JOURNAL OF COUNSELING & DEVELOPMENT � WINTER 1999 � VOLUME 7 868

Racism�s Impact on Counselors� Professional and PersonalLives: A Response to the Personal Narratives on Racism

Madonna G. Constantine

Madonna G. Constantine is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, NewYork. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to Madonna G. Constantine, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College,Columbia University, 525 W. 120th St., Box 102, New York, NY 10027 (e-mail: mc816@columbia.edu).

The author identifies common themes among the personal narratives pertaining to racism (Journal of Counseling & Develop-ment, 77[1], 1999) and discusses implications of some themes for counselors’ professional and personal development.

The authors of the personal narratives on racism(Journal of Counseling & Development, 77[1],1999) represent a variety of racial and ethnicgroups, sexes, socioeconomic statuses, ages, andprofessional levels (e.g., newer, mid-career, and

retired individuals). Their diversity has resulted in a richand significant compilation of personal essays related to rac-ism. As delineated in their stories, the authors� experienceswith racism reflected the pain, sadness, anger, hurt, courage,and hope they faced in addressing this phenomenon in theirlives. I believe these authors will feel validated and sup-ported when reading about the experiences of fellow peerswho reported similar struggles with racism. By sharing theirstories, the authors have allowed readers to have glimpsesinto several intimate aspects of their lives. Their level ofopenness and risk-taking in describing the ways that racismhas affected their lives is to be commended.

I was struck by my own range of reactions to the authors�personal narratives on racism. As an African American womanwho was reared in southwestern Louisiana in the early 1960s,I was able to relate to many of their experiences. In fact, ittook me quite a while to read all of their personal narra-tives because I was not able to examine more than one ortwo of them at a time without stopping to process my feel-ings about some of their horrific experiences. In reading theirpersonal narratives, you too may have found it difficult (orimpossible) to read more than a few at a time without paus-ing to address your feelings. As a qualitative reviewer of thenarratives, my purposes were to identify common themesrelated to the authors� experiences with racism and to dis-cuss implications of some of these themes for counselors�professional and personal development. In the spirit ofstorytelling and qualitative work, at times I have interspersedmy own thoughts and reactions to parts of the authors� sto-ries to provide readers with some idea about the types oflenses I may have used to view and interpret the authors�experiences.

For the purposes of organization and clarity, I have classi-fied themes derived from the authors� personal narrativesinto the following subheadings: (a) racial socialization, (b)�passing� as White, (c) biracial identity issues, (d) awarenessof racism as a White person, (e) counselors as social changeagents, (f) racism in counselor training programs, (g) ad-dressing racial and ethnic issues in counseling practice, and(h) striving toward a nonracist identity.

RACIAL SOCIALIZATION

For some authors of the personal narratives (e.g., Brandyberry,1999; D�Andrea, 1999; Delgado-Romero, 1999; Thomas,1999), their burgeoning awareness and knowledge of the re-alities of racism began as young children in the context oftheir families of origin. Other authors (e.g., Fukuyama, 1999;Jackson, 1999; Ortiz, 1999; Talbot, 1999; Tate, 1999; Wilbur,1999; Williams, 1999) report first having been exposed toracism during their preschool or elementary school years, of-ten while interacting with other children. In particular, sev-eral authors of color (e.g., Fukuyama, 1999; Jackson, 1999;Ortiz, 1999; Talbot, 1999; Tate, 1999; Thomas, 1999; Wilbur,1999; Williams, 1999) write about racist incidents (e.g., eth-nic name-calling, being teased, being spit on, etc.) they expe-rienced as children and adolescents because they were seen as�different.� Weeber (1999), in comparing the dynamics of rac-ism with those of ableism, believes that other children andadults often labeled her as �different� as she was growing upbecause of her physical disability. Because children often in-tuitively understand what and whom society values (Ortiz,1999), many of the authors of color grew up associating theirown racial or ethnic group memberships with something badand shameful. Several of them internalized the messages thatbeing anything other than White was something negative andundesirable. As a child having been exposed to signs abovepublic water fountains that read �Coloreds only� and �Whitesonly,� I could resonate with the pain expressed by many of

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these authors as they described their emerging awareness ofbeing �different� or of a race other than White. I knew that Iwas permitted only to use the water fountains that were farworse than the nicer ones reserved exclusively for Whitepeople�s use. Moreover, I lacked the understanding and lan-guage to describe some of my internalized negative feelingsabout not being White or being �different,� and, subsequently,I was not able to appropriately express these feelings.

As Jackson (1999) and Ortiz (1999) articulate in their per-sonal narratives, racism is often planted in the minds of chil-dren at an early age in both overt and covert ways.Brandyberry (1999) and D�Andrea (1999), both White coun-selors, discuss experiences as children in which they wereexposed to racially biased messages about African Ameri-cans through their families and school. However, Thomas�s(1999) parents, in response to the racism she would inevita-bly experience as an African American, armed her at a youngage with various coping mechanisms (e.g., hearing positiveracial messages about herself, hearing the message that peoplewho treated her unfairly because of her skin color were �ig-norant,� etc.) to deal with many of the devastating effects ofracism. Because racism may have a strong negative impacton the development of positive racial or ethnic self-concept,many parents of color may find it challenging to rear theirchildren to have healthy self-concepts amidst racist messagesand images found in (a) various media forms, (b) school sys-tems, and (c) the larger community (Thomas, 1999). None-theless, it is vital that parents of color teach their childrento be prepared for and to handle the possibilities and reali-ties of racism by equipping them with appropriate copingstrategies in dealing with potentially hostile or unwelcomingenvironments (Greene, 1992; Stevenson, 1993; Thomas,1999). Being exposed to such strategies as children may havebeen helpful to many of the authors of color and to me indealing with racist incidents at a young age. Equally impor-tant, however, is the need for both White parents and par-ents of color to understand how obvious and subtle forms ofracism may influence themselves, their children, and otherchildren. In addition, school teachers and administratorsmust take some responsibility for addressing racism in theirsettings, particularly because this phenomenon has a profoundeffect on the academic achievement of many children of color(Weinstein, 1993; Weinstein, Madison, & Kuklinski, 1995).

�PASSING� AS WHITE

Several authors of color (e.g., Delgado-Romero, 1999;Fukuyama, 1999; Ortiz, 1999; Talbot, 1999; Williams, 1999)report that they initially internalized negative messages abouttheir racial or ethnic groups, causing them to want to rejecttheir racial or ethnic identity and assimilate into White cul-ture. In fact, some of them (e.g., Herring, 1999; Parilla deKokal, 1999) state that at times they �passed� as White eitherbecause they were classified that way by others or as a de-fense against racist treatment. For example, Delgado-Romero(1999) and Ortiz (1999) report that one �value� they learnedas children was to learn to speak English without having a

Spanish accent; they also recount other experiences in whichthey attempted to fit in with others in various situations bydenying their ethnic and cultural heritage. These experiencesare not uncommon to many people of color in the UnitedStates (U.S.). Some people of color may choose to deal withthe pain of racism by initially denying or strongly minimiz-ing their racial or ethnic group membership or by attemptingto emulate their perceptions of what it is like to �act� White.As Parilla de Kokal (1999) so eloquently expresses in herpersonal narrative, to be willing to pass as White when youare a person of color means that you (a) have internalized theshame associated with your racial or ethnic group, (b) wishto distance yourself from disparaging remarks made aboutyour group, (c) have become marginalized from your racial orethnic group, and (d) constantly fear being exposed as a per-son of color. For people of color, a detrimental consequenceassociated with attempting to pass as White is profound in-trapsychic and interpersonal distress. People of color who areable to move beyond the racial or ethnic self-degradationinherent in actively attempting to pass as White may experi-ence a range of positive and affirming thoughts and feelingsabout themselves and members of their own racial or ethnicgroup.

Similar to feelings of internalized racism experienced bypeople of color who attempt to pass as White, Weeber (1999)recounts incidents of her attempts to �pass� as a person with-out a physical disability. Since these initial attempts, how-ever, she has learned to honor and respect her body�s strengthsand limitations. As a result, she is able to experience a senseof liberation and pride in embracing her cultural affiliationas a person with a disability.

BIRACIAL IDENTITY ISSUES

Several authors of color who classify themselves as having abiracial identity (e.g., Fukuyama, 1999; Herring, 1999; Wil-liams, 1999) express their difficulties and frustrations re-lated to feeling pressured by others to identify with onlyone of the racial or ethnic groups represented by their par-ents� backgrounds. Their resistance to being easily catego-rized, particularly on demographic forms or in interactionswith others, challenges all of us to consider the complexi-ties of being a biracial or multiracial individual. As the bira-cial and multiracial population of the U.S. continues to grow,it is vital that the counseling profession examines ways tobetter serve individuals who embrace multiple racial or eth-nic identities. Some existing biracial identity developmentmodels (e.g., Jacobs, 1992; Kerwin & Ponterotto, 1995; Kerwin,Ponterotto, Jackson, & Harris, 1993; Kich, 1992; Poston, 1990)may be helpful to counselors and researchers in identifyingsalient issues and areas of focus regarding this population.

AWARENESS OF RACISM AS A WHITE PERSON

In their personal narratives, several White authors (e.g.,Brandyberry, 1999; Croteau, 1999; D�Andrea, 1999; Kiselica,1999) discuss experiences in which they initially denied or

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minimized the existence of racism. For example, at one pointin their lives, some of these authors believed that underprivi-leged minorities could improve their conditions in life solelyby working harder. In part, their denial or minimization ofthe impact of racism may have been used as a defense againstacknowledging (a) the realities of racism and (b) the possi-bilities that they themselves may have been granted privi-leges because of their racial group membership. As they be-came young adults, however, many of these authors beganto acknowledge the extent to which racism existed in theU.S. In response to their increased awareness of racism, sev-eral of them experienced periods of overidentifying withpeople of color and being critical and angry at other Whites.Some of them also expressed the need for Whites to have�encounter� experiences with people of color to begin theirjourney in addressing racism. Many of these authors� experi-ences of becoming aware of racism in their lives are describedin the stages of existing White racial identity developmenttheories (e.g., Helms, 1990, 1995). As they gained increasedawareness and knowledge of racism, these authors were ableto recognize their roles in perpetuating this phenomenon,even though they may not have seen themselves as overtlyracist. For many Whites, the process of getting in touch withtheir own racism typically involves moving beyond theircomfort zone to deal with very painful thoughts, feelings,and behaviors related to racial and ethnic issues; in particu-lar, feelings of shame, anger, guilt, and defensiveness are of-ten difficult to deal with for those who choose to commencethis journey into self-understanding. To address their ownracism, it is important that White people fully comprehend(a) how their own socialization has influenced their experi-ences and perceptions of themselves and people of color(D�Andrea, 1999); (b) the �collective� experience of beingWhite, including an awareness of the power and privilegesassociated with being White (Brandyberry, 1999; Croteau,1999; Kiselica, 1999); and (c) how racism is manifested indi-vidually, systemically, and institutionally (D�Andrea, 1999).

Several authors of the personal narratives also identifyhow they were able to develop their awareness of racismby applying it to incidents of oppression they had experi-enced in their own lives. For example, Weeber (1999) dis-cusses how her empathy for individuals who were subjectedto racism was rooted in her experience of feeling devaluedbecause of her physical disability. She notes that ableism,like racism, convinces people that there is something fun-damentally wrong with them (i.e., they are inferior to the�norm�), and that they are not acceptable as they are (i.e.,they need to be �fixed�). The norm to which she refers re-lates to the notion that society places primary value onbeing both White and able-bodied. Similarly, Brandyberry�s(1999) experiences of oppression in relation to her physicalsize, socioeconomic class, and sex were critical in helpingher to gain a better understanding of racism. Croteau (1999),in his process of coming to terms with being a gay man,used his experiences and understanding of oppression aroundsexual orientation issues to aid him in becoming increas-

ingly aware of the dynamics of racism. In addition, Herring(1999), a biracial man of Native American and White de-scent, was able to empathize with a coworker�s experienceof racism by relating it to his own experiences of beingdiscriminated against as a child because of his socioeco-nomic status.

COUNSELORS AS SOCIAL CHANGE AGENTS

D�Andrea (1999) articulates the need for counselors to serveas social change agents by being involved in addressing is-sues such as racism so as to have a broader effect on largernumbers of individuals. Tate (1999), while working in a men-tal health agency, attempted to emphasize social change is-sues, but encountered resistance to his efforts by both Whitesand people of color. Racism is often perceived as being amore salient issue for people of color than for Whites(Kiselica, 1999), and people of color are frequently involvedin initiatives to address racism at broader community andsocietal levels. Moreover, many people of color do not ex-pect Whites to be open to eradicating racism in the largersociety (Brandyberry, 1999). Because racism negatively af-fects both Whites and people of color, it would behoovecounselors to identify ways to begin eradicating racism onbroader levels (e.g., institutional, societal) to improve themental health of communities at large.

RACISM IN COUNSELOR TRAINING PROGRAMS

In their personal narratives, some authors discuss the im-portance of counselor training programs working to activelyaddress racism and racial and ethnic issues in the context ofthese programs. For example, Thomas (1999) describes anexperience in her graduate program when a peer made anovertly racist comment in class and the course instructorfailed to confront the peer about the biased remark.Durodoye (1999) also identifies various forms of racism inher doctoral program, including (a) insinuations by peersthat the only reason she was admitted into the program wasbecause she was Black and (b) a lack of exposure to infor-mation in her courses related to working with people ofcolor. Moreover, D�Andrea (1999) states that he was criti-cized for raising issues related to racism in his master�s pro-gram. Unfortunately, the experiences described by theseauthors are not uncommon to many counselor training pro-grams. While reading Durodoye�s and Thomas� narratives, Iwas struck by the similarities between their experiencesand my own experiences in graduate school regarding ra-cial insensitivity. I could remember times when I hopedand prayed that my instructors or peers would challenge orconfront racist remarks made by colleagues in classes sothat I did not always have to be the one to educate othersabout their racial biases; to my chagrin, however, I was fre-quently left with the choice of deciding whether or not Iwanted to exert the energy to �fight battles� related to oth-ers� ignorance about racial and ethnic issues. Despite some

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of my difficult experiences in graduate school, I believe that Iam a much stronger person in my ability to deal with variousadverse circumstances; in fact, the types of experiences I en-countered in graduate school have significantly shaped manyof my professional and personal interests and goals to date. Intheir personal narratives, several authors of color also allude toways that their experiences with racism in graduate schoolhelped them to develop into better individuals. However, Iwould not endorse intentional exposure to racially hostile situ-ations or environments as a means of building character, resil-ience, and determination in people of color.

Counselor educators, trainers, and supervisors have an ethi-cal responsibility to teach students to be competent in ad-dressing racial and ethnic issues and their own racist atti-tudes and behaviors. Thus, counselor educators andsupervisors themselves must be willing to deal with theirown issues regarding racism (Thomas, 1999; Williams, 1999).Counselor training programs that do not deal effectivelywith racial and ethnic issues and racism may fail to ad-equately prepare their students to work with a range ofracially and ethnically diverse clients. In particular, counse-lor training programs must be willing to create safe envi-ronments in which counselor trainees can identify and pro-cess their feelings regarding racial issues and confront theirown racism. In establishing such environments, counseloreducators and supervisors may aid counselor trainees inmeaningfully examining how their own attitudes, feelings,and behaviors related to racial and ethnic issues may affecttheir relationships with clients.

ADDRESSING RACIAL AND ETHNIC ISSUES INCOUNSELING PRACTICE

Some authors identify behaviors in which they engaged whenworking with clients of color. For example, Kiselica (1999)states that when he listens carefully and sincerely to clientsof color when they speak, he tends to earn their respect andthat he will be heard by them. Similarly, Wilbur (1999) andWilliams (1999) discuss the importance of allowing clientstell to their stories without attempting to stereotype theirexperiences based on racial or ethnic group membership orcounselor worldview.

Williams (1999), however, reports that racial issues werevirtually avoided or minimized in her own personal therapyexperiences; she discusses the importance of counselorsbringing up and processing racial or ethnic issues, particu-larly in their work with clients of color. As an example,Fukuyama (1999) notes that she felt validated and affirmedin her own personal counseling when her Japanese Ameri-can therapist articulated her appreciation in working withher, partly because of their ethnic similarities. Some clientsof color who work with counselors who tend to avoid orminimize racial or ethnic issues may perceive that theircounselors (a) are uncomfortable dealing with such topics,(b) are not equipped or competent to address these issues,

or (c) do not consider racial or ethnic issues to be impor-tant. This perceived unwillingness to bring up and exploreracial and ethnic issues may greatly affect salient therapeu-tic issues such as safety, trust, and intimacy, and may ulti-mately result in clients being underserved. Thus, it is crucialthat counselors find ways to facilitate explorations of racialand ethnic issues as they pertain to clients� therapeutic con-cerns and the establishment of a productive counseling rela-tionship. It is especially vital that such explorations occurregarding clients who are from racial and ethnic backgroundsthat differ from their counselors.

STRIVING TOWARD A NONRACIST IDENTITY

In their personal narratives, Kiselica (1999) and D�Andrea(1999) note that the process of achieving a nonracist iden-tity is lifelong. It is important, however, not to become dis-couraged by this realization. Some individuals fear makingmistakes regarding potential racial issues and encounters,and their fears may make it difficult for them to engagefully with others who are racially or ethnically differentfrom them (Croteau, 1999). Conversely, some individualsmay perceive themselves to have liberal attitudes about raceand ethnicity and may find it difficult to identify ways theymay manifest racism; these individuals, however, must con-tinually examine themselves and the source of their liberalattitudes so as to not unknowingly perpetuate racism. Inexamining racism in his own life, Delgado-Romero (1999)states that he could not afford to ask himself, �Am I racist?�Instead, he chooses to consistently ask himself, �How racistam I?� By doing so, he is involved in an ongoing process ofexploring his true motivations and goals with regard to ra-cial and ethnic issues.

CONCLUSION

The authors of the personal narratives on racism presenttheir stories in ways that will influence the counseling fieldfor many years. Although each of the authors is unique, eachone describes the same phenomenon from their own indi-vidual perspectives.

As counselors, it is critical that we challenge ourselves todialogue honestly and meaningfully about racism, despiteour fears and anxieties related to this topic. Contrary towidespread belief, one way to address racism is not to becolor blind. Rather, being comfortable with acknowledgingand affirming racial and ethnic differences will aid all of usin realizing how much our strength rests in our diversity. Itis important that each of us makes a lifelong commitmentto addressing individual, institutional, and societal mecha-nisms by which we may intentionally or unintentionallydiscriminate against others because of their racial or ethnicgroup membership or any other salient demographic vari-able. Such a commitment is destined to result in a lifetimeof personal and professional growth as counselors.

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