Racial Microaggression Research Paper

I have read and fully understand the article Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: the Implications for Clinical Practice. However, I must admit the article does not sit well with me and I have learned I have been a microaggressor since my early days; specifically, I have offered microinsults many times over without even realizing it. Through the years, I have thought of myself as one who consciously believes in equal rights for “all”; not just the American people, but people of all races across the entire globe. Granted, I have never

Microaggressions manifest in many ways such as, “You’re lucky that you're black”, “Don’t you wish you were white”, and “What are you”. These comments can be very insulting to a person. “Don’t you wish you were white” can be very insulting to an African American or Hispanic person. In other words, this example illustrates that the colored person is viewed down upon since they are not white. An African American is viewed down because they were slaves and since they are not white, whites are seen as rich and powerful. Sometimes a simple insult like, “You’re smart,” can offend a person without you knowing it. When someone says, “You’re smart,” people can start questioning themselves about their abilities and intelligence, but there is a way to respond.

To effectively lessen the effects of lifelong racism and discrimination, Hays & Erford (2014) recommends a strength-based approach, with the counselor focusing on the individual and family capacities. Focusing on the client’s positive attributes and favorable cultural norms can encourage one to become more resilient (Vaterlaus, Skogrand, & Chaney, 2015). Furthermore, applying counseling skills such as unconditional positive regard, empathy, consistency, focusing on the client, and providing a supportive environment can all help the therapeutic relationship (Hays & Erford, 2014). Additionally, making the counselor/client relationship equal will also allow the client to feel more comfortable, may dispel the mistrust of counseling prominent in African American culture (Hays & Erford, 2014). Finally, acknowledging the racial differences with the client could encourage them to discuss the racism and discrimination they may have experienced (Hays & Erford, 2014).

In the society we know today, we often believe that it has evolved above racism and all have grown to look past race and see someone only as the person they are. However, in a society where racist messages have institutionalized themselves to the underlying morals of its inhabitants, there is no logic in believing in this archetype of society. Existing since the 1970s when coined by Chester M. Pierce, the term micoaggressions went through serious refining at the hands of Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., professor of counseling psychology at Colombia University. He has solidified the definition of microaggressions as “…brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that

Microaggressions are committed constantly, among numerous people without them realizing it. I must say I am completely guilty of also playing part in this act. These acts are done constantly and no one understands the affects it has on people. Miller and Garran (2008) states, “Racial microaggressions are similar to aversive racism. They are “subtle, stunning, often automatic,” verbal and nonverbal putdowns and social assaults that wound people of color unbeknownst to the perpetrator” (p.97). This is what produces pain and anger inside countless of people. Many individuals need professional help in order to surpass the neglect they have been summited to.

Studies have demonstrated that these feelings of frustration and anger as a result of experiencing racial microagressions are common among students of colors who attend colleges with a majority population that is white. The research suggests that Black college students experience race-related stress differently than general daily hassles associated with college. As a result Black students typically report higher levels of life events stress, like racial discrimination and financial stress,

Despite changes in the landscape for treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States over the past 200 years, issues with racism has never stopped being an issue and continues to tarnish and tatter the very fabric of our nation. There has been a history of violence against Black people that dates back 400 years, to a time when the first slave was forcefully brought here to the USA (Rogers, 2015). From that time on, people of African descent have been dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens and this has become an ongoing community issue (Diversi, 2016). Racial classification was created as a way to condone slavery and maintain the primacy of the white race (Tolliver, Hadden, Snowden, & Manning, 2016). Aymer (2016) explains that the Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a way to understand that the violence that Blacks face in America originates from the societal belief in White superiority and, when trying to understand the Black reality, centuries of racial oppression must be discussed (Aymer, 2016). CRT acknowledges that racism is primarily a problem in America and has contributed to the social disparities in the U.S. In addition, it notes other forms of oppression that are important to discuss and work through. CRT does not believe in the legal rhetoric that there is an impartial, equal way of dealing with individuals in the community that has nothing to do with color and everything to do with achievement and hard work. It also takes on an interdisciplinary

This paper will discuss the racial microaggression how it has influenced the United States in the past decade. Then, describe the racial microaggression influence that affects the individual view. Next describe the community-level influence, impact of racial microaggression, and racial stereotypes are a major problem in our society. Then, discuss the research on racial microaggression is it a social condition that can arise as a result of the conformity of individuals within a society. Also, explain conformity, social, condition, and socially as well as, the attitudes and beliefs, norms, and implicit behaviors. However, discuss the culture in society along with the dynamics of subtle racial microaggression. Also, discuss the family structure facing racial microaggression. Furthermore, discuss the ethnic, racial microaggression with the racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of microaggression. For instance, discuss the different racial and ethnic group are unequal in power, resources, prestige, and presumed worth.

Racial Microaggression can be lead back to our country's heinous history of slavery. One writer explains a situation when she was waiting to board the New York City subway, as the doors open a “young white male” exited the train wearing a shirt that said “If we had known it was going to be this much trouble, we would have picked the cotton ourselves.” The writer then says “As a young black woman, you can imagine my total offense to his shirt and the message he sent to anybody and everybody who could read.” Another writer explains how she who is of color and her mother who is white were at Target. Her mother was approached by a white male “as if I was trying to take something from her”. In addition to slavery many more common practices have

Derald Wing Sue, a professor of counseling psychology at Colombia University and the leading expert on microaggression, defines microaggression as “the everyday slide snobs… disrespect and insults that people of color are subjective to.” These can range from an individual’s comments (such as “Where are you from? or “I think the most qualified will get the job.”) to who is present on a committee board. Many are calling it the modern version of racism because of its impacts on those in the minority. However, it is important to note that microaggressions do not only deal with race; it can affect any minority, whether the difference is gender, sexuality, or

Several participants described their conceptualization of experiences with microaggressions, and it appeared as though they engaged in an appraisal process to determine if they had experienced a racially discriminatory event. This is congruent with previous empirical and theoretical findings related to experiences of discrimination. For instance, in the stress coping model created by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) the initial step is to appraise the event that has transpired. Lazarus and Folkman theorized that this appraisal happens in two stages. First, one engages in primary appraisal, which allows an individual to categorize and event as irrelevant or deleterious. Second, secondary appraisal allow for a determination

Derald Wing Sue and his team of fellow psychologists at Columbia University are at the forefront of the burgeoning field of racial microaggressions. Their research focuses on reviewing and analyzing empirical and experiential evidence to form and propose a taxonomy to classify racial microaggressions. Dr. Sue and his team derived a substantial portion of empirical evidence from the social psychological literature on previous studies about aversive racism. They also collected personal narratives from a diverse sample of psychologists as experiential evidence. Creating an adequate system of classification applicable to a variety of social situations would catalyze the progress of research efforts.

Microaggressions are described as a brief exchange that unintentionally and unconsciously sends a derogatory message to an individual who is part of a specific group (Moule,2012). The groups that it refers to are a person’s race/ethnicity, a person’s gender, and their sexual orientation. Examples of microaggressions include, but are not limited to invalidation, indignities, insults, and put downs (Moule,2012). Microaggressions may appear to be harmless and are intended to come across as compliments, however they have hidden insults (). They can have significant effects on a person’s emotional state, cognitive state and devastating irreparable psychological consequences to the victims. Microaggression can be verbal or nonverbal and delivered through unconscious behaviors or gestures (). They occur because they are outside the awareness of the conscious level of the perpetrator (). In other words, the perpetrator is completely unaware of the insult, which is stemming from their unconscious biases and it’s not their true intention to insult the individual or group. So, who are the typical perpetrators of microaggressions you might be asking? Are they criminals? Racists? Bigots? No, in fact they are ordinary everyday people, no different than you and I, whom consider themselves to have a strong set of morals and values and do not consider themselves to be prejudice in any way. The video “Microaggressions in Everyday Life” stated that

“Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color” (Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal, and Esquilin 271). Microaggressions are smaller more (covert) slight forms of overt racism with attributional ambiguity. Overt “racism a belief that race” (socially constructed) “is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority” and power to dominate over “of a particular race” (Webster). Although the two forms demean albeit control the individuals social psychology, the terminology and usage of the terms have frequently been misused.

Again, to fully assess how to confront microaggressions, we must know their initial intent. Microaggressions are based off biases and stereo types, whether it be racial, sexual, ethnic, etc. In the book, “Microaggressions in Ministry”, written by Cody J. Sanders, it is stated that “microaggression” is a term that found its way into scholarly literature in 1970 when it was introduced by a man named Chester Pierce. The time period in which the term was coined was shortly after the civil rights movement ended, indicating that it is a more discrete form of discrimination toward minorities. However, we cannot fully blame the people who are constructing these microaggressions. According to Derald Wing Sue, a professor of psychology and education at Teachers College of Columbia University, who studies multicultural counseling and racism, no one is immune to sexual and gender based biases. In fact, he states that it is actually