In the last couple of posts, I have been exploring definitions of race and white privilege. Some of you replied with tips for teaching about privilege, thanks! As a follow-up, this blog posting looks at white racial identity, and some interesting ideas about how whites move through different stages of consciousness about race and racism. I find them very helpful in plotting out where learners (myself included) are at and how to move forward with an educational plan.
One of the important voices in anti-racism research is American Ruth Frankenberg. In 1993, she identified 5 phases of white racial consciousness. As you read through the list, think about what your perspective is (your race, your experiences) and where you might be on this scale at this time. Remember, no one is ever "there", we are all changing constantly, learning from our experiences and from one another.
1) Essentialist racism - whites are superior based on biological differences
2) Colour blindness - ignoring race and avoiding any dialogue about differences
3) Power evasion - recognizing racial differences but not acknowledging there are power differences between whites and other races
4) Racial cognizance: rethinking race and power - recognizing white privilege and undertsanding institutional racism
5) Racial cognizance: transforming silence into language and action - being conscious of our own racism and acting to change things
I think about my life and how I have moved through these stages of awareness, sometimes moving forward, sometimes back, sometimes quite blind in one area but aware in another. I found a journal entry recently in a diary from my 20's and smiled as I listened to my younger self grappling with questions provoked by my friendship with a Jamaican Canadian. Why did she challenge me as a "white" - weren't we just equals? Why did she get so upset when she heard whites reproducing "black" music? Couldn't they play what they wanted? I was still in stage 2 or 3, blind to how her life was different from mine, not able to see that I had an invisible privilege, even though it was very visible to her. I didn't feel very privileged, being a rural gal struggling in a big city, feeling like an outsider myself. Over time, that changed as I learned how much more easily I moved through a world made by and for white people, even if some parts of my life were quite marginal (like being a single mother).
I have created a short info sheet on the stages of white racial identity formation that you are welcome to use or adapt in the classroom, and as always, it is an open acces Word document so that you can edit it as needed. I have cited my sources there (including Frankenberg) and the content comes from a new library resource. Just click on the gold Diversity logo above and you'll find it in the wiki.
Nancy Burson’s photo morph of a white woman is intriguing. Being white, my assumption is, this was a white woman transformed into the other races and not a black or Asian woman transformed into a white woman. Was that a function of my being white or that the first of the three photos was ‘white?’ Would my impression(s) be different if the sequence of photos were different? Will my ‘whiteness’ always be a default?
ReplyDeleteAs Canadian society ‘morphs’ into a middle ground – an eventual ‘brown’ race – I suspect there will be a similar blending of cultures into something that captures the entire spectrum of diversity. I wonder whether it is the racial blend or the cultural blend which will be first or more largely responsible in reifying equality. Will it even be possible to make the distinction? And then, for that matter, will the distinction even matter?
You are right, the photo is based on a Caucasian (white) model, transformed with Asian and African features. As I understand it, the Race Machine can be used by a person of any race, but I am sure the main objective of this US educational technology is to address white racism, as it is systemic, as opposed to the individual racism that any person can perpetuate.
ReplyDeleteThe big question about culture blending is which dominant societal values will win out? Powerful question you are raising here! I think our society is influenced by many cultural norms (my life is certainly an example of this) but I am very influenced by critical multicultural theory, and that research suggests that it may be more a question of dominant cultural values drowning out other voices. My June post reflects on this. Thanks for asking this philosophical question :-)