White Racial Identity

Contact

Contact is the status of White people who are becoming aware that different racial groups exist. Depending on where an individual lives, this could occur at a very young age or not until early adolescence. Television has allowed White people in secluded areas to become more aware of people of other racial groups at an earlier age than in the past. Racial naïveté could be a simple description of contact. Even if people realize that people of other races exist, people in contact do not believe that there are consequences of belonging to a particular racial group. Common contact statements include, “I'm color blind,” “I don't see race,” or “I belong to the human race.” All the while, this person is benefiting from racism. Consequently, this person remains satisfied with the racial status quo and judges people of color according to White cultural criteria. The longer the person remains segregated from people of color, the longer he or she will be most comfortable in acting from a contact perspective.

Disintegration

Through socialization with people of color, White people usually discover that not all people are treated equally and that differences in treatment are often determined by racial group. For example, a White person may notice how often a colleague of color is stopped for speeding, asked to speak on behalf of his or her race, or singled out because of his or her race. The person may begin to feel guilty and anxious about such realizations. As these negative feelings increase, White individuals may attempt to alleviate the guilt and anxiety by avoiding any occasion to witness these inequities or by beginning to blame people of color for them. Moreover, the desire to be accepted by one's own White racial group influences one's racial belief system.

...