White Racial Identity and Anti-Racist Education: A Catalyst for Change by Sandra M. Lawrence and Beverly Daniel Tatum Although race and race- results. While some findings reveal related issues permeate and that White teachers have more influence every social institution, positive feelings about people of any White teachers currently color after participating in teaching in schools have had little multicultural courses and programs exposure to a type (Bennet, Niggle & of education in For Whites, the process Stage, 1990; Larke, which the impact involves becoming aware of Wiseman & Bradley, of race on one’s “whiteness,” accepting 1990), it seems that classroom practice this aspect of one’s identity as few of these and student socially meaningful and programs have had development was personally salient, and the ability to systematically ultimately internalizing a influence either examined (Sleeter, realistically positive view of prospective or 1992; Zeichner, whiteness which is not based current teachers' 1993). Some on assumed superiority. views about teacher education themselves as racial programs have responded to this beings or to alter existing teaching disparity by providing teacher practices (McDiarmid & Price, education students with courses 1993; Sleeter, 1992). dealing with multicultural issues as Even though the number of well as with experiences in diverse studies that point to successful classroom settings. Similarly, multicultural and anti-racist some school districts have courses continues to be low, we provided school faculty with believed that what we were doing multicultural professional in our courses with our students development workshops and was more successful than what we programs. Despite these pre- and had read about in formal studies. in-service attempts to address this Sandra's teaching in multicultural "deficiency" in White teachers' education with undergraduate education, few studies of these students and Beverly's teaching programs have been conducted. with practitioners in an anti-racist And because both undergraduate professional development course and professional development were guided by a belief that anti- efforts to prepare teachers to teach racist pedagogy based on the in a diverse world vary greatly in principles of racial identity substance and duration, the limited development could bring about research that has been conducted changes in teachers’ fundamental on these endeavors shows mixed beliefs about race and racism. This 1 article stems from that belief. person may use more than one What follows is a brief description strategy or pattern in responding of the essential elements of our to racial situations, one pattern teaching; as well as the results of often predominates. our efforts to assess the impact of The first status, Contact, is multicultural and anti-racist best described as obliviousness. courses on White participants Being White is viewed as a specifically. "normal" state of being which is rarely reflected upon, and the Understanding White Racial privileges associated with being Identity Development White are simply taken for granted. Since much of our work with A shift from this pattern to the White teachers is guided by our second status, Disintegration, is understanding of Janet Helms’ often precipitated by increased White racial identity development interactions with people of color model (1990, 1995), it may be and/or exposure to new useful to briefly describe it here. information about the reality of In general, racial identity racism, heightening awareness of development theory refers to the White racial privilege and the belief systems that evolve in systematic disadvantages response to the racial group experienced by people of color. categorizations given meaning by This greater awareness is the larger society. In societies like often accompanied by feelings of the U.S., where racial-group guilt, anger and sadness. These membership is an important emotions can lead to denial and determinant of social status, it is resistance to this new learning, but assumed that the development of a they can also be a catalyst for racial identity will occur, to some action. People operating from this degree, in everyone. For Whites, standpoint often try to "convert" the process involves becoming others to their new way of aware of one's "Whiteness," thinking. Such actions are not accepting this aspect of one's always well-received and identity as socially meaningful and individuals may feel considerable personally salient, and ultimately social pressure to "not notice" internalizing a realistically positive racism, and to maintain the status view of whiteness which is not quo. based on assumed superiority. The discomfort of the learning process and fear of social Helms (1995) has identified isolation can result in a six identity statuses (formerly psychological shift to the third called stages) which characterize a status, Reintegration. Feelings of White individual's pattern of guilt and denial may be responding to racial situations in transformed into fear and anger his or her environment. Though a toward people of color. Resentful 2 "blaming the victim" may be used evidenced by a lived commitment as a strategy to avoid dealing with to anti-racist activity, ongoing self- the uncomfortable issue of racism, examination and increased as well as avoiding the struggle to interpersonal effectiveness in abandon racist assumptions and multiracial settings. define a new, anti-racist identity. Though described as the last However, further status, it is important to note that development often takes place if an individual may operate from one remains engaged in the more than one status at a time, personal examination of these and which status predominates issues. The fourth status, may vary with particular situations. Pseudoindependence, is marked However, as one's cross-racial by an intellectual understanding of experiences increase and the unfairness of racism as a understanding about racism system of advantage and a deepens, the latter statuses are recognition of the need to assume more likely to be the ones shaping personal responsibility for an individual's behavior. Because dismantling it. The individual may the ideology of White racial seek to distance him/herself from superiority is so deeply embedded other Whites, and actively seek in our culture, the process of relationships with people of color "unlearning racism" is a journey we as a way of reducing the social need to continue throughout our isolation experienced earlier. lives. These cross-racial interactions may heighten the individual's awareness Design of the Courses of the need to actively examine Both the undergraduate and and redefine the meaning of graduate courses were racially his/her own whiteness. mixed, though predominantly This process of redefinition is White. Of the twenty-four female central to the fifth status, students in the undergraduate Immersion/Emersion. Actively course, there were two African seeking answers to the questions, American students and three "Who am I racially? What does it Latinas. There was also one White really mean to be White in man. Most students were from society?," the individual needs middle-class backgrounds with a information about White allies, few from low-income families. Of those Whites who have worked the forty educators enrolled in the against racism, as role models and in-service course, there were guides for a new way to thinking twenty-eight White participants, about White identity (Tatum, eleven African Americans and one 1994). Latina. The last status, Autonomy, A major focus of both represents the internalization of a courses was to help these current positive White racial identity and is and future educators, both White 3 and of color, become more aware among others, The Dream Keepers of the effects of institutional as well (1995) by Gloria Ladson-Billings as individual forms of racism and and Rethinking Our Classrooms: to prepare them to become agents Teaching for Equity and Justice of change by challenging racist (1994). practices and policies both in their Class sessions were designed teaching and in their daily lives. to be highly interactive and Topics central to the courses involved both discussion and included: an examination of White written reflection. For example, privilege, the cultural and films depicting the roots and institutional manifestations of manifestations of racism were racism, theories of racial identity usually followed by small or large development for Whites and people group discussions; Films such as of color (Helms, 1990) and the Ethnic Notions, A Class Divided and connections between racism and A Tale of O helped participants other systems of oppression. understand more fully the Required readings included destructive ways in which subtle selections from books such as (and not so subtle) racist behaviors Affirming Diversity: The and attitudes influence the daily Sociopolitical Context of Education lives of children in and out of (1992) and Freedom’s Plow: schools. Teaching in the Multicultural Specific group and individual Classroom (1993). Other readings exercises were also used both in central to both courses included and out of the classroom. For “White Racism” by Christine example, one classroom exercise Sleeter (1994); “White Privilege: that seemed to function as a Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” turning point for many by Peggy McIntosh (1989); undergraduate White students in “Talking about race, Learning their understanding