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Racism past and present
Racism past and present
Understanding cultural differences
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Recommended: Racism past and present
Throughout history Black Americans have been making strived and attempts to be accepted and forced to assimilate and acculturate into White society. into a works where often the culture is not welcomed. Seeking to understand ones’ own culture and identity can be a daunting process. However, when the culture is as complicated as the Black culture it can magnify the existence of a skewed and unwelcoming society based on race, oppression, and culture. It is common to come across minorities that feel their perceptions about racism and culture are often disregarded, and ignored by the majority group members (Sue & Sue, 2016).
This paper will discuss the theory applied to the author as well has insights gained about the culture, race consciousness and salience. In addition, insights pertaining to the impact the insights may have on a counseling relationship/session are also discussed. Providing care that matches one’s cultural needs is essential for the culturally competent counselor (American Psychology Association, 2017).
The Cross model of Psychological Nigrescence (the process of becoming Black)
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Although there are issues I have with the Cross’s view of the Black process, I do see parallels to his theories and my cultural identity process. At this stage of my life I identify with the revised version of Cross’s model at the internalization stage which is a revised combination of the original fourth stage of Internalization and Internalization-Commitment. What led to this choice is the evolvement and commitment that individuals show towards social change, justice and civil rights and inner strength as well as a flexibility, tolerance, and more multicultural
Ghettos, low-riders, hip-hop, rap, drugs and crime, it has got to be a Black man right? Saggy pants, unintelligible language, lazy, and the lists continue to both stereotype and describe Blacks. Do Black Americans perpetuate their own discrimination? Are Black Americans creating their own low status in society? Black people around the world have been hypnotized into believing all their failures in life are due to discrimination, but are they correct? Blacks are often their own worst enemies, often the cause of their own disasters, and many don’t see that until it’s too late, if ever. Discrimination and prejudice are imposed upon Blacks, often because the culture they live in is not “acceptable” to the dominant society. On the other hand, an understandable reason for Blacks actions is often due to unattainable opportunities towards the American Dream.
In Claudia Rankine’s article ‘The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning”, she describes systemic racism as “Vulnerability, fear, recognition, and an absurd stuckness.” Living in America as a white person is completely different than if you were black. If you are black, you
Black Power, the seemingly omnipresent term that is ever-so-often referenced when one deals with the topic of Black equality in the U.S. While progress, or at least the illusion of progress, has occurred over the past century, many of the issues that continue to plague the Black (as well as other minority) communities have yet to be truly addressed. The dark cloud of rampant individual racism may have passed from a general perspective, but many sociologists, including Stokely Carmichael; the author of “Black Power: the Politics of Liberation in America”, have and continue to argue that the oppressive hand of “institutional racism” still holds down the Black community from making any true progress.
Although an effort is made in connecting with the blacks, the idea behind it is not in understanding the blacks and their culture but rather is an exploitative one. It had an adverse impact on the black community by degrading their esteem and status in the community. For many years, the political process also had been influenced by the same ideas and had ignored the black population in the political process (Belk, 1990). America loves appropriating black culture — even when black people themselves, at times, don’t receive much love from America.
Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics of their own inherited culture. Therefore, in an African American society, a search for self identity is a pervasive theme.
Dinesh D’Souza‘s assertion that racial discrimination against African Americans has diminish due to culture rather than racism is contradicted by Derrick Bell argument that “black people will never gain full equality in this country”. Derrick firmly feels that a meticulous examination of African American and Caucasian associations supports that racism is a permanent feature of American society. Both Derrick and Dinesh made valid points and used examples throughout history to get their point across. Although both made valid points, I agree, and maintain that racism still exist in modern society. Growing up I have witnessed racism with my own eyes and have personally went through it. With everything taking into account, I personally feel that racism still exist in today’s society because, white people see African Americans as an inferior race. Their actions show it as they continue to patrol our communities like we are uncivilized animals. Furthermore, African Americans that are making progress such as being successful in the corporate business still have to deal with “the plight of our less fortunate brethren who struggle for existence in what some social scientist call the underclass”. The African American culture in this case study is perceived as being the reason why blacks have not progress from racial discrimination, according to Dinesh D’Souza. There’s a
Race and ethnicity can influence a client’s experience of self and others in a variety of ways. A client’s personal race and ethnicity can influence his or her experience within the context of therapy through the set of beliefs he or she brings into the room. This set of beliefs and customs influences how he or she views therapy and whether there is motivation to be there. If the client’s culture does not usually seek therapy for their problems, or even believe in mental illness, it is likely the client will have apprehensions about trusting or speaking to the clinician. If the clinician is not aware of this possibility, the clinician may wonder why the client is in therapy if he or she will not speak or allow rapport to be built. A responsible clinician will take this into consideration.
Many people in the United States society believe that people of all cultures, races, and ethnicities are now on an even playing field. People with this belief support their logic with the argument that since equal rights for people of color and women have been required by law for some time now, we are all inherently as equal as claimed in the Declaration of Independence. Many believe that race is no longer an issue, a viewpoint frequently referred to as color-blindness. National polling data indicated that a majority of whites now believe discrimination against racial minorities no longer exists. (Gallagher, 96) Color-blindness allows a white person to define himself or herself as politically and racially tolerant and then proclaim their adherence to a belief system that does not see or judge individuals by the “color of their skin.” (Gallagher, 98) Many Caucasians in particular are of the opinion that because they listen to hip-hop or cheer for their favorite black, professional sports player that they are not racist. Still others believe that because they have a black president, we see black people in the commercial of products we consume, or enjoy television shows with black people that they are actually acknowledging race. In order to examine and dismantle this series of misconceptions, we will turn to the work of various scholars of social justice and privilege, including Peggy McIntosh, Patricia Hinchey and Johnathon Kozol as well as the story of Patricia J Williams. Through a careful examination of these works with the support of some key statistics, it is the goal of this paper to demonstrate the existence of a privileged and unprivileged America, despite the color-blindness many may profess to have integrated into their p...
The topic of the book is how black America is on the wrong path and how it needs to be fixed. One of the problems that are stated in the book is the cultural of blackness treats victimhood not as a problem to be solved but an identity to be nurtured. Separatism is also a problem that encourages black Americans to see black people as superior, which the rules other Americans are expected to follow are suspended out of a belief that victimhood lets them be exempt from them. The author sought to accomplish getting black America back on track. He suggests that it will require some profound adjustments in black identity.
Cultural Competence Understanding culture is an important aspect of being a social worker; this does not mean learning common cultural traits is of great significance to the social work profession. “Consider the second-generation Japanese-American social worker whose practice consists of Mexican-American and African-American families. Memorizing national traits or cultural rituals would be interesting and informative, but ultimately these would be an inaccurate basis on which to “know” these particular families” (Dorfman, 1996, p. 33). When understanding cultural competence, it is important to learn from the client about their culture in order to serve them in the most helpful and efficient way possible. There is a major drawback to memorizing information, and that is, this information will not give you a real understanding of who your client is and what life experiences they have personally faced.
In America there is a phenomenon where some people benefit from the color of their skin, while others are persecuted for the same reason. The White establishment thrust Blacks and other minorities into an “other” category, and punishes them for their differences. This system gives White people many advantages over other groups. This racial advantage has been labeled “White privilege, and allows Whites to be complacent about racial issues because instead of be hurt they actually benefit from their race. Their blindness to the problems of American culture like this, prevent them from seeing the “disturbing, disappointing and upsetting” aspects of Black life. Whites are highly unaware of the “authentic African-American experience” because they choose to remain ignorant (Kajtar). In this way the also choose to benefit from their inequalities that they have implemented into the American system.
Counseling diverse clients ethically involves knowledge of one’s own cultural group, values, and awareness of one’s current stage of racial identity development as well as an understanding of minority clients’ stage of racial and cultural identity (Sue, & Sue, 2013). As a White student counselor I read the article titled, “Racism and White Counselor Training: Influence of White Racial Identity Theory and Research,” by Sherlon Pack-Brown (1999) and reviewed Sue and Sue’s (2013) stages of racial and cultural identity in order to gain personal knowledge and insight.
Though each individual experiences life differently certain experiences link them together. Specifically, being a person of color while being a singular experience, is also a very universal when it comes down to the way in which minority groups are subject to the oppression of the white mainstream. The friction between being proud of one’s identity or choosing to ignore it and assimilate into society, is complex and is a fact that many people of color struggle with, because it is not easy to be proud of one’s identity when everything around them is telling them not to be, so in a sense these individuals see themselves in two ways, a minority proud of their identity, and then as an outsider in a white world where they feel as if they will never be accepted.
Understanding race, ethnicity, and culture is an extremely important aspect of being a counselor. If an individual does not have cultural identity of their own or understand his or herself as a cultural, ethnic, or racial individual, it may be difficult to help your clients. Understanding and being aware of your cultural identity will help the counselor be conscious of their own prejudice. Being aware of your own prejudice towards any culture, race, or ethnic group may help you redirect your negative thinking into a positive active role as a counselor. Having awareness will make an individual an improved counselor able to empathize and understand any individual who seeks therapy.
African American people have been oppressed for hundreds of years. Slavery was a significant time period when African/African American individuals endured massive oppression, which refers to the feeling of being deprived of their human rights and dignity (Reed, 2016). Knowing that my ancestors had to conceal their feelings along with their cultural values, makes me feel more entitled to express my ethnic identity as an African American woman. My ethnic identity has increase my sense of belongingness because it gives me the ability to share and live amongst individuals with the same physical appearance and in some cases, the same obstacles. Society has placed its’ social norms on modern day women, which allows men to make more for the same labor, or that stop successful women from achieving their goals by installing the glass ceiling. However, there is a higher increase of risk for African American women, such as decrease in the male head of household, along with urbanization. Which caused African American women to work long hours that resulted in a devastating shift in the family structure (Reed, 2016). Past, present and current experiences of African American women is why my ethnic identity is so important to me, because it is used as a constant reminder of the struggles that I have to overcome for my daughter and the generation after