WHITE

1. WHITE Living in a world of other colors Jessica Mueller- Drew Donahoo

2. Interviewees • Six white women (3 each) • 19-22 years old • Identified with White identity • In college • Active on campus in student orgs., work, family oriented • Rural/Urban mix

3. Sample Questions Who are you? Describe your identity (gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion/spirituality). Where are you from? What effects (if any) do you think that has on your identity? How and when did you know that you were White? What does it mean to you to be White?  Who or what in your life influences this identity?  Do you find yourself associating with individuals who are more like you or less like you, why? What is your familiarity with the idea of the “race card”?

4. Paulo Freire remarks in regards to consciousness of education: “Accordingly, the point of departure must always be with men and women in the “here and now,” which constitutes the situation within which they submerged, from which they emerge, and in which they intervene. Only by starting from the situation- which determines their perception of it- can they begin to move. To do this authentically they must perceive their state now as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting- and therefore challenging.”

5. Theoretical Chart Includes the White Identity Development and White Racial Identity Development models

6. Themes • Stage of development “I don’t go day to day thinking about it.” “What is that?” [when asked about oppression] I am “aware of where my ancestor’s come from and why I now say I’m White versus Italian.” • Family/Teacher influence “They [teachers] teach you during school what you are, regardless of who you might be” “You’re white and documents aid in putting you in an either/or category”. “When you put people in an either/or category you treat them differently.”

7. Themes Continued • Media “people are not going to listen to one person; they are going to listen to network TV.” “Once I went through three magazines for a class project and only found four images that had any other race. I think not seeing that [other races] in the media also influences people.” “Until society as a whole thinks that these things are wrong, we’re not going to move past it.” • Disparities in identity relations “I don’t think that [race] should even be a factor on an application.” “We’re not called White sororities”, “or like in Joliet they have a Miss African American woman of Joliet but no Miss White Woman of Joliet.”

8. Themes Continued • Discrimination & Intersectionality “Alienated and part of the minority” “At first I felt outnumbered and I thought it was weird” • Accepting of others “I think I’m a very accepting person, like I don’t think I should be placed in a certain group because of your race.” “like to learn about other cultures; the more I can understand their beliefs and lifestyle, I can help them more and be their friends.” “I want to treat everyone like another human being.” “I’m not friends with them [other people] because of their race; I’m friends with them because of common interests,” [when asked about who they mostly associate with]

9. Themes • Unique stories • “I had never met a black person until I came to Western.” • “I went to a really diverse high school, so I have a lot of friends with a lot of different skin colors.” • “I knew a few minorities growing up, but not many. My roommate here is Black.” • Importance of upbringing • Two women from rural communities, one from Chicago

10. Themes Continued • Level of familiarity • “I’ve never heard of that.” • “That’s something only Black people use.” • “I’ve seen lots of people pull that, people from all sorts of different backgrounds. Even White people.” • Race and Ethnicity • Idea of skin color based on colors of others

11. Similarities/Differences in Theory • media, underdevelopment in understanding identity, and outside influences • reverse discrimination, disparities in identity relations, and the accepting of others despite normative culture telling you not to • Contact , Disintergration, and Immersion • Knowledge of impact of their identity on others, understanding of self, access to challenging sources, access to follow-up for support • “More complex management of racial material” • All interviewees told me that they thought of so many more things to say after they left the interview

12. Similarities/Differences in Theory • Stages – not a perfect fit • Gallagher – “Whites can be defined as naïve because they attach little meaning to their race.”

13. Impact on Interviewers • Learned a lot about the spectrum people are on • Opened my mind up to new thoughts • I felt really uncomfortable after interviewing thinking about whether I’ll ever be proud of my White identity or if they ever will

14. Impact on Interviewers • Pleasant surprise • Some fit the mold • Helped to understand students and where they are coming from

15. So what is the answer to all this? Whiteness studies option, being a race traitor, an abolitionist, redefining whiteness, or to ignore race all together? “educate White people about how White culture and values can find expression in non dominant and non-oppressive ways” Meet student in the “here and now”

16. Thoughts… Winant writes, White identities have been, “displaced, and reconfigured; they are now contradictory, as well as confused and anxiety-ridden, to an unprecedented extent” Does white identity have a culture to express? Is this the reason why it is so hard to understand others because we don’t understand ourselves?

17. References Cooper, G. (2010). Models of White Identity Development. Teaching Effectiveness Programming. University of Oregon. http://tep.uoregon.edu/workshops/teachdiversity/beingwhite/identitydevelop.html Helms (1995) from Sue, et al. (1998). Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Individual and Organizational Development. Sage Productions. Thousand Oaks, CA. http://edweb.csus.edu/edc/class_downloads/borunda/edc171_white_id.pdf Wijeyesinghe, C. & Jackson, B. (2001). New Perspectives on racial identity development. New York University Press. New York, NY. Friere, P. (1993).Pedegogy of the oppressed. Continuum Books. New York, NY.