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Exploring Internalized Racism : a Critical Review of the Literature and Implications for Clinical Social Work

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Exploring Internalized Racism : a Critical Review of the Literature and Implications for Clinical Social Work Smith ScholarWorks Theses, Dissertations, and Projects 2008 Exploring internalized racism : a critical review of the literature and implications for clinical social work Keshia Unika Williams Smith College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Keshia Unika, "Exploring internalized racism : a critical review of the literature and implications for clinical social work" (2008). Masters Thesis, Smith College, Northampton, MA. https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/1302 This Masters Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations, and Projects by an authorized administrator of Smith ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Keshia Unika Williams Exploring Internalized Racism: A critical review of the literature and implications for clinical social work ABSTRACT In social work, like many of its allied disciplines, the effects of racism on the racially oppressed has tended to focus on overt manifestations like violence and discrimination (Pyke and Dang, 2003). Largely missing from the mainstream social work literature is a clear and consistent definition and framework for internalized racism. An understanding of the deleterious effects of internalized racism- the subtle, often unconscious, processes by which racial inequality shapes the way that the oppressed think of themselves and other members of their group- is often lacking in clinical social work literature. Internalized racism represents a harmful consequence of a racially unequal system. The discussion of racial oppression is not limited to patterns of individual and institutional practices, but also includes the process of how people of color come to internalize their subordination within a system wrought by racism. This study reviews how social workers and professionals in the allied disciplines discuss internalized racism and explores what it needed when addressing internalized racism in the therapeutic, supervisory and educational aspects of clinical social work. EXPLORING INTERNALIZED RACISM: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK A project based upon an independent investigation, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work. Keshia Unika Williams Smith College School for Social Work Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I want to acknowledge that it truly takes a village to raise a child and that this body of work could not have been completed without my village and the spiritual force of my Creatress and ancestors. I am thankful and humbled by the experience of being held, guided, criticized, supported, motivated and inspired by friends, family, mentors, my research advisor, my research “buddy” and my partner through their lives and their deaths. To Donna de Jonge Williams and Duncan Williams, thank you for always reminding me that I an “African princess.” To Ato Yusuf Williams, thank you for your unwavering strength and for teaching me what it means to fight for every breath. To Auntie Marcia and Dani, you continue to inspire me to treasure all that I have in people, to love and to remember that I am never alone. To my elders, I appreciate that you fought so hard so that I would not have to and that you continue to provide insight and guidance as to when I need to stand up and fight and when I need to humbly submit. This body of work is neither complete nor incomplete. It reflects time, space and meaning that can only be captured by all events and people that have shaped who I am in this moment. This work is an attempt at beginning a dialogue that can be a vehicle for change and healing of the personal and collective intergenerational pain we share as people of color. It is dedicated to the beautiful and painful struggle of racially oppressed people as well as our resilience and remarkable ability to survive and move onwards and upwards even the harshest of conditions. I send this body of work forward in a movement towards strength, humility, gentleness and healing. Ashe. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................. iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 1 II LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................... 7 III SOCIOHISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND RACIST DOUBLE-BINDS...... 18 IV IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK......................................... 32 V SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 41 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 45 iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his ‘proper place’ and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his benefit. (Woodson, 1933, p. xix) Seventy five years after Woodson’s seminal work, The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933), his analysis and insights about the impact of systems of domination on those who are subordinated remains relevant and authoritative. One such system of domination is racism. Racism is a phenomenon with a long and complicated history. Racism, in combination with other forms of oppression, has led to differential access to the goods, services, and opportunities of society for people of color (Jones, 2000). In addition, negative assumptions about the abilities, motives, and intentions of individuals who are racialized have fostered the justification of differential treatment towards people of color (Jones, 2000). The discussion of racial oppression is not limited to patterns of individual and institutional practices, but also includes the process of how people of color come to internalize their subordination within a system wrought by racism. Internalized racism represents a harmful consequence of a racially unequal system. More importantly, it serves as a powerful phenomenon unto itself that keeps people of color feeling powerless in a system that does not value them or their contributions. Internalized racism is defined as the acceptance and incorporation by members within an oppressed racialized group of negative messages and prejudices about their 1 own abilities and intrinsic worth within the dominant society (Jones, 2000; Pheterson, 1986). In this “dominant society,” white people have the power to define the socially acceptable, appropriate, or ‘normal’ roles for people of color while people of color lack the power to define what is acceptable, appropriate or ‘normal’ for themselves (Parham, 1999; Tappan, 2005). Given the minimal amount of power afforded to people of color within the dominant society, people of color often defer to the roles that have been delineated for them by those who have most of the power in the dominant society. Research on racism’s effects on the racially oppressed has tended to focus on overt manifestations like violence and discrimination (Pyke & Dang, 2003). Little mention is made by researchers across various bodies of literature about the deleterious effects of internalized racism, the subtle, often unconscious, processes by which racial inequality shapes the way that the oppressed think of themselves and other members of their group (Baker, 1983; Pyke & Dang, 2003). Internalized racism is likely to consist of self-hatred, self alienation, self- concealment, fear of violence and feelings of inferiority, resignation, powerlessness, and accepting limitations to one’s own full humanity, including one’s right to self- determination, and one’s range of allowable self-expression (Jones, 2000; Pheterson, 1986; Watts- Jones, 2002). Internalized racism isolates people of color from one another and supports divisions amongst people of color and within groups of color (Jones, 2000; Pheterson, 1986). This may manifest in people of color idealizing whites and white culture while blaming members of their own group for their own oppression (Green, 1994; Rosenwasser, 2002). Also, the isolation may manifest in people of color distancing themselves from or rejecting other people of color who may act out behaviors associated 2 with the negative stereotypes propagated by white culture (Green, 1994). Internalized racism can cause people of color to become inhibited or emotionally constricted when dealing with other people of color, as well as white individuals (Green, 1994). It can serve as a block to positive economic, educational and political participation, by breeding a sense of helplessness and hopelessness that discourages people of color from believing in their abilities to affect change in their lives (Jones, 2000). Discussing internalized racism causes discomfort in whites and people of color alike because it suggests that the effects of racism are deeper and broader than both groups would like to admit. Because internalized racism reveals dynamics by which oppression is reproduced by people of color towards people of color, some fear that discussion about it will lead
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