions on those we serve
or interact with. 35. Implications for Pedagogy 1. As is the case
with heteronormativity, the implied hegemony of race normativity
should be countered by a clear statement on race similar to the
American Anthropological Associations Statement in Race (1998). 2.
Courses that involve identity (Race, Class, and Gender courses,
Human Behavior in the Social Environment, and the like), and that
customarily rely on RID theory as the primary means of
conceptualizing race as a factor in identity should make clear that
dystonic attitudes towards the racial worldview which manifest in
transgressive or transcendent dispositions are possible, extant,
and perfectly acceptable identity outcomes. 3. Standard texts used
in the teaching of content involving identity (by familiar authors
such as Tatum, Pinderhughes, Rothenberg, and Helms) should be
joined by texts that expand the discourse on identity beyond race
normativity. 1. What else? 36. Thank you! Discussion
www.racetranscenders.com The future is already here it's just not
evenly distributed. -Gibson, 2003
