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![In terms of theorizing, a number of the instruments reviewed
here were based on models conceptualizing more and less
“advanced” ways of experiencing one’s racial or ethnic identity.
But what happens beyond the highest or most optimal statuses
posited …?
Dr. Seuss’s 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](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/nawsjuly2014presfinal-140731143605-phpapp02/75/Beyond-Zebra-presented-at-National-Association-of-Social-Workers-2014-National-Conference-9-2048.jpg)
![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. Rob’s 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 didn’t see himself in any [racial category] and…he resented
being falsely stuffed into a rigid and unrepresentative typology or
being excluded as an “outlying case.”
-Rockquemore, Beyond Black 2002](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/nawsjuly2014presfinal-140731143605-phpapp02/75/Beyond-Zebra-presented-at-National-Association-of-Social-Workers-2014-National-Conference-16-2048.jpg)
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Similar to Beyond Zebra - presented at National Association of Social Workers 2014 National Conference
Beyond Zebra - presented at National Association of Social Workers 2014 National Conference
- 2. The Poverty &Inequality Report - The Stanford Center on Poverty & Inequality 2014 One of the country’s 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.
- 3. Nope, we arenot “post-race.” We are not post-racism. Such assertions are preposterous and unworthy of our time.
- 4. • Is itpossible 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.
- 5. Is it possibleto achieve post-race? Yes it is. And I want to introduce you to some people who have.
- 6. • 54 yearsold • 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
- 7.
- 8. In the placesI go there are things that I see That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z. I’m telling you this ‘cause you’re one of my friends. My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends. -Geisel, 1955
- 9. In terms oftheorizing, a number of the instruments reviewed here were based on models conceptualizing more and less “advanced” ways of experiencing one’s racial or ethnic identity. But what happens beyond the highest or most optimal statuses posited …? Dr. Seuss’s 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
- 10. “My journey hastaken 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
- 11. BUT Rainer doesmost 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.
- 12. WHO ARE THERACE 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
- 13. Felix Von Luschan'schromatic 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?
- 14. There is nothingmore personal than identity Do we look alike? Are we the same race?
- 15. Precursor Research Rockquemore’s studyof 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 I’m goin’.”? (~6%) 1. Transcendent?! (~14%)
- 16. Rob was adamantthat race was a false categorization of humanity and did not want to be thought of as a member of any racial category whatsoever. Rob’s 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 didn’t see himself in any [racial category] and…he resented being falsely stuffed into a rigid and unrepresentative typology or being excluded as an “outlying case.” -Rockquemore, Beyond Black 2002
- 17. Definition of arace 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 • Don’t 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.
- 18. Much to myamazement, delight, and relief, people contacted me.
- 19. The Research Question Whatare 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
- 20. Black Racial IdentityDevelopment 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 one’s racial identity and an active avoidance of symbols of Whiteness.
- 21. 4. Internalization … willingto 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.
- 22. Nowhere in racialidentity 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.
- 23. Key Characteristics ofthe 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 Luschan’s scale) * Transgressive but not fully transcendent
- 24. Narratives of Race Transgression and RaceTranscendence
- 25.
- 26. The distinguishing aspectsof 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
- 27. 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. T10’s journey). Movement from abnegation and a non-racial identity towards an embrace of race was not evidenced.
- 31. Significance The construct ofrace is increasingly failing to contain the authentic self-perceptions of those cast in its binary and/or limiting parameters.
- 32. Five Epigenetic Erasof 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
- 33. Published spring 2013 “In21st-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.”
- 35. “She had neverarticulated 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.”
- 36. Race Transacted (speciously) Transposed (redemptively) Transgressed(increasingly) Transcended (inevitably?) Should we be surprised? We should - are obliged to be - prepared.
- 37. In light ofthis 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)
- 38.
- 39. Correct the FalseFundamental 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.
- 40. 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 Association’s 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?
- 41. Thank you! Discussion www.racetranscenders.com The futureis already here – it's just not evenly distributed. -Gibson, 2003
Editor's Notes
- #2 In fact you can go from family member to family member and change races. The constructions of race and racial identity began with the country’s first Constitutionally mandated decennial census in 1790 and the constructions have been variable, fluid, and unstable ever since.
- #10 Bingo! I resolved to seek out people who did not subscribe to ascribed racial identity, and I would focus on those who are the primary focus of racialization, people commonly ascribed to the Black/African American, Biracial or Multiracial identity groups.
- #16 60% 20% 6% 14%
- #17 Can Rob do this? What does it even mean? Is this heresy, fantasy -- or perhaps the sound of a paradigm shifting (away from race-normative thinking)? Rocquemore’s research. Singular Border Protean Transcendent
- #19 Between June 2011 and December 2012, about 30 expressions of interests, out of which my ten participants emerged. “Purposeful/Theoretical Sampling. Not probabilistic, but aimed at getting a deeper understanding of analyzed cases and underlying processes via comparison of types of participants.
- #20 I spent a lot of time thinking about what to call the absence of racial identity. One of my participants coined the term “a-racial” in an effort to give her orientation a name. In my writing a toggle between “non-racial” and “race transcendent.” I use ‘race transcendence” in the title and most often in my writing because it is the name that Rockquemore used to describe her participants who did not subscribe to race as part of their identity, and because it affirms something instead of connoting the absence of something. .
- #23 It was hard for me to believe I was the only person who might have a dystonic reaction to the idea of racial identity, so I started to search for voices that resonated with mine. I did not find resonance in what we are commonly taught about race and racial identity, and I received mostly polite incredulity, raised eyebrows, and advice to channel my energies elsewhere from most of the people I approached with this concern and interest. Over time, however, I was able to find and start to collect viewpoints that questioned, sought to expand, and in some cases, defy the dominant discourse of racial identity.
- #25 [Recruitment for the full study was done by means of theoretical sampling. Solicitation of participants was purposive, focusing on those who met the criteria and also guided by constant comparison of cases so that concepts and themes that emerged could be used to inform the selection of eligible participants whose accounts might be able to provide illuminating similarities or differences (Drauker, Martsolf, Ross & Rusk, 2007; Miles & Huberman, 1994).] Participant Characteristics Demographic categories used included sex, self-defined ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), occupation, level of education, current residence, place of birth, and citizenship. Other pre-interview information requested included self-description of appearance, how others most often classify the participant racially, and how long has the participant had a non-racial sense of self. Five of the participants were female and five were male. One participant was below twenty years old. Three were between twenty and thirty years old. One participant was forty-two, and the remaining three participants were between fifty and sixty years old. Six participants described themselves as members of the middle class; three as members of the lower-middle or middle-working class; and one as a member of the upper-middle class. One participant was in college; four completed college; one was in graduate school; three were PhDs; and one was an MD. Two participants were Fulbright Scholars; two were professors; one was human services professional; one a health care project manager; one a medical researcher; and one a mechanical engineer. The participants hailed from Riverside, California; Pembroke Pines, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Somerville, Massachusetts; Boston, Massachusetts; Henderson, Nevada; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Perth Australia. Three were not born in America. Of these three, one was born in Quebec Canada, one in Nova Scotia Canada, and one in South Africa. All but two of the participants were U.S. citizens. The two non-U.S. citizens represented Canadian and South African/Australian citizenships. Seven of the ten participants reported having a non-racial sense of self all of their lives. Three participants pointed to experiences that catalyzed a shift in self-identity consciousness towards race transcendence.
- #26 Appendix C Semi-structured Open-ended Interview Questions and Interview Domains Matrix (Questions will be used selectively depending on the course of the conversation) At what age did you become aware of race? Please tell me about any memorable experiences you had as a young person having to do with learning about race? What was the experience and how did you intepret it and make meaning of it? Was the topic of race discussed in your family? (Explicitly, implicitely, by whom…)? If yes, what was said and how did you intepret and make meaning of what was said? Did your parents try to shape your racial identity in any way? How did this play out and how did you accept, reject or modify the messages or teachings from your parents? How would you describe your friends and friendship groups as a youngster? Was race ever a topic of discussion among your friends? If so, what was the nature of the discussions and how did you interpret and make meaning out of the discussion content? What sorts of attributions were made about races when you were young (positive or negative)? Did you agree, disagree, feel uncertainty or ambivalance about these attributions? Were you aware of racial epithets when you were a youngster? How did you feel and think about your experience with racial epithets? If you had romantic partners, what race did each identify with, if any? What, if anything were you taught about race (formally or informally) at school? How did you interpret the teachings and make meaning of them? Did you accept, reject or modify them in your own mind? How have others described you racially over your life and how do others describe you racially these days? How have you described yourself racially over the course of your life? Have you ever done anything to try to make yourself appear as if you were a member of a racial group? Do you think there is anything about your physical appearance that factored into your non-race sense of self? How does having a non-race sense of identity impact your life – how does it play out in how you actually live your life? (work, relationships, family life, politics, etc.)? What, in your view, is the significance of having a non-race sense of self for society? What should society know about race transcendence and race transcenders? Is there anything in particular that you would like people to know or understand about having a non-race identity? Are there any important questions I did not ask? Were any of the questions asked unclear or problematic in any way?
- #29 Midway Alabama 1958 – still lynching African Americans for minor infractions and sins against society, “eyeball rape.” Story from GM cotton field hand of black man being laid on train tracks
- #36 One day last fall, Paula M. Maouyo ’14 sat in front of her laptop in Matthews trying to think of a topic for her Expos paper about racial identity. When Maouyo was a child, she identified as biracial. Her father is black, originally from Chad and her mother is white and American. But by the time she was nine, she began to move away from a biracial identity. “For a long time I just didn’t identify,” Maouyo said, though she acknowledges that when most people look at her, they immediately categorize her as black 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.
- #41 "Race" thus evolved as a worldview, a body of prejudgments that distorts our ideas about human differences and group behavior. Racial beliefs constitute myths about the diversity in the human species and about the abilities and behavior of people homogenized into "racial" categories. The myths fused behavior and physical features together in the public mind, impeding our comprehension of both biological variations and cultural behavior, implying that both are genetically determined. Racial myths bear no relationship to the reality of human capabilities or behavior. Scientists today find that reliance on such folk beliefs about human differences in research has led to countless errors.
- #42 Thank you for coming. Please have some cookies. I hope that between the cookies and the content of this presentation, you might walk away with something that you liked. This research was about race and racial identity – what they mean and how the work, and how what they mean and how they work are changing, evolving. In essence, I talked with ten people about their unusual disposition regarding race and their sense of identity, and I analyzed their narratives to discern patterns and common factors. The findings of of my research indicate that race and racial identity have reached a point of evolution for some people that is quite unusual and unexpected. Bring in text]. My findings suggest that, as social workers, teachers, and citizens, we should consider adjustments to the ways we practice, instruct, and think in light of the evolution and current state of the concept of race. I hope that the dissertation does an adequate job presenting and discussing that. In the brief time we have together this morning, I’ll try to provide a useful overview of the dissertation content. I ask that you hold your questions for the discussion period. It’s likely that questions that arise for you will be answered in the course of the presentation, and those that are not will be welcomed a the end. Before I continue, I want to acknowledge and express my appreciation – Stefan, Audrey, and Ruth.