Defining Race and Ethnicity for Blacks in the Usa

Matthew Warmus                                                                                             GTY 472/572

Defining Race and Ethnicity for Blacks in the USA

         The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of racial and ethnic identification for Blacks in America and how this identification varies due to age and life course experiences. The history of racial and ethnic groups in the United States is long and continuously changing based on various self and group identification processes along with never ending immigration constantly contributing to the introduction of various new racial/ethnic sects being formed. Previous ideologies regarding racial and ethnic identification are no longer valid due to the constantly changing ethnic populations within the United States and continuous division within previously defined racial and ethnic groups. This paper is specifically meant to illustrate the various racial and ethnic identification processes of Blacks in the United States today and to establish a general conception to understand Black racial identity that would most commonly be seen in our country at the present time.

Racial Identification can often be confused and contradictory based the wide variety of theories regarding how it originates and how people formulate the concept of racial identity within themselves. One of the best and most accurate measures for understanding how an individual learns to develop a comprehension of their own racial and ethnic identity utilizes a unique sociological perspective. This sociological understanding of how racial identity is formulated within individuals examines the life course of an individual in which it is strongly suggests that an individual formulates their own opinions about themselves and the world around them primarily due to their life experiences. This particular model was recognized and used in case studies by Professors Coard, Alfiee, Breland, and Raskin in their article titled Perceptions of Preferences for Skin Color, along with Professor Tatum in her article titled Racial Identity Development. These articles have examined racial identity through an infinitely more holistic approach, and do so by seeing how an individual develops a sense of racial and ethnic identity throughout their entire life course.  
         

According to a culture-specific model of racial consciousness development in Black Americans, Professor Cross hypothesized a cognitive developmental model of racial identity in which it is proposed that as racial identity evolves from the time someone is born until the day they die; Blacks for this particular study progress through a sequence of five stages (i.e. pre-encounter, encounter, immersion emersion, internalization, and internalization). Cross suggested that Blacks (just like all other individuals) begin their development at a stage called pre-encounter. This stage is characterized by dependency on White (not Black) society for racial and ethnic definition and approval; attitudes are anti-Black and Eurocentric in nature. (Raskin Page.15) The encounter stage is entered when one has personally challenging experiences with white society in this particular situation, and can be challenges such as discrimination or prejudice. This stage is marked by feelings of confusion and an increasing desire to become more aligned with one’s Black identity in an effort to side with a side that they subconsciously believe a being righteous. The immersion-emersion stage follows the encounter stage and is characterized by a period of pro-Black or Afrocentric, anti-white feelings. One is theorized to be absorbed in the so called “Black experience” and completely rejects the white world. Immersion-emersion is followed by the internalization stage, during which one has grasped the fact that both Blacks and whites have strengths and weaknesses. In addition this understanding of equal fallacies, one’s Black identity is experienced as a positive, important, and valued aspect of self. One’s attitude toward whites is one of tolerance and respect for differences. Along with this level of internalization comes an achievement of pride and security in the Black race and identity. This is an exceptionally important process for self-identification for Black individuals because it should be noted that before the internalization stage, identification for the individual was relatively negative and primarily reliant of the views and opinions of others. The internalization-commitment stage follows internalization. The primary distinction between the two stages is that internalization-commitment reflects a behavioral style characterized by social activism, and internalization reflects one’s level of cognitive development. Cross and others (e.g. Coard, Alfiee, Breland, Raskin, and Tatum) have recommended that internalization-commitment be considered the second mode or phase of the internalization stage because of the difficulty in distinguishing motivation from behavior (this difficulty is what I believe to be the major issue with using quantitative style of data collection, which for good reason is seldom seen in this particular field of study). With this latter view in mind, internalization behavior may involve participation in social and political activities designed to eliminate racism or oppression, regardless of the race of perpetrators and victims.