Our Values and Racial Identity

I’m not the smartest or most talented person in my class, nor would I ever want to claim to be. It is quite possible however, that I am the only African American person in my class, it’s been some sort of recurring theme throughout my life, something I’m not always aware of. So if one were in a position to experience stereotype threat, I have had a pretty good shot at it.

I have the fortune (or misfortune depending on how you look at it) of having a racially ambiguous appearance. So, often it is the case that prejudice or typical stereotypes are not outwardly presented. It becomes more apparent while doing things like applying for jobs, apartments, or even finding roommates. It’s typically subtle, but it’s always awakening that sometimes people see or react to me differently based on my racial identity.

I sometimes forget who I am, but I never forget where I came from. Stereotype threat is indeed present in some aspect of life. When I was asked to pick values that we feel reflect some of our proudest moments, I chose achievement, friendships, and inspiration. Each one of those values reflect a certain aspect of my personality, but also my heritage on a personal level. If I were to betray any of these values, the fear of failure is sometimes greater because I feel that I would only be perpetuating the negative stereotype that’s always been present. For example, I will always try to do my best in academia, but sometimes I fall a bit short… that’s okay! But, if I were to be the worst performer, or fail a test — it would hurt on a personal level. The reason for this is not because of disappointment in myself, but a fear that I’m letting down other people. If you recall, I’m often the only African American in my class, social group, and job; so the thought that I could be leaving a negative impression, or reinforcing a stereotype absolutely terrifies me. It was drilled in me from a very early age that I’m a representative of not only my family, but of the many races and nationalities that comprise me. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a kid.

On a day-to-day basis, it’s sometimes hard to discern if the problem is personal, or if it carries some sort of underlying vestige of stereotype threat. For example, if you’re in a group and we are discussing a lesson, and everyone seems to get it except you. Do you think it would be harder to speak up and say, “I don’t get it” if you happen to be the only person of color in that group? I’m not sure, and it will be probably take a lot of self-analysis (or therapy) to really answer that question, but I would say, ‘yes’, it is a little bit harder.

Well, we’ve established the existence of stereotype threat, but how do we remedy it? I’ve read the studies that suggest positive affirmation could alleviate some of the anxiety, however, I’m just not sure how realistic and effective that would be. There is a fine line between that and pandering. Outside the elimination of the stereotypes for all races, genders, and sexualities, the best thing we can do is prove stereotypes wrong.

But how do we escape the fear of proving them right? That, dear reader, is the challenge.