Step 1: Background

In this activity, we are going to use a combination of frameworks that have been created to describe stages of racial and ethnic identity development. By exploring racial identity development frameworks, we can begin to understand where we are in our own identity development and how it impacts our day-to-day behaviors. These frameworks can help us understand how individuals function in community, family, and organizational settings. The frameworks focus on the experiences of people of color (POC), Biracial people, and White people in the United States. The frameworks can also be useful tools for self-reflection and for building empathy and understanding about difference.

Not every person will necessarily go through each stage in the frameworks. Some people may revisit different stages at different points in their lives. The frameworks in this module address a few different types of people and their experiences, but they do not describe all of the possibilities.

Step 2: Choose and Identify

Choose how you identify: People of Color, Biracial, or White. Within your chosen group, read through the summary of stages of racial identity development, and identify which stage you are in.

People of Color
Biracial People
White People

People of Color

Black American Racial Identity (Cross, 1995)

PRE-ENCOUNTER: Absorbs as many beliefs and values of the dominant White culture, including the notion that “White is right” and “Black is wrong”; de-emphasizes one’s racial group membership; is largely unaware of race or racial implications
ENCOUNTER: Is forced by an event or series of events to acknowledge the impact of racism in one’s life and the reality that one cannot truly be white; is forced to focus on identity as a member of a group targeted by racism
IMMERSION/EMERSION: Has a simultaneous desire to surround oneself with visible symbols of one’s racial identity and to actively avoid symbols of whiteness; actively seeks out opportunities to explore aspects of one’s own history and culture with the support of peers from one’s own racial background
INTERNALIZATION: Is secure in one’s own sense of racial identity; pro-Black attitudes become more expansive, open, and less defensive; is willing to establish meaningful relationships with Whites who acknowledge and are respectful of one’s self-definition
INTERNALIZATION-COMMITMENT: Has found ways to translate one’s personal sense of blackness into a plan of action or a general sense of commitment to concerns of Blacks as a group, which is sustained over time; finds comfort with one’s own race and those around them

Filipino American (Nadal, 2004)

ETHNIC AWARENESS: Has neutral or positive feelings about all ethnic groups, including one’s own; has little exposure to prejudice
ASSIMILATION TO DOMINANT CULTURE: Views Whites as positive and is negative toward other races
SOCIAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: Holds negative views toward Whites, and positive views toward other races and ethnicities
PAN-ETHNIC ASIAN AMERICAN CONSCIOUSNESS: Takes ownership of Asian American identity
ETHNOCENTRIC REALIZATION: Views Filipinos as unjustly situated in Asian American construct; sees self and other communities of color as unjustly treated
INCORPORATION: Feels positive, proud of own identity; appreciates members of other oppressed groups; has selective appreciation of individuals in the dominant group

Ethnic Minority (Berry, 1992)

ASSIMILATION: Values the majority culture over one’s own culture
SEPARATION: Preserves one’s culture, while withdrawing from the majority culture
MARGINALIZATION: Loses cultural contact and identification with one’s culture as well as the majority culture
INTEGRATION: Values and integrates one’s culture as well as the majority culture

Native American (Horse, 2005)

Perry G. Horse proposes five influences that affect Native American “consciousness” which can provide a framework for understanding the development of Native American students. Note: Horse does not refer to this idea as an identity model. This is not a linear stage model that youth will progress through in order.

“the extent to which one is grounded in one’s Native American language and culture, one’s cultural identity”
“the validity of one’s American Indian genealogy”
“the extent to which one holds a traditional American Indian general philosophy or worldview (emphasizing balance and harmony and drawing on Indian spirituality)”
“one’s self-concept as an American Indian”
“one’s enrollment (or lack of it) in a tribe”

Biracial People

Biracial (Poston, 1990)

PERSONAL IDENTITY: Has a sense of self unrelated to ethnic grouping; occurs during childhood
CHOICE OF GROUP: Feels pressure due to multiple factors; to choose one racial or ethnic group identity over another
CATEGORIZATION: Choices are influenced by status of the group, parental influence, cultural knowledge, and appearance
ENMESHMENT/DENIAL: Has guilt and confusion about choosing an identity that isn’t fully expressive of all their cultural influences; denial of differences between the racial groupings; may explore the identities that were not chosen in stages 2 and 3
APPRECIATION: Has an appreciation of multiple identities
INTEGRATION: Feels a sense of wholeness, integrating multiple identities

Continuum of Biracial Identity Model (Rockquemore & Laszloffy, 2003)

Does not seek to categorize individuals into a single identity; acknowledges continuum
May choose to identify singularly with one of their identities
May blend with a primary emphasis on one identity and a secondary emphasis on the other
May blend two (or more) identities with equal emphasis

Resolutions of Biracial Identity Tensions (Root, 1993)

Acceptance of the identity society assigns: Identifies with the group into which others assume they most belong, usually with family support
Identification with both racial groups: Identifies with both (or all) heritage groups, depending on social and personal support
Identification with a single racial group: Chooses one group, independent of social pressure, to identify themselves in a particular way
Identification as a new racial group: Moves fluidly among racial groups but identifies most strongly with other biracial people, regardless of specific heritage backgrounds

White People

White Racial Identity Model (Helms, 1995)

CONTACT: In the first stage of contact, the individual adheres to the “color-blind” motto. They see racial difference but do not find it salient and, in fact, may feel that racism is in fact propagated by the discussion and acknowledgment of race as an issue. In this stage, there is no conscious demonstration of racism here. This seemingly non-racist position can cover unconscious racist beliefs. If the individual is confronted with real-world experiences or knowledge that uncovers the privileges of White skin, they may move into the disintegration stage.
DISINTEGRATION: In this stage, because the person has new experiences which confront their prior conception of the world and because this conception is now challenged by this new information or experience, the person is often plagued by feelings of guilt and shame. These emotions of guilt and shame can be modified when the person decides to channel these emotions in a positive way, but when those emotions continue to dominate, the person may move into the reintegration stage.
REINTEGRATION: This stage is marked by a “blame-the-victim” attitude that’s more intense than anything experienced in the contact stage. They may feel that although Whites do have privileges, it is probably because they deserve them and in are in some way superior to minority groups. If the person is able to combat these feelings, they may be able to move on to the pseudo-independence stage.
PSEUDO-INDEPENDENCE: This is the first stage of positive racial identification. Although an individual in this stage does not feel that Whites deserve privilege, they look to people of color, not themselves, to confront and uncover racism. They approve of these efforts and comfort the person as these efforts validate this person’s desire to be non-racist. Although this is positive White racial identity, the person does not have a sense of how they can be both White and non-racist together.
IMMERSION/EMERSION: In this stage, the person makes a genuine attempt to connect to their own White identity and to be anti-racist. This stage is usually accompanied by a deep concern with understanding and connecting to other Whites who are or have been dealing with issues of racism.
AUTONOMY: The last stage is reached when an individual has a clear understanding of and positive connection to their White racial identity while also actively pursuing social justice. Helms’ stages are as much about finding a positive racial identification with being White as they are about becoming an active anti-racist.

Step 3: Reflect in Your Journal

Open your Cluster 1 Journal and go to Activity 3.2. to reflect on your own racial identity development.

Go Deeper

Download the full "Racial Identity Development Scales" article to review a set of models curated by the Interaction Institute for Social Change.