Becoming White A Workshop for PCC’S Whiteness History Month With Sharece M. Bunn

What do we mean by “Becoming White?”

!  Becoming White is the process of understanding whiteness and how us white folks fit into the racial dynamics of the U.S. and the world.

!  Becoming White includes the process of white identity development as researched by Janet Helms.

Our Goals for Today:

!  Deliberate our racial identities and think about how they fit into the racial dynamics of the communities in which we reside.

!  Connect with other folks and learn about how they have developed their racial identities.

Ground Rules

!  This is a learning community. We’re here to learn and grow together. Challenge yourself to be open to learning new ideas and engage in dialogues that may be uncomfortable.

!  Be vulnerable. Discussing whiteness can be extremely uncomfortable. However, when you lean in to the dialogue, you may broaden your understanding of race.

!  Allow for growth. Some folks in the room may have more experience talking about whiteness and/or race. Respect each individual’s experience and meet one another where you are.

Let’s Talk About Whiteness

!  What is Whiteness? !  Whiteness is “the privileges/power that people who

appear ‘white’ receive, because they are not subjected to the racism faced by people of color and Indigenous people” (University of Calgary, 2015).

!  A social construction. !  A learned behavior

!  The “norm” (Frankenberg, 1993). Whiteness is the dominant culture; it defines what is normal.

!  Not just a skin color, but an ideology that suggests that white people belong and dominate. Non-whites are essentially “guests” or “the other.”

Whiteness Continued

!  A state of unconciousness – You don’t even have to think about race when you’re white. !  The White Oblivion

!  Whiteness has changed. !  Irish-Americans

!  Italian-Americans

!  Jews

!  Greeks

!  Saxons vs. Celts

White Identity Development (Helms, 1990)

!  Abandonment of Racism !  Contact

!  Disintegration

!  Reintegration

!  Defining a Nonracist Identity !  Pseudo-Independent

!  Immersion/Emersion

!  Autonomy

And… Who Am I?

Stepping into White Consciousness

!  Social Justice Retreat – September 2013

!  Student Development Theory

!  Multicultural Issues Course !  Reintegration – I couldn’t work for a

historically black college, because they wouldn’t hire me.

!  Educational & Social Reform in South Africa !  Apartheid Museum !  University of Pretoria

Apartheid

Let’s get talk about our own racial identities.

!  Take a minute to write down when you remember first learning about your race. What happened? Who spoke to you about it? What did you do after that first experience?

Ground Rules

!  This is a learning community. We’re here to learn and grow together. Challenge yourself to be open to learning new ideas and engage in dialogues that may be uncomfortable.

!  Be vulnerable. Discussing whiteness can be extremely uncomfortable. However, when you lean in to the dialogue, you may broaden your understanding of race.

!  Allow for growth. Some folks in the room may have more experience talking about whiteness and/or race. Respect each individual’s experience and meet one another where you are.

What box do I check?

!  U.S. Census Racial Categories: !  White, Black or African American, American Indian

or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

!  Please fill in the box of your race. Then, for the next three minutes, write about what this means to you. What memories, thoughts, or ideas go through your head? How do you feel?

Discussion

!  Share about checking the box.

!  What did you write about today?

!  What are thoughts that have come up in the past when you’ve filled out this box?

Identity Salience A Conceptual Model of Multiple

Dimensions of Identity (Jones & McEwen, 2000)

Common Traps

!  Colorblindness !  “I don’t see color.” !  “But we’re all equal.”

!  The White Oblivion !  “It’s shocking that these things are still happening.”

!  Color Crayons !  When it comes to white folks, you might pick pink,

peach, white, but then when you want to draw a person of color, you’ll pick brown or black immediately without trying to match the shade…

Equality vs. Equity

Common Traps

!  Colorblindness !  “I don’t see color.” !  “But we’re all equal.”

!  The White Oblivion !  “It’s shocking that these things are still happening.”

!  Color Crayons !  When it comes to white folks, you might pick pink,

peach, white, but then when you want to draw a person of color, you’ll pick brown or black immediately without trying to match the shade…

Who am I?

Socialization Reflection

!  What’s a memory you have from childhood or early adulthood when you started to wonder about what your race meant?

!  Or, what do you remember learning about race in your early years?

What does it mean to be white?

!  What is white culture?

!  What images come to mind when you think about whiteness and white folks?

!  How do you define what it means to be white?

Confronting Whiteness

!  What has white supremacy done for me? !  White supremacy: “the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people

are inherently superior to people from all other racial groups, especially black people, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society.” (Dictionary.com, 2016).

!  How have you benefited from racial privilege? Or, how has racial privilege affected my life?

So…

!  If the prevalence of white supremacy in our society makes me feel bad, why should I focus on it?

Perpetuating Racism

So what now?

!  What are you thinking about right now?

!  Write down questions you have for yourself.

!  What can you do to learn more? (i.e. read, watch movies, attend lectures)

!  Write down three goals for yourself: one you can accomplish this month of April, one you can work on through the end of June, and one that you can work on through the end of 2016.

Thank you!

!  I appreciate all of you!

!  Thanks for coming to this session.

!  Thanks for talking about your racial identities and for your vulnerability throughout the process.

!  Thanks for connecting with your co-participants! Please exchange information with one another!

Contact Info

!  Sharece Bunn !  Linn-Benton Community College

!  International Student Coordinator

!  bunns@linnbenton.edu

!  541-917-4813

Questions?

References & Works Consulted !  Blay, Z. (2016, January 20). 4 ‘reverse racism’ myths that need to stop. Huffpost Black Voices. Retrieved from

www.huffingtonpost.com.

!  DiAngelo, R. (2014, August 14). What does it mean to be white? The Seattle Times. Retrieved from www.seattletimes.com

!  Estrada, I. (2012, November 17). Crayola doesn’t understand the meaning of “Multicultural.” Latino Rebels. Retrieved from www.latinorebels.com.

!  Frankenberg, R. (1993). White women, race matters: The social construction of whiteness. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

!  Helms, J. E. (1990). Toward a model of White racial identity development. In Ed. J. Helms. Black and White racial identity: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Greenwood Press.

!  Johnson, A. G. (2006). Privilege, power, and difference. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

!  Painter, N. I. (2015, June 20). What is whiteness? The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com.

!  Tatum, B. D. (2013). Defining racism: Can we talk? In Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castaneda, C., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L. & Zuniga, X. Readings for diversity and social justice. New York: Routledge.

!  University of Calgary. (2015). Understanding whiteness. Calgary Anti-Racism Education. Retrieved from www.ucalgary.ca.

!  Villalpando, O. (2003). Self-segregation or self-preservation? A critical race theory and Latina/o critical theory analysis of a study of Chicana/o college students. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 16, 619-646. doi: 10.1080/0951839032000142922