Developing Multicultural Counseling Competence: A Systems Approach

Developing Multicultural Counseling
Competence: A Systems Approach

Third Edition
Chapter 4
Racism and White Privilege
Copyright © 2018, 2014, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
4.1 Understand the historical foundations or race and racism.
4.2 Describe how race was socially constructed through colonization.
4.3 Explain the concepts of race, racism, and racial worldview.
4.4 Identify the cognitive costs of racism for minority groups.
4.5 Understand the affective costs of racism for diverse individuals.
4.6 Describe the interpersonal costs of racism for diverse cultural
groups.
4.7 Explain the physical costs of racism for minority groups.
4.8 Describe characteristics of White privilege and White supremacy.
Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
4.9 Identify the cognitive costs of racism for Whites.
4.10 Understand the affective costs of racism for Whites.
4.11 Describe White’s psychological responses to racism and White
privilege.
4.12 Identify color-blind racial attitudes among Whites.
4.13 Describe the myth of meritocracy.
4.14 Understand the five psychological dispositions of White racism.
4.15 Describe how racism can be eradicated through counselor self-
awareness and client services.
4.16 Explain how professional counselors can eradicate racism through
changing systems.
Historical Foundations of Race and Racism
• Origins of racial “differences”
• Race & ethnicity are often confused
– Race implies a common descent of heredity, common
ancestry
– Ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics (e.g., rituals,
work ethic, social mores, values)
• The U.S. Government uses racial categories as social
constructs for collecting data, rather than basing
categories on biological factors
Social Construction of Race
• Racial classifications throughout history
– Originally, “race” referred to breeding line
– Linnaeus subdivided humans into four geographic
regions and labeled their characteristics
– “Caucasian” introduced in 1777 by Johann
Blumenbach as ideal beauty
• Early racial classification systems based on physical
characteristics paved the way for later forms of racism
• Physical characteristics alone are insufficient to make
distinctions among people
Defining Racism
• Racism - an ongoing, multidimensional, & dynamic process
inherent in the development & maintenance of an
institutionalized, hierarchical racial classification system
– individual, group, & systemic levels
– intentional & unintentional negative & erroneous
stereotypical beliefs
• Racial worldview - socially constructed prism used to perceive
and understand other individuals/groups and is passed to
succeeding generations
• Racism is built to maintain itself and is enabled by racial
worldview & institutional racial classification systems
– Actively and passively reinforced
Types of Racism
• Individual Racism - personal attitudes and beliefs in White superiority
and the inferiority of people of color
• Institutional Racism - differential access to the goods, services, and
opportunities of society by race
– Structural Racism - emphasizes that the oppression of racial and
ethnic groups is organized by institutional, cultural, and social
structures
• Internalized Racism - members of marginalized groups believing and
accepting negative social messages about their own racial/ethnic
groups
– Cultural Racism - the belief that cultural values and practices of
White, European descent people are superior to those of other
racial groups
Costs of Racism for People of Color (1 of 2)
• Cognitive costs: Mental energy & psychological processes,
internalized racism
• Affective costs
• Frustration, irritation, hostility
• Increased risk for depression, somatization, anxiety, PTSD
• Stress and hypervigilance
• Interpersonal costs
– Segregation of people by racial classification
– Creates misinformation, misunderstanding, & miscommunication
– Barriers to cross-cultural relationships
– Fear, suspicion, & distrust among people of color
Costs of Racism for People of Color (2 of 2)
• Physical costs:
– Hypertension
– Chronic fatigue
– Delivery of low birth weight pre-term infants
– Physical violence
– Outcomes related to health care
Efforts to Combat Racism
• Black Lives Matter - a grassroots effort to bring light to the
killings and other recognized racial injustices in Black
communities
• Congress of Racial Equality - works to promote the social,
political, and economic wellbeing of minority populations since
1942
• National Council of La Raza - advocacy sounding board for
the betterment of Latinos in the United States
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - highlights the US
Constitution to guide its fight for justice for disenfranchised
groups in terms of human rights, immigration rights, and racial
rights
White Privilege (1 of 2)
• White privilege - ways in which Whites, benefit from
racism, advantages due to race
– Benefits & privileges can be unintentional or
unconscious
– Allows Whites the choice to acknowledge racism
• White supremacy - the belief that the superiority of
Whites justifies disproportionate access to social &
economic resources
– Examples of unearned advantages
White Privilege (2 of 2)
• is often invisible to Whites
• contains psychological & intellectual costs to Whites
• contains several myths that perpetuate privilege for Whites
• differentially benefits Whites
• may even benefit those who do not identify as White
Costs of Racism for Whites (1 of 3)
• Ways in which Whites cope with & respond to racism &
racial privilege have cognitive, affective, & interpersonal
costs for them
• Costs are minimal compared to those for people of color
• Cognitive costs:
– delusion of superiority
– lack of accurate awareness as a cultural being
– inability to develop a full range of knowledge of racial
issues & culture
• Affective costs:
– vary depending on White’s awareness of racial issues
– may include irrational sense of danger & fear of non-
Whites
– may result in anger which can result in apathy and
denial
– may include anxiety due to guilt
– A counselor’s guilt may manifest as color
consciousness (being intentionally cognizant of racial
issues and potentially over-emphasizing its role in
client problems)
• Interpersonal costs:
– loss of relationships with people of color or with other
Whites
– distorted sense of others because of reliance on
stereotypes & a lack of understanding of people of
color
– limited interaction with people of color
– severed relationships with Whites who do not work for
social advocacy
– limited social competence
Whites’ Psychological Responses to Racism
& White Privilege
• Whites engage in various defense mechanisms to help
them reduce costs of White racism and maintain racial
identity
• Racial Micro aggressions - brief and commonplace
verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities that
communicate hostile, negative, racial slights (intentional or
unintentional)
– Denial - holding color-blind racial attitudes, believing in
myth of meritocracy, & focusing on exceptions to argue
against claims of White racism
America and Whiteness
• White people often assume that being White equates to
being American (the term all-American refers to clean-cut,
blond haired, conventional, Protestant, educated, middle
class)
• Common Micro aggressions:
– Pathologizing Cultural Values/Communication Styles
– Alien in Own Land
– Second-Class Citizen
– Assumption of Criminal Status
Color-Blind Racial Attitudes
• Color-Blind Racial Attitudes = form of microaggression that
involves unawareness of racial privilege, institutional
discrimination, and/or overt racial issues
– Using examples of people of color “overcoming”
discrimination (e.g., Barack Obama being elected
President)
– “I don’t see a person’s race. I only see them as a
person.”
 When counselors act color-blind, they may have
difficulty establishing a trusting, therapeutic alliance
Myth of Meritocracy & Focus on Exceptions
• 5 Essential Principles of a meritocracy
• Myth of meritocracy - the belief that all individuals,
regardless of racial makeup, can succeed if they try
• Reverse discrimination - Whites may deflect their role in
perpetuating racism by focusing on times when they were
discriminated against by people of color
Psychological Dispositions of White Racism
(1 of 3)
• Affective-Impulsive Disposition
– limited, stereotypical thinking about non-Whites &
denial of the existence of racism
– aggressive & hostile
– little shame & guilt
• Rational Disposition
– somewhat aware of how racism exists yet they tend to
engage in either-or thinking about race relations
– superficial tolerance of people of color until they
encounter them when they exhibit negative reactions to
any policies that encourage racial integration
(2 of 3)
• Liberal Disposition
– a greater understanding of racism and other forms of social
injustice
– insight into others’ perspectives and experiences
– inaction on their part due to perception that they will experience
negative reactions from others
• Principled Disposition
– knowledgeable about how White privilege in their lives influences
racism
– can cite specific examples of racism
– tend to integrate discussions of racism with others in a superficial
manner & report that they are cynical that current racial dynamics
in the U.S. will change
(3 of 3)
• Principled Activistic Disposition:

– understanding of racism & are hopeful & active in
creating sociopolitical change
– social advocates who seek to eliminate racism in
specific ways within their lives
– Counselors must address racial issues within the
therapeutic relationship.
Eradicating Racism (1 of 4)
Involves a systematic approach that focuses on:
• Counselor self-awareness
– awareness of one’s own attitudes & behaviors
regarding racism & racial privilege
– counselors of all races are encouraged to reflect on the
following areas:
 Cultural tunnel vision/ethnocentrism
 Victim blaming
 Limitations of consciousness raising
 Race-based stereotyping
– Client services:
– Address client’s racial identity development
– Addressing clients who have experienced micro
aggressions
– Investigate intersections of trauma & other forms of
oppression with race-related stress
– Addressing client racial prejudice
– Address racism within the client’s school & community
• Change existing political, legal, economic, & public health
systems
• Be familiar with historical & current legislation & court
decisions that address racial issues
– Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo (1849)
– Reconstruction (1865-1877)
– Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
– Brown vs. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas
(1954)
– Warren-McCarran Act (1962)
– Civil Rights Act (1964, 1991)
– Immigration Act (1965)
– Voting Rights Act (1965-2013)
– Affirmative Action (post-Civil Rights Era)
– Public Law 93-638 (1975)
– Indian Health Care Improvement Act (1976)
– No Child Left Behind Act (2002)
Economic & Public Health Concerns
• People of color receive disproportionate incomes & job
opportunities in comparison to their White counterparts
– Based on individual, institutional, & cultural forms of
racism
– This is particularly important in career counseling with
people of color
• Counselors should be aware of health disparities for
people of color & how racism contributes to them
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