Internalized racism
Internalized racism refers to the internal acceptance of negative societal beliefs and stereotypes about one’s own racial or ethnic group, leading individuals to adopt these harmful views about themselves. This phenomenon can manifest in various ways, including self-devaluation, poor body image, and heightened anxiety and depression. Influenced by a society that perpetuates racist stereotypes, individuals from minority groups may struggle with their self-identity and self-worth, often viewing themselves through the biased lens of the dominant culture.
However, it is important to note that not all minority individuals succumb to these negative stereotypes; some resist internalized racism by fostering a positive racial or ethnic identity, often through supportive communities and cultural pride. Historical and contemporary movements, such as the Harlem Renaissance and the "Black is beautiful" campaign, exemplify efforts by African Americans to reclaim their identity and challenge white supremacy. Similarly, Native American and Mexican American communities have engaged in their own forms of cultural revitalization and political activism. The ongoing research into internalized racism highlights its psychological effects and encourages a deeper understanding of identity formation in the context of systemic oppression.
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Internalized racism
A foundational principle in sociology is that the self is socially constructed through the role-taking aspect of socialization, whereby we see ourselves from the perspectives of significant others and the general perspective of our culture. Other people and the media provide a looking glass, supplying us with reflected appraisals of the self and racial or ethnic groups in the United States. Because racist stereotypes prevail in American culture, it is possible for some minority members to internalize them and denigrate themselves by thinking about, feeling toward, and treating themselves in the same way members of the dominant culture may. However, a caveat is warranted here, as minority members are not passive victims of oppression; if a minority individual has a favorable self-feeling through, for example, internalizing a positive racial or ethnic group identity from significant others and their primary groups, then the ability to resist racist evaluations is greatly enhanced. Individuals are also able to interpret situations reflectively, enabling some minority members to realize that many dominant-group representations of their groups and cultural heritages are stereotypical and ideological. Nevertheless, an individual can succumb to the enormous influence that a media-saturated culture exerts on the construction of their identity.
Internalized racism has been poignantly illustrated in such portraits as African American writer Jean Toomer’s (1894-1967) book Cane (1923) and African American novelist Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970). The latter novel tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, an adolescent African American girl tormented by her internalization of the White standards of beauty as symbolized by blue eyes. Social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) researched the phenomenon of group self-hatred. Another social psychologist, Kenneth Clark (1914-2005), documented the prevalence of internalized racism, providing persuasive testimony to the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregated schools taught Black children that they were inferior, engendering emotional devastation and psychological harm. Along similar lines, social theorist bell hooks (1952-2021), in Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992), describes internalized racism as a “colonization of the mind.”
In the United States, the Declaration of Independence declares that those who rule must have the “consent of the governed.” If minority members believe that their status in society is a result of natural inequality in a system of fair play, meritocracy, or equality of opportunity, then their internalized racism manufactures the consent needed to be governed although oppressed. Internalizing a view of innate inferiority dissuades minorities from seeking redress for their grievances, encouraging instead accommodation, acquiescence, and resignation. Nevertheless, many minority individuals have resisted white supremacy, developing a consciousness of social injustice, igniting a movement for civil rights, and, occasionally, sparking violent protest (expressed in the slogan “No justice, no peace!”). Over the years, African Americans have forged positive self and group identities as “New Negroes” of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and have transformed their identity, epitomized in the 1960s by the “Black is beautiful” movement. Native Americans have acted similarly through such activities as a revival of tribal consciousness and of powwows, the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), and the concept of Red Power. Many Mexican Americans have responded similarly by adopting “Chicano” as a term of group pride and Chicanismo as a counter-ideology and by forming the political movement of La Raza Unida.
Internalized racism is a complex and multidimensional concept that impacts individuals in a variety of ways. Research continues to uncover the psychological implications of internalized racism and its impact on development and life-long self-image. Self-devaluation, poor body image, and a higher incidence of anxiety and depression are associated with internalized racism.
Bibliography
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