Can - Or Should - America Be Color-Blind?

How Stereotypes Shape Self-Esteem and Performance

'When I was growing up, a white family came to our home [to look over the children]. The Whites said, 'Let's take this little girl because she's cute. We'll raise her and give her an education.'My father said,'No.' This happened several times, but for a long time my mother denied it ..'
-Dolores Bigfoot

'Teaching in China a few years ago, I learned of the country's low divorce rate (about 1%), leading me to believe that marriages in China must be happy....My student told me this is not always the case. Even when miserable, Asian couples are expected to stick it out.'
-Dr. Derald Sue

'I had dinner in Tijuana and was returning to San Diego. The immigration officer at the border threatened to 'send me back to Mexico.' I kept explaining I was born and raised in Riverside, California. had to prove to this border guard that I was born in this country, am a citizen, and belong here'
-Dr. Roberto Velasquez

Psychologists from a variety of racial and ethnic groups who joined Dr. Jones at the Congressional hearing agreed that for a society to get beyond racism, we must first take race into account. Offering their own viewpoints on racism and similar forms of prejudice, four psychologists also shared personal experience with the panel.

Native American

Dr. Dolores Bigfoot is assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and visiting Professor at the University of Oklahoma in Native American Studies. Her grandmother, born in Oklahoma before statehood, was sent to boarding school. In this common practice, an effort to 'civilize' Indian children, students were usually forbidden to wear tribal dress, speak their language, or practice their religion. By demeaning Native American culture, such government-sponsored policies eroded tribal identities and destroyed families. 'In a theoretically color-blind society,' said Dr. Bigfoot, 'our world would no longer exist.'

Asian Pacific American

'The United States is the most diverse nation in the world, and will probably become even more so,' said Dr. Derald Wing Sue, professor of pschology at the California School of Professional Psychology. 'Diversification is also rapidly occuring within racial groups.'

For example, Asian Americans are now known 'Asian Pacific Americans.' The new term refers to about 30 distinct Asian subgroups, each with its own culture, language, and history. 'This is why policies addressing one subgroup's concerns may not work for another subgroup,' Dr. Sue added.

Asian Pacific Americans also face unique barriers, in general. One barrier is the public's belief that Asian Pacific Americans have 'made it.' But the statistics do not tell the whole story. For example, the higher educational attainment of Asian Indians, Chinese, and Japanese does not take int account the lower rates among Vietnamese, Cambodians, Hmongs, and Native Hawaiians.

Statistics on high Asian family incomes ignore the fact that Asian families often have a number of adults contributing to the total income. Individual incomes in these families are not high.

The high representation of Asian Pacific Americans in professional and technical areas ignores the fact that they often encounter a glass ceiling as they approach the ranks of upper management.

Reported low levels of divorce, delinquency, and mentall illness do not take into account the tendency of Asian people in general to keep their personal problems to themselves.

African Americans

Dr. Gail E. Wyatt, a member of the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles, quotes the African proverb: 'To know your future, you must understand your past.' For America to open the doors to true social justice, she said,we must first understand the history and treatment of minority groups.

Dr. Wyatt cited the prevelance of teenage pregnancy in black communities. To blame this situation on laziness, promiscuity, and a desire to collect welfare checks overlooks important historic and structural factors in the African American experience.

During 400 years of slavery in the United States, black teenage pregnancy was accepted and even encouraged by many slave owners. These attitudes often damaged black family structure, but throughout these tribulations, African Americans learned to support each other and often raised each other's children.

'When we are color-blind, we miss the history and copings strategies that African Americans bring to their problems,' said Dr. Wyatt. Rather than writing off today's young black, would-be mothers, Dr. Wyatt suggests aggressive policies to restore black family structure, build employable skills, and teach adolescents to eschew premature sex and other destructive behavior. These coping strategies, in turn, will prepare the teenagers for adulthood and responsible parenthood.

Hispanic

Another rapidly growing minority group is the Hispanic, or Latino, community. By the year 2040, they will compromises much as one-fifth of the population.Currently, 25% live in poverty--two and a half times the national average. For Hispanics, as well as for other people, poverty carries a high risk of mental illnes, criminality, domestic violence, and substance abuse.

The Hispanic population is concentrated in Florida, Texas, and California. Here, racism shows up in myriad ways, including acts of disrespect, victimization, and vindictiveness, said Dr. Robetro Velasquez, associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University.

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