CHAPTER 18 COUNSELING INDIVIDUALS OF MULTIRACIAL DESCENT

1. CHAPTER 18 COUNSELING INDIVIDUALS OF MULTIRACIAL DESCENT

2. Issues Facing Multiracial Individuals • People of mixed-race heritage are often ignored, neglected, and considered nonexistent in our educational materials, media portrayals, and psychological literature—this can lead to major psychological stress. • In 2000 and 2010, the U.S. Census allowed people to check off more than one race. • Some (e.g., NAACP) argue that a multiracial categorization will dilute the strength of their constituencies. • Multiracial individuals are often asked, “What are you?” and forced to choose one race.

3. Multiracialism in the United States • The biracial baby boom in the United States started in 1967 when the last laws against race mixing (antimiscegenation) were repealed. • In the 2010 U.S. Census 9 million people reported more than one race; 92% reported two races: White and Black (1.8 million), White and other (1.7 million), White and Asian (1.6 million), White and American Indian or Alaska Native (1.4 million). • Census figures underestimate numbers. Research indicates 16% consider themselves mixed race; 30 to70% of African Americans are multiracial by multigenerational history.

4. Racial/Ethnic Ambiguity, or “What Are You?” • Racial/ethnic ambiguity refers to the inability of people to distinguish the monoracial category of the multiracial individual from phenotypic characteristics. • The “What are you?” question almost asks a biracial child to justify his or her existence in a world rigidly built on the concepts of racial purity and monoracialism.

5. The “One Drop of Blood” Rule • Alvin Poussaint, an African American Harvard psychiatrist , pointed out how powerful Black blood is insofar as assigning the person of mixed racial heritage to the least desirable racial status. • Hypodescent was an attempt by White European immigrants to maintain racial purity and superiority by passing laws against interracial marriages (antimiscegenation), primarily directed at Blacks and Native Americans. • This generated additional property for slaveholders. • People of color were considered inferior so “one drop of blood” would “contaminate” an individual. • It seems that African American and Whites represent the most controversial racial pairings to date.

6. The Marginal Syndrome • Root (1990) asserted that mixed-race people begin life as “marginal individuals” because society refuses to view the races as equal and because their ethnic identities are ambiguous, as they are often viewed as fractionated people—composed of fractions of a race, culture, or ethnicity.

7. Complex Identity Processes • A growing number of multiracial individuals are choosing “multiracial” as their ethnic identity. • Where the child grows up (i.e. in an integrated neighborhood and school versus in an ethnic community) can have a great impact on identity. • Physical appearance also influences the sense of group belonging and racial self-identification among multiracial individuals.

8. Multiracial Identity Model (Poston, 1990) • Personal identity stage. Biracial children’s sense of self is largely independent of ethnic heritage. • Choice of group categorization stage. The youngster feels pressures to identify with one racial orientation by either parents, peers or societal forces. • The enmeshment/denial stage. There are likely to be considerable negative feelings, whether conscious or unconscious, regarding the denial of one of the racial heritages. • Appreciation stage. The person begins to value the racial roots of both parents. • Integration stage. Wholeness and integration of both identities occur.

9. Multiracial Bill of Rights Three major affirmations: • Resistance • Revolution • Change

10. Implications for Clinical Practice • Become aware of your own stereotypes and preconceptions regarding interracial relationships and marriages. • When working with multiracial clients, avoid stereotyping • See multiracial people in a holistic fashion rather than as fractions of a person. • Remember that being a multiracial person often means coping with marginality, isolation, and loneliness. • With mixed-race clients, emphasize the freedom to choose ones identity. • Take an active psychoeducational approach.

11. Implications for Clinical Practice • Since mixed-race people are constantly portrayed as possessing deficiencies, stress their positive attributes and the advantages of being multiracial and multicultural. • Recognize that family counseling may be especially valuable in working with mixed-race clients, especially if they are children. • When working with multiracial clients, ensure that you possess basic knowledge of the history and issues related to hypodescent (the “one drop” rule), ambiguity (the “What are you?” question), marginality, and racial/cultural identity .