Immersion Stage Of Racial Identity Development

The third stage of Black racial identity development refers to the immersion stage. This depicts the juncture in life when a black American’s viewpoints transform from the pre-encounter stage to a phase of enlightenment. These people have a broader awareness of the Black experience and embraces the Black culture, and its morals, virtues, and values. They take pride in the Black race and find beauty and perfection in Blackness. Dr. Cross asserts this phase to be similar to a religious conversion. Individuals within this stage usually focus on “all things Black”. They express rage and hostility towards the White race and reject its culture, while glorifying their

Each and every person on this Earth today has an identity. Over the years, each individual creates their identity through past experiences, family, race, and many other factors. Race, which continues to cause problems in today’s world, places individuals into certain categories. Based on their race, people are designated to be part of a larger, or group identity instead of being viewed as a person with a unique identity. Throughout Richard Wright’s Black Boy, Richard is on a search for his true identity. Throughout Black Boy, one can see that Richard’s racial background assigns him with a certain identity or a certain way in which some

James McBride can tell you firsthand about man verse racial identity. Journalizing his experience in his New York Times Bestseller novel the Color of Water simply outlined his struggles of finding who he was. His upbringing included a black father and a Jewish white mother. His background made it hard for him to understand why his home was different than others on the street. Although McBride experience shows an older outtake of racial identity, some may say this still is a problem today. Offspring feels the need to pick a race in society to succeed in the generation and it may be the step to understands them more. Notice in the subtitle of the book "A black Men tribute to his white mother" he label himself as just black as if there was a barrier between his mother and himself because the so different. Today we need to not let racial identity become a big part of our lives.

(p 64). The author states, “This interior space of self-definition draws us into the complicated gender and class spaces of racial othering. Thus, conceiving of Black people, men and women, as historical and material subjects,” (p 64).

I am a Hispanic woman who if I am honest have a lot of self hate for myself and my culture. “Internal racism has been the term used to describe the process by which persons of color absorb the racist messages that are omnipresent in our society and internalized them” (Sue, 2016). I grew up in a small border town where stereotypes are made. I never experienced much racism because we were the majority. However, looking at it now I have a lot of self hate, and I always identified as white growing up, because I am light skinned I still believe I can pass for white at least until I moved to Georgia. Living here has taught me that I miss my culture I miss the cooking, the camaraderie, the unity that Hispanics have. The other day I was asked at

The Helms White Racial Identity Development Model identifies six racial identity statuses (Sue & Sue, 2016). These statuses include contact, disintegration, reintegration, pseudo-independence, immersion/emersion, and autonomy. Each of these statuses identifies characteristics that individuals in these statuses have. I traveled through theses statuses and believe I am currently in the immersion/emersion status. During different points in the model, I learned about race and myself that allowed me to move through each status, and currently working towards entering autonomy.

The Racial/Cultural Identity Development model (R/CID) is an expansion of the Minority Identity Development model. The R/CID model encompasses a broader population and removes the term “minority,” which can be disempowering to individuals. This model works to aid therapists in assessment and intervention of culturally diverse clients. It has five levels of development that individuals undergo to understand the dominant culture, their own culture, and the relationship between the two cultures, which is often oppressive. The first level of development is the conformity phase.

My pre-adolescent years were spent in a community thick with diversity. My friendships were as diverse as the environment in which I lived. It never struck me that racial and ethnic ideals separated people in society. However, upon moving to a predominately white upper-class community I began to question such racial and ethnic ideas. From my adolescent years through today I began noticing that certain people are viewed differently for reasons relating to race and ethnicity. As a result, the most recent community I grew up in has kept me sheltered from aspects of society. As a product of a community where majorities existed, I found myself unexposed to the full understanding of race and ethnicity. Prior to the class I had never fully dealt with issues of race or ethnicity, as a result I wondered why they would be of any importance in my life.

After reading about Carlos and the situation he is in, I would put him in the Resistance and Immersion stage on the Sue and Sue’s Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model. I believe Carlos is in this stage because of the anger he feels towards the racism he is experiencing. Carlos is being harassed by local youth, who have been yelling racial slurs as well as vandalizing Carlos’s home. He has communicated his anger with those youth to me. Other reasons why I believe Carlos is in this stage is because he feels rejection within his work and his community. Carlos has been trying to get a different job, but has not been successful with being hired. He believes this is due to him being Mexican. Because of this rejection, Carlos has been making poor decisions. Some decisions consist of him staying out late and getting completely passed out drunk. He may not have admitted it within the conversations, but within this stage comes guilt and shame. I believe Carlos has some shame due to not being able to support his family as well as being able to bring them into the United States at this time. He also may feel shame because of the harassment of the youth around him and not being able to do anything about it. Carlos may feel guilt because of his friends having to bring him home after being passed out drunk.

Even though I believe to have a strong cultural diverse upbringing that differs from many of the lifestyles of my white friend, I never experienced any self-depreciation and oppression regarding my culture. I do believe I have undergone cultural development in terms of acculturation, but considering I have never experienced the need to abandon my cultural values, I feel it is appropriate to refer to the white racial identity development model rather than the racial/cultural identity developmental model. As a white female, I have certainly benefitted from white privilege, and it is my responsibility to acknowledge that aspect of my racial identity.

Personally I feel that I identify myself within the Poston Biracial Identity Development Model. This model is focused for individuals that identify with multiple racial or ethnic groups. The stages of this model are the personal identity stage, choice of group categorization stage, enmeshment/denial stage, appreciation stage, and the integration stage. The personal identity stage is when an individual is independent of race or ethnicity. When I was in elementary school probably around 5 or 6 years old I showed part in this stage as I was naïve of the thought that people could be segregated based on race or ethnicity. The choice of group categorization stage is when an individual identifies themselves with one of their ethnicities. I reached this stage around 3rd grade or so when I began to identify myself as specifically the white part of my ethnicity (Irish).

When I entered the Dynamic of Racism and Oppression class I was the individual who had blinders on. I did not have a full understanding of what racism was, which in itself is shocking to me as I thought I had. What made me really stop and think was this class opened my eyes to the fact that I did not know my own identity. I have heard individual say “I’m black”, “I am of African decent”, “I’m Latino”, “I’m Canadian”, and “I’m white”. These are common statements of how individuals view their race and identity. I have even placed my identity in one of those categories, I’m white. I was unaware and unsure of what it meant to have a culture, which many individuals claim everyday. Some individuals know their identity, others do not, I was one

I totally agree with the assertion of A. Blemenfeld that those identification aspects that capture my attention are the targets of others people’s attention that is reflected back to me (Blumenfeld, 2010). Even though, I was always open-minded and had a friendly relationship with almost anybody, I felt that my racial identity was a part of a problem. As I was the only student of color, I felt alienated sometimes.

Curiosity was inevitable for the boy, however, and led him into what William E. Cross’s Nigresence Model declared was the immersion stage of racial identity for a black person. In this stage, African Americans basically submerge

The following paper will discuss two of the major dimensions of my cultural identity, and analyze the way in which my identity holds privileges, or has exposed me to oppression. Being that I am white, I have lived a life of privilege simply because of the color of my skin. I have been afforded opportunities, and lived a life free from persecution due to my skin color. I have also lived a life that has been impacted by oppression because of my female identity. This unique position between privilege and oppression is where I live my life.