Quotes from Derald Wing Sue

Becoming culturally competent in facilitating difficult dialogues on race presupposes that parents and teachers must first do the necessary work of confronting their own biases, prejudices, and assumptions about human behavior. Self-healing must come before other healing.

Let us, for the moment, assume that assimilation is desirable and that becoming a part of your country of residence is important. The question is this: Shouldn't we, therefore, all become Native Americans? Further, why aren't we?

one of the greatest barriers to race talk for many White Americans: the invisibility of their Whiteness (Bell, 2003; Helms, 1992; Spanierman, Poteat, Beer, & Armstrong, 2006; Tatum, 1992; Todd & Abrams, 2011).

The myth of the melting pot is predicated on several false assumptions: (a) a receptive society, (b) an equal status relationship between culturally different groups, and (c) its morally and politically neutral character. In reality, the melting pot is used to mask White supremacy and White privilege (topics, as we have seen, that impede race talk).

race, culture, and gender influence how people behave and communicate. The problem is not in the differences of how people communicate, but in the failed understanding of their meanings, and the detrimental actions taken by those in positions of authority who hold stereotypes.

Taking responsibility for change means overcoming the inertia and feeling of powerlessness on a personal level. People can grow and change if they are personally willing to confront and unlearn their racist conditioning (Kiselica, 1999; Sue, 2003; Winter, 1977).

Strangely enough, Whiteness is most visible when it is denied, evokes puzzlement/negative reactions, and is equated with normalcy.

most people seldom think about the air that surrounds them, and how it provides an essential life-giving ingredient, oxygen. We take it for granted because it is plentiful in our everyday lives; only when we are deprived of it, does it suddenly become frighteningly apparent. Whiteness is transparent precisely because of its everyday occurrence, its institutionalized normative features in U.S. culture, and because Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, average, and ideal.

A fish in water, for example, requires oxygen for survival. However, the medium to deliver it must be water, not air. The atmosphere that symbolically represents White culture is quite noticeable to people of color, and while nurturing to White Euro-Americans, it may prove less than healthy for people of color.

if Whiteness, as unearned privilege and advantage, is predicated on White supremacy and the oppression of people of color and if Whites benefit from it, then a frightening conclusion must be drawn: Whites have a stake in racism and to be White is to benefit from racism (Wise, 2002). Little wonder then that race talk is threatening and that many Whites avoid it in order not to reach this conclusion.

To understand the dilemma faced by people of color in race talk we must first become aware of (a) the situational context of oppression that they live under, (b) the ensuing psychological costs associated with racism, and (c) the negative personal and group consequences for breaking their silence.

Most Whites would entertain the notion that being a person of color in this society subjects them to second-class citizenship. Yet it is intriguing that most White Americans would actively deny that they are advantaged automatically by this state of affairs.

people of color is a necessary condition to dispel stereotypes and fears (Allport, 1954; APA Presidential Task Force, 2012; J. M. Jones, 1997). Ironically, White Americans are most likely to have contact with people of color who represent only a narrow spectrum of the group—those who have gotten into trouble with society or who need special help.

The irrational sense of entitlement is a dominant feature of White privilege (McIntosh, 2002).

the claim that Whites should not be blamed for the past injustices of their ancestors misses a vital point. They still benefit from the past injustices of their forebears!

If you accept the concept of White privilege, then you must entertain the more realistic notion that many Whites did not succeed because of superior ability, but due to favoritism.

There is a triple purpose to the existence of White privilege: (1) to advantage White Americans, (2) to disadvantage persons of color, and (3) to attribute causes to individual deficiencies, thereby relieving White society of responsibility for perpetuating inequality.

Many White Americans, however, have distorted and or conveniently used color blindness as a means of color denial or, more accurately, power denial (Neville, Awad, Brooks, Flores, & Bluemel, 2013). An understanding of White privilege ultimately unmasks a dirty secret kept hidden by White Americans: Much of what they have attained is unearned, and even if they are not overtly racist, Whites cannot choose to relinquish benefits from it.

It may be helpful to identify a cultural guide; someone willing to help the person understand his or her racial/cultural group; someone willing to introduce the person to new experiences; someone willing to help process one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

These organizational policies and practices may appear neutral and nondiscriminatory in nature because they are applied to everyone equally, but their effects are to disadvantage certain groups while advantaging others.

experimenters concluded that people tend to mispredict their affective and behavioral responses to racism. They actually seem to respond with indifference. The investigators suggested that despite public condemnation of racism and increasing awareness of its negative impact on people of color, well-intentioned Whites are disinclined to enforce egalitarian norms because of the cognitive and emotional toll required to do so.

It is notable that studies suggest that women and minorities are better readers of nonverbal cues than are White males (Hall, 1976; Jenkins, 1982; Pearson, 1985; Weber, 1985). Much of this may be due to their need for physical and psychological safety related to survival.

appears that strong personal, institutional, and cultural forces work against antiracist actions on the part of White Americans who become liberated and aware of the dynamics of racism and Whiteness.

Institutional racism is any institutional policy, practice, or structure in governments, businesses, unions, schools, places of worship, courts, and law enforcement agencies that unfairly subordinate persons of color while allowing Whites to profit from such actions.