Banks Model Of Ethnic Identity Clarification

I come from a large southern white family. On my mother’s side, there were strict rules about what type of person I was allowed to hang out with. It was clear that they were not fans of racial mixing and that we were to stick to ourselves. I also grew up with many African American friends at school. It was made clear that I could be nice and friendly at school, but no one different was coming home with me. I was jealous of the girls at school with beautiful, intricate braids. When I would go home and try to braid my hair the same way, my mom would yell at me and tell me white girls only wear one or two braids. My grandmother made remarks about hair also. She told me that African American children do not get lice because their hair is too dirty. …show more content…
I found myself going between the “Ethnic Identity Clarification” and “Biethnical” categories. Like he said in his article, “The division between the stages is blurred rather than sharp. Thus, a continuum exists between, as well as within, the stages.” (Banks, 192) Banks’ Ethnic Identity Clarification stage is where individuals accept some of the positive attitudes about their culture and accept themselves. It has taken a long time for me to get to this stage. I spent a long time in the “Ethnic Psychological Captivity” stage. This is where individuals internalize negative ideas about their culture, have low self-esteem, and strive for higher cultural assimilation. I was never proud of my culture, because I saw mostly the hate. Having family members who use racial slurs, fly their rebel flags, and think they are better than others really bothered me. I felt that I was one of them and could not do anything to help others. I refused to act like and talk like my family. I kept to …show more content…
I do not find myself denying differences or being defensive. When I come across differences, I try to learn what I can and move on. I accept that I am not, nor will I ever, be able to understand the struggles different groups and cultures have gone through. When reading Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, The story of Heidi Tolentino really stuck with me. She was teaching her children about African Americans getting the right to vote and several nearly impossible hoops they had to jump through. One girls thought that by completing the Literacy Test given to African American voters in Louisiana at the time, she might “know how it felt.” (Tolentino, Marshall, 155) Of course she could never truly understand what this group had gone through. She was sitting in her comfortable middle class public school classroom among her peers and teachers. This enraged another student. This student told her that she would never know what it was like, to this the original student asked if she should just remain ignorant. The answer is no, and no. She cannot understand and she should not remain ignorant. There is another option. Educating ourselves without the expectation that education equals being there and going through it. A lot of people in my life think like the girls in the story. Either you try to understand and know what it is like, or you remain ignorant. I like to think that I am taking the third road. By accepting the