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Anja Zoric Professor Dunlap HMD 302 Homework Assignment #3 Racial identity is something that people try to avoid talking about because society essentially teaches us to avoid the topic altogether. I find it ironic that the present society boasts on how racial inequality is improving yet still discourages us from talking about race in an open manner. In this way, racism is continually perpetuated and people develop their racial identity in often problematic ways. I myself am a White female, and can honestly say that discussion about my racial development was never brought up before I started college. Dunlap (in press) mentions the idea of White privilege which is essentially a system of advantage that white Americans have when compared to other racial groups. I think this is one of the main ways that my racial identity development differed from people of different races. Being White, I was in the norm and majority for my whole life, and always will be. Before being introduced to issues of race in college, I did not even think about my race. Minorities on the other hand are constantly reminded of their race through the disadvantages they face during their lifetimes. Since being White in America meant that I did not have to face obstacles because of my race, which lead me to subconsciously internalize my race as a positive thing. In contrast to this, the internalization aspect of Black racial identity development unfortunately often times is a negative thing because African Americans associate their race with the obstacles they have to face as a disadvantaged group (Tatum, 1992). Because of things like the social constructions theory, it is hard for people to believe in something other than what they have been socialized to believe their whole lives (Class notes, 2012). In relation to this, Tatum (1992) brings up a good point of how we are socialized to

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believe that America is a meritocracy that provides a just system for everyone. Because of the microsystem I lived in for the majority of my life (predominantly White and middle-class), I truly believed that America was a meritocracy and did not consider myself privileged because I am White. In fact, if someone had brought something like that up in discussion approximately five years ago, I would have most likely been offended. The human development systems that I was growing up in only exposed me to African Americans that were middle-class and to my belief at the time were not discriminated against. Since starting college I have taken many sociology classes that focused on issues of race much like the ones in the Tatum article. My racial identity has since changed in the sense that I know realize that race is part of my identity as opposed to thinking it is merely a physical characteristic. In an ideal world race would be nothing but a skin color, but at this point humans have been socialized too far. As I was reading the two articles I compared the different stages of racial identity development to Maslows need hierarchy theory (Class notes, 2012). Just as people move through the necessities of life in order to achieve self-actualization, people need to work their way through the difficult aspects of racial identity development in order to achieve integrative awareness. Personally, I believe that I am still at the stage where I am making sense of everything. Talking to friends and professors of different races led me to realize how ignorant I was of my advantages even with simple things such as the availability of extra-curricular activities, which many of them did not have access to. Gaining knowledge about other races was the best way of learning about my own race, and in turn learning about my identity; which up until the last few years I thought I knew everything about. I find it incredibly interesting that dissecting the uncomfortable and taboo parts of my identity ultimately leads towards positive change.

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References Dunlap, M. (2012). Class Notes. Connecticut College. Dunlap, M. (in press). Thriving in a Multicultural Classroom. Understanding and Managing Diversity: Readings, cases and exercises. Pearson. Tatum, D. T. (1992). Talking about Race, Learning about Racism: The Application of Racial Identity Development Theory in the Classroom. Harvard Educational Review. 62(1), 123.