According to William Cross’ theory, I have lived through the Encounter phase of racial identity development which “is typically precipitated by an event or series of events that forces the individual to acknowledge the impact of racism in one’s life”(Tatum, 1992). The earliest memories I have of this occurred while I was in the second grade. Two incidents in particular come to mind. The first episode happened on September of 1985 when I was transferred to John C. Fremont Elementary school located on 4000 E. 4th St., Long Beach CA 90814. Unlike my former school, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School located on 1574 Linden Ave., Long Beach CA 90813, Fremont was in a more affluent neighborhood where the residents were predominantly white and very much opposed to having “colored boys and girls” bussed to their children’s school.
As the bus pulled closer to the drop off point, I witnessed a huge commotion outside. Teachers ran toward a group of adults and sternly escorted them across the street. Meanwhile, a few administrators ushered the students off the bus and onto the campus. Everything was so hectic. I could not make out the writing on the signs and banners that the adults held; nor did I know why they were so passionate about celebrating the first day of school. My naivety had a short shelf life in those days. As soon as the bell rang, my teacher informed the class about the uproar that had occurred outside. She spoke, almost shamefully, of racism and how the surrounding residents were upset that Blacks and Latino(a)s were bussed in. Thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the struggle of colored people came to mind in a bewildering manner. “Are they trying to relive history? Wasn’t this resolved when television was still in black and white?” I thought. I did not understand how they could view me, a scrawny child of seven years, as such a threat. Nevertheless, I learned a lesson that day. The skin color of a group of kids had the power to stir up contention amongst a crowd of adults.
The second event happened that same year, but on a more personal level. I could almost justify a group of seemingly old people acting that way, because that is probably how they were raised, but to have a child my age display acts of bigotry was distressing. I was sitting in class and the teacher instructed the students to get into groups. I immediately joined the closest assembly of students, which just so happened to be my school yard “friends”. The group consisted of two white students, Richard and Bradley, two black students Gus and Desmond, and one Chicano, me. The moment I sat down, Richard looked at me with disgust and said: “You can’t be in our group, you’re a beaner!” “A beaner?!” I asked puzzled, “what’s a beaner?” Richard and Bradley whispered amongst each other as if coming to a consensus about the word’s meaning, then Richard responded: “a beaner is a person who eats beans!” I quickly processed the information and countered: “do you eat beans?” “Yes” he replied, “but I’m not a beaner!” I asked each member of the group, individually, if they ate beans, to which they all answered affirmatively. “Then we’re all beaners” I concluded. Noticing my frustration in trying to come to terms with this new concept, Gus asked me with sincerity: “you’ve really never heard of a beaner?” “When would I have ever heard that word?” I answered. “A beaner is a Mexican, that’s why he called you a beaner and not us” he said resolutely. At that point, I was “forced to focus on [my] identity as a member of a group targeted by racism” (Tatum, 1992).
Another stage that I have experienced in my life is Immersion-Emersion which entails that an individual “shed their self-hatred and rush to a new ethnic identity” (Spring, 2006). During my middle childhood, I resented my name, Salvador, because it made me sound like a “paisa” or a “chunt” (paisa is a shortened version of “paisano” and chunt is the condensed version of “chuntaro” which are both Spanish words used derogatively to describe native Mexicans, equivalent to the English pejorative word “wetback”). As I entered my teen years, I began to feel “social pressures to adopt culturally valued roles and beliefs” (Lightfoot, et al., 2009) as described by Erik Erikson’s identity versus role confusion stage of psychosocial development. Although, I felt that I was lost in between the dominant American culture and the Chicano sub-culture, I had an affinity towards the latter. I studied the history of the Aztecs, the Mayans, the Toltecs, the Olmecs, and every other tribe that thrived during pre-Colombian times. In comparison to the achievements reached by the New World’s native cultures, the Chicanos condition seemed disparaging. I gained a strong sense of Chicano pride which was reflected in my artwork. During that point in my life, I focused most of my energy to learning about my Mexican roots and any time invested on learning U.S. history was through the perspective of those people indigenous to this land. In doing this, a sense of security emerged “in a newly defined and affirmed sense of self” (Tatum, 1992) which helped lead me to Helms’ Autonomy Stage.
Despite the fact that Janet Helms theory of racial identity development is associated more with the Caucasian experience, I presently see myself in the Autonomy Stage because I “confront racism and oppression in daily life…[and I am] continually open to new information and new ways of thinking about racial and cultural variables” (Tatum, 1992). Life experiences, logic, reasoning, and education have contributed to this realization. During basic training in the United States Marine Corps, I learned to see myself and other recruits as humans with the ability to adapt and overcome anything. Although, racism exists in the military, it is somehow minimized by the same intense preparation bequeathed on all. Because we were all treated equal, I learned to see everyone as an equal despite of their physical appearance. I distinctly remember one winter night, as I lay on the top bunk, “Taps” began to play. There are two uses of that musical piece by the military, one is to indicate “lights out” at night, and the other is at the funeral of the fallen. That night, I visualized scores of 18 and 19 year olds who lost their lives within moments of stepping on the battlefield. My eyes welled up with tears. I was not thinking about their race, I was simply empathizing by shedding tears at the thought of their final moments and lost future. That life experience served as a cobblestone in my proverbial road to becoming socially-justice minded.
Logic, reasoning, and education played an essential role in arriving at the Autonomy stage because it allowed me to make connections between different cultures that can be attributed to all humans despite of their demographics. In most all cultures, the attainment and maintenance of money and power are the driving force behind most major events. Sexual depravity tends to corrupt and weaken all systems of governance regardless of what groups of people are involved. In general, societies can be broken down into the oppressors and the oppressed. As Rodney, a classmate continues to allude to in class, in all these situations, the actors may change, but the metaphorical script remains the same. My cognition is set up to process human interactions and attributes any positive or negative traits to the individual(s) rather than to said individual(s)’ race because I know that all humans hold the capacity to carry out any action, be it slavery, prostitution, invention, imagination, creation, murder, healing, being industrious, being lazy, etc. I cannot remain silent while another person denigrates a group of people ignorantly as I feel it a duty to take a “proactive stance on anti-racist issues” (Tatum, 1992).
During my first couple of months at a new church, a white woman, who has since become a close friend, told me: “you know Sal…you’re smarter than you look!” I am smarter than I look? What does a smart person look like? Experiences such as this have given me some insight as to how I am initially perceived by others. I have learned to neglect such commentary with an assurance that, if given the time and opportunity, my character will invalidate their preconceived notions of me based on my looks. My encounter with racial acceptance, rejection, and indifference have made me compassionate enough to have the desire to only promulgate positive feelings within those who surround me, notwithstanding their race. As a teacher, I willingly take on the responsibility of promoting egalitarianism, “which emphasizes the equality of members of all ethnicities” (Lightfoot, et al., 2009).
For example, in the 2009-2010 school year, I was hired, under an internship, as a 9th grade Integrated Science teacher at Paramount High School. With a population consisting of 83% Latino(a)s and a very pervasive gang culture, I made it an issue to highlight the achievements of people of all races because I, personally, know that the Latino(a) gang culture promotes racism. On one occasion, I played a video for the students that dealt with the use of science in warfare, namely the unmanned, rice-paper balloons that carried bombs from Japan to the United States in 1945. The video told a compelling story of two nations that used their brain power to combat each other (i.e. the Japanese had an understanding of air currents and thermal pressures which they used to guide their explosive inventions to the proper destination vs. the United States forensic ability to find the location, where the bombs were being launched from, based on the type of sand placed in the bags found on the Japanese contraptions). I then led the class on a discussion as to whether race had anything to do with either group’s engineering capabilities. Some students struggled with the concept because it countered their unfounded biases against Asians. I would be foolish to believe that a permanent change would come about in a single class period. Nevertheless, I would be an even greater fool if I did not make egalitarianism ubiquitous throughout my lessons with the hope that its implicit and explicit teaching would leave an indelible impression in my students’ minds, possibly leading to a phase change on the scale of racial identity development. As James Allen stated in his short essay, “As a Man Thinketh”, “man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny” (Allen, 1903).
References
Allen, James. (1903). As a Man Thinketh. Retrived 22 October 2010, from http://jamesallen.wwwhubs.com/think.htm
Lightfoot, C., Cole, M., & Cole, S. (2009). The Development of Children. New York: Worth Publishers.
Spring, J. (2006). The Intersection of Cultures: Mutlicultural Education in the United States and the Global Community. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Tatum, B.D. (1992). Talking About Race, Learning about Racism: The Application of
Racial Identity Development Theory in the Classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 62(1). Retrieved 22 October 2010, from http://ets.mnsu.edu/darbok/ETHN201/race.pdf
Saturday, November 6, 2010
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