The Development Of Racial Identity: Conformity

Name: Professor’s name: Course: Date: Racial Identity Human beings often struggle to find a comprehensive definition of the self that best describes who they really at both the individual and community level. One of the key features through which an individual or a group of people form an identity is skin coloration that is commonly referred to as racial identity. The development of racial identity is a process which can be broken down through various theories that try to elaborate on how an individual develops the sense of belonging to a particular community to which they feel or may not feel so much attachment as adults. One such theory is the Atkinson, Morten, and Sue’s Racial and Cultural Identity Development: Five Stage Model (1979, 1989, 1993, 1998). The model divides the process of developing racial identity into five stages; Conformity, Dissonance, Resistance and Immersion, Introspection, and Synergistic Articulation and Awareness. * Conformity As the word suggests, a person is made to believe or rather willingly accepts the existing status quo and accepts the superior or dominant race’s influence over their lives. It is common to find individuals paying homage or tribute to the dominant White community and often try to emulate its cultural practices and beliefs instead of those from which they originate. People from the minority groups often leave their cultural way of life and adopt the dominant White practices. A popular musician in the United States was recently caught on camera claiming that slavery for the African American community was a choice though he himself is black. It is a classic show of adopting the oppressive stereotypes of the White cultural beliefs. * Dissonance The deception behind following the dominant culture’s traditions reveals to an individual and hence sparking a paradigm shift towards embracing the value of the self. It is at this stage...