Nigrescence

Nigrescence is a French term meaning “to become Black.” This word has become recognized as one of the most popular academic theories concerning identity. Its progenitor William Cross conceived the concept in 1971 to describe an identity process experienced by Black people who undergo a metamorphosis from identification with whiteness to identification with blackness and beyond. The underlying presumption of the multistage paradigm is that people with healthy identities are comfortable in their own skins. Black people who want to be White or identify primarily with whiteness rather than blackness are said to have either internalized a sense of self-hatred or perhaps not have matured enough to immerse oneself in one's own culture. This is not meant to conflate identity and identification. These words are distinct; however, they are connected in that one's cultural self-definition is linked to the degree to which one identifies with one's indigenous culture.

Nigrescence has been nicknamed the “Negro to Black conversion model.” It fits within a constellation of identity theories that have proposed that the level of identity maturity is the principal characteristic that determines the extent of identity maintenance. In other words, when one is comfortable with one's self and has a high self-esteem, he or she is more likely to have a higher degree of self-efficacy than is someone who is uncomfortable with one's self. This hypothesis is contestable. Nonetheless, the significance of this body of work is that it centers on how people define themselves on a daily basis and how that affects their lives. This approach establishes a way of understanding how a deculturalized

Black individual becomes revitalized and increasingly identifies with self and culture.

This entry first discusses identity theories. Next, it describes the stages of the nigrescence model and criticisms of the model. Lastly, this entry examines the significant methodological advancements to identity research.