Social Group Membership

Christopher Jones

EDU 704

Multicultural Issues in Student Affairs

Instructor: Dr. Lee A. Brossoit

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Social Identity according to Jones and McEwen’s theory (2007) is contextual,

constructed, cognitive, affective, and relational. According to Wijeyesinghe and Jackson,

Identity is a result of internal processes as a person encounters external influences. I am partial

to the definition of Jackson and Wijeyesinghe. Identity is a concept or philosophical beliefs that

an individual develops based on certain outside experiences they have been exposed too

throughout their life. The situations and occurrences that can contribute to a person’s make up

can be negative and positive.

Racial Identification is very prominent in the United States. Society uses this tool to

identify and distinguish between the many nationalities that currently exist in our country today.

The concept and practice of identifying certain people was originally brought over by the

Europeans to North America to prevent the mixing of races, and to confirm separation from

certain groups. Language and physical appearance was another way to single out and categorize

different individuals not associated with the majority-white population. Although I think the

initial intentions for this system were meant to be positive to a certain degree, somewhere in the

process there was a shift among the hierarchy in terms of ideology.

Multiculturalism (or ethnic diversity) relates to communities containing multiple

cultures. As a normative term, it refers to ideologies or policies that promote diversity and

equality. Shared values, beliefs, expectations, symbols, worldviews and behaviors of a group that

provides its people with rules and norms for living socially is known as a culture. In this sense,

multiculturalism is a society “at ease with the rich tapestry of human life and the desire amongst

people to express their own identity in the manner they see fit.” Interactions of cultures provide

opportunities for the cultural differences to communicate and interact to create multiculturalism.

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Individuals that share a common origin and a unique social and cultural heritage is known as

shared ethnicity. In my humble opinion, this is where the system fundamentally broke down for

the people in the United States.

In terms of racial identity development, suggestions have been made to further get a

better understanding of individuals and as groups we must continue to examine how we interact

with one another. The subject of identity focuses on understanding self-awareness, the nature of

mankind, and inter-cultural similarities and differences. Once insight and knowledge is gained,

an individual can begin to understand the life and needs of others.

The identity I identify and associate with is the Black Identity. The development of

African Americans or Black people in this country is a unique experience. Black people were

brought to this country by force, and brutally enslaved by white people, for several hundreds of

years. Africans were stripped of their culture, traditions, and customs and forced to learn another

culture or suffer horrific consequences. The family structure was totally destroyed by separation,

and men in particular were not able to lead and guide their families as they wished, but were

forced to accept a lifestyle that was considered less than human. This oppression and abuse had

a devastating and crippling effect on the Black Race and culture. The psychological and

emotional toll of slavery still plagues the development of black people to this day. In my

opinion, the United States and several other social ethnic groups are still suffering consciously

from the inhuman mentality slavery has left behind.

In terms of Black Identity Development, my personal experience was a little different

from Jackson’s theory, but in some ways similar.

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Stage one, referred to as the Naïve stage for me was similar. However, I would not label

this as being naïve, but more as an Innocent stage. I view or relate this time period to a place in

my life where color did not matter to me when I was in the company of another youngster

playing. During this time, physical differences were not important to me or my group of peers. I

can remember vividly during the years of my early childhood as far back as the first grade and

pre-school, many of my classmates were from different ethnic groups and nationalities. My

closest friend and classmate was Irish. My classroom was made up of a mixture of many

different ethnicities. I can honestly say that racism was not an issue then. Fear, hostility,

superiority, or inferiority was virtually non-existent during this time in my life.

According to Jackson, stage two, the Acceptance Stage, where an individual may be

seeking a sense of self-worth or maybe some form of outside approval was just the opposite for

me. I agree with labeling this category Acceptance, but for me, accepting my identity was

different. I accepted who I was joyfully. I was not seeking outside approval from any other

particular group of people. I was proud to be who and what God created me to be. I was not a

confused young man wondering among society trying to fit in with a certain type of social group.

I think growing up in the 80’s may have contributed to my world views pertaining to my Black

Identity Development. I think my opinion may have been different if I spent my late teen years

and early twenties during the 1960’s.

Stage three, the Resistance stage I agree to a certain extent. I agree with Jackson in terms

of an individual becoming painfully aware of how racism impacts them on a daily basis. I can

also sympathize with other people particularly African Americans in terms of their background,

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level of education and family income, how they may view society from an entirely different lens.

The effects of racism may cause them to become hostile, and violent. That person may

experience extreme levels of anger, pain, and rage when attempting to cope with issues of race

and their identity. Personally, I did identify with certain levels of racism, but I did not harbor

any hostility towards certain ethic groups.

The Redefining Stage in my opinion is one of the most important stages in terms of Black

Identity for me, because this is that crucial point in a person’s life where they are concerned with

learning more about their culture and establishing themselves as a credit to the race. To me, this

is the time and place where African Americans can regain some of their culture and pride that

was stripped from them during the times of slavery.

The final stage pertaining to Internalization stage is very unique. This is the stage where

an individual no longer feels they have to explain, defend, or protect their identity. In my

opinion, this is reaching the promise land. I agree with this philosophy from Jackson. Reacting

to other races and institutions are not as important as focusing on key elements of Black Culture.

Multiculturalism, and an appreciation of other cultures may also play a key role at this stage of

development.

The discovery of my true identity came during my latter high school years and early

college years. This was the time when I became in tuned with who I was as a person and young

man. The most important aspects of my identity is race and ethnicity. I feel these are the most

important to me because this is in essence, what you represent as a human being. In terms of

whether my identity is on the dominate or marginal side, really depends on the situation

presented.

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Harrro’s cycle of Socialization really captures the true explanation of how a person is

born into a certain situation, inherits many traditions and practices, then matures and creates their

own identity.

In regard to my Sexual Orientation, I’ve been a heterosexual all my life. Living as an

African American Heterosexual in today’s society, for the most part is comfortable. I grew up in

a predominately black community in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The neighborhood in which I

lived in, accepted heterosexual males. If you were a heterosexual, you were not ostracized by

family or peers. For male heterosexuals, it seemed liked the more females you were involved

with, the more respect you received. In regard to females dating the opposite sex, if you had a

boyfriend then you were looked upon as a female that any man would be lucky to have.

Heterosexuals were not viewed as weird or abnormal. On the other hand, if you were a

Homosexual, or had any feminine tendencies, then you were severely scrutinized, ostracized and

practically disowned by your family members and friends. Females were treated in the same

harsh manner if they publically announced they were lesbian or displayed any male

characteristics. (GLBT) individuals were not accepted in the black community. In many cases,

if an individual fell into one of these categories, it was kept in secrecy for many years, until that

person or person’s situation changed or they lived as a hermit in a virtual life of hell.

Gender Identity and Expression was extremely important within the black community.

For males, the more manly you portrayed yourself, the better your surroundings were. For

females, the more physically attractive you made yourself, the more attention you received. The

unwritten rules were simple in my neighborhood in terms of gender, the boys played sports, and

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the girls were supposed to be pretty and excel in school. In terms of gender, externally,

everything a male communicated publically had to exude toughness, and strength. The females

had to display cuteness, and certain level of sexuality. Anything else was viewed as abnormal or

strange.

I came from a middle to low working class family. My mother worked and retired as an

educator, and my father worked and retired as a city worker for the Massachusetts Bay Transit

Authority. In the house hold, religion, education and the value of work was stressed upon almost

on a daily basis. My parents grew up in the 50’s & 60’s, in the south, at the height of the Civil

Rights Movement. Accepting handouts from government assistance was not an option.

Messages of ownership opposed to renting were echoed throughout my existence. Displaying

examples of pride within the community was a positive attribute to African Americans. In

relation to an economic status, if your family was not on government assistance and your mother

and father were legally married and stayed together, you were looked at by your peers as being

successful, and had tremendous clout within your community.

In terms of age within the black community, as long as you are a productive person and

not wasting time or losing precious years because of lack of education or incarceration, you were

accepted. However, in my earlier years, an individual might have been scrutinized for getting

kept back in grade school. Also in today’s society, a person might be ostracized if they still live

at home with a parent or parents after the age of maybe 30.

In terms of Physical and Mental Ability Development, I experienced a lot of dualism.

Because I was athletic and participated in multiple sports, I was accepted and socialized a lot of

times with the popular and unpopular kids. Athletes in many cases are placed in this identity

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category because of the emphasis society has placed on them being athletes. Because of this

stigma within our society, people assume that because you are a pretty decent athlete, you

automatically have the answers to every situation. In my community, athletes were idolized and

highly sought after by the public. People gravitated towards them, because of their physical and

mental ability they displayed in their particular sport. I think this is very dangerous, because a lot

of times athlete’s, are given certain privileges when they did not earn them.

These Social Grouping memberships have assisted in defining me as a person and man.

They have given me an identity of self and culture. Although I do not agree with all the

traditions attempted to be passed down to me and other family members, I now have a better

understanding and knowledge base of the existing information. The information presented to me

has given me a desire and certain confidence about myself to continue to strive to excel and

reach my fullest potential. I look at Black Culture overall and think to myself, if my descendants

can survive the humiliation and oppression of slavery, than the rest of us really don’t have an

excuse to not succeed in life.

Finally, as individuals, I believe that each person owes it to themselves and their fellow

man to continue to educate themselves and others of the dangers of unfair treatment and

discrimination regarding multiculturalism. Educating, raising awareness, and changing negative

views when needed are not only my plans for the next several months, but for the rest of my

life. In terms of working in Student Affairs as a practitioner, these components are vital to our

success as an individual, and will be particularly important in enhancing the institutions we

represent.