Generalizations

The last frame that research should consider when analyzing Internalized Racism is generalization. Generalization occurs when people of color take isolated negative behaviors or actions and apply them to an entire race. Yet, some people of color will extend diversity of actions to other racial groups by not allowing one person or group to taint their perception of the group as a whole. For example, if one black-owned business gets shamed on the news for

mismanaging funds, then some people of color will conclude that they should not support black businesses, because they don’t know how to manage their money. However, if the news shows one white business in a negative light, many people of color will not generalize and assume that all white businesses are dishonest. One incident will not stop them from supporting white businesses. Negative generalizations placed on an entire race leads to the propagation of racialized stereotypes and acts as an additional frame for internalized racism.

Kelsey Nordstrom recognizes how this generalized frame works, specifically in the context of black colleges. When asked about her view of the Atlanta University Center (AUC):

I think it was more prominent and effective in the 70s and 80s and early 90s, before things got out of control. Before Morris Brown closed. And it seemed like people just wanted to cast that whole shadow over the entire HBCU community or AUC. Some of the things that have happened that have made the news even over at Morehouse. When something happens with one university, it seems to cast a shadow over all of them. And that’s unfortunate because those are some really strong schools with some very good endowments and great faculty and some really strong programs.

Kelsey deems it unfortunate that people draw racist stereotypical conclusions about black schools and programs based on events that occur at isolated institutions. This generalized frame places pressure on black institutions and people to represent their whole race in every decision they make, while whites can function as individuals. Therefore, society allows whites the humanity to make mistakes, or bad decisions, and blacks are required to be perfect or risk being invalidated, ostracized and unsupported.

Zen’s father grew up during the Jim Crow era, and had this to say about his racialized experiences:

Zen: Like my dad would tell me stories from his childhood….He would say that a person aint did nothing for him, but a white person helped him out. Cause like he’s 87 now so he grew up between 1930 to like 1948… He said if you get in good with white people, they will give you anything you want. He said, white people have helped him. They give him privilege and set him above black people during that time.

Interviewer: Did you adopt some of these ideas that he had about white people helping him out and getting in good with them?

Zen: I adopted some of it.

Interviewer: Do you agree with what he was saying?

Zen: Yeah, cause I wouldn’t say I manipulate them but I wanna say if you friends with a lot of white people cause they have more connections to higher up stuff than black people and with higher up being black people a lot of them only help other higher ups, like black people do. They’ll help that group. Like Alphas will help the community but they help other Alphas and connect you but they won’t go outside their own group. I don’t feel like white people would, but they are more open to talk about it outside themselves. But it goes with white people too, they only help their own lil group.

Zen’s dad casted a positive generalization on the white racial group, saying that white people were good because they helped him to get to a level where he could take care of his family. During the interview, Zen claimed his dad spoke about how a white police officer reprimanded him for drinking out of a white only water fountain. However, the police officer let him go without any further punishment. Zen’s dad praised the police officer, overlooking the structural oppression and the fact that whites had instituted segregation and there should not have been a white only water fountains in the first place. The lack of a systemic analysis in Zen’s analysis coupled with evidence of generalization leads to his current way of thinking. He assumes that because that the white police officer did not get irate with him, that white people are good and may not be violent towards others. His son, who took this idea a step further, made the negative assumption that black people only help people in their sub groups, and white people will help everyone if you get in good with them. For example, Zen concludes that men in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will only help other black men in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, but not black people as a whole; therefore, blacks do not help each other as much as white people will help black people. Zen’s dad transferred his IR frame of generalization to his son, and he has now adopted the frame as well.

When asked about the importance of voting, Sadie stated:

Very important, but people don’t take advantage. Like, we should, knowing that we had to get the right in the first place. Everything our ancestors fought for, they take

advantage of it.

Sadie makes a sweeping generalization that black people do not take advantage of their voting rights and take advantage of the sacrifices people made before she was born. However, black voter turnout came to a record high in 2012 of 66.6%, higher than the Latino and Woman’s voter turnout of 48% and 63.7% respectively (Krogstad and Lopez 2017).

Danny also makes a generalization about black people in the following statement:

That’s part of our problem. We welfare-minded. We always looking – we looking from Heaven, from Heaven, that one great leader is going to come. No. You know. He ain’t here to save you. He’s the President of everybody. You see what I’m saying? You’ve got to figure out a way.

There is a generalization and defensive othering occurring here with Danny concluding that black people are welfare minded. However, he later says that “you” got to figure out a way, which implies that the solution has to be figured out by those other people that are welfare minded, as he separates himself from those “other” kinds of black people.

A person can use the generalization frame to describe their own experiences, but IR frames are also taught to future generations (as seen in Zen’s experience) or passed to friends and acquaintances. Carver tells us a perfect example of how the people can transfer the

generalization frame:

One of my friends we were talking about this the other day and I think this was in a real estate type thing. An African-American realtor was trying to sell some property to a friend of his and I think the house had been flooded or something like that. But anyways, instead of fixing the water damage, they just put like a floor over it and my friend was talking to someone who wanted to buy the house and he said I think you should have this checked out. This is a cause for suspicion. But then he hired another inspector and they found all this rotted wood. And “T” was just livid “I told you I don’t trust black people”. That’s an extreme, but I think sometimes we feel like we can’t trust each other. Our own race. Somebody’ trying to get over on us. Outhustle us or something like that.

I’m not sure where it comes from, whether something that has been perpetuated by the media or the subconscious. But if I’m being true to myself, in my mind, I think about that. In some ways like I expect the white person to do it, but I don’t expect you to do it. And because I have that expectation that you might I guess that may drive me not to even engage.

Carver’s friend had a negative experience with a black person, and came to a

generalizable conclusion that black people as a whole could not be trusted, which reinforces the stereotype that black people are manipulative and selfish. After remembering his friend’s experience, Carver realized that he also adopted the same ideas. Although he recognized that racist programming from the media can result in his internalization of a racist stereotype, he still admits that he can fall victim to generalizing black people as untrustworthy.

5.5 Conclusion

Internalized racism is the reinforcing of racial stereotypes and negative perceptions of people of color by individuals within that racial group. The reason why sociology scholars do not label these actions as self-hatred is because they argue that systemic racism is the ultimate cause of these racial stereotypes, while self-hatred assumes that this behavior exists due to a flaw in a person’s character. Structural pressures, historical oppression, social inequality and racist traditions have created an environment where racism is hegemonic and forced upon both people of color and whites. Racist ideas are embedded in the psyche of people of color that they subconsciously get reinforced in the culture and behaviors of one’s own community whether white people are present. Internalized racism is dangerous because it allows racism to exist outside of the presence of white people, and can lead them and people of color to conclude that minorities perpetuate racism among their own, thus they no longer have to take responsibility of creating and advancing the systems and culture that created race, racism, and racist ideas in the first place. Simply put, although people of color perpetuate internalized racism, systemic racism is still the root cause of it and IR would not exist without the structural oppressions that lie at the

foundation of racism. Donna Bivens breaks down internalized racism into four frames, Naming the Problem, Standards, Resources, and Decisions Making. While this framework may explain the IR actions of some black people, Atlanta as a “Black Mecca” is a unique place and provides a special testing site to examine how IR can lead to other frames. Although many people consider Atlanta a Black Mecca, it is also a place where systemic racism exists through residential and educational segregation, thus making it a place where minorities may adopt negative ideas that are caused by structural inequality. After interviewing thirty-four participants, I found that internalized racism and intraracial division was not specific or unique to specific classes, genders or other social identities. Instead, these actions were present in all groups represented. Bivens’ four concepts do not completely explain internalized racist views and interracial division. Research should also include categories such as, Generalization, Lack of A Systemic Analysis and Ethnic Divide. Based on my research, these three frames also account for a majority of the IR views found in my data collection and the intraracial division that can exist in the black community. Addressing internalized racism in its totality can allow scholars to recognize its existence and find ways to combat these stereotypical myths through knowledge of systemic racism, scientific research, and admission that reinforcing systemic racist ideas continue to drive a wedge within minority communities.

Chapter 6 addresses the way race and class intersects to shape the way blacks view larger racial issues (unemployment, police misconduct, poverty, etc). Across class categories,

participants usually applied larger social issues to systemic barriers, or a person’s agency. While blacks across classes do not differ in the way they perceive structural racism, there are identity negotiation practices that exist between the black working and middle classes. This identity negotiation can cause division within the black community. The black middle class is the more

economically privileged group, however, larger racial issues make them vulnerable to downward mobility and can be an extra burden as they try to negotiate their class identity among blacks and racial identity among whites.