Wake Up and Smell The Racism
Daily racism in the form of microaggression is the unfortunate reality of people of colour
The movement for diversity and equal opportunity has been steadily gaining momentum. In a time when celebrities have more influence than ever over youth and young adults, much of the power to draw attention to these issues has fallen to Hollywood entertainers. Most recently, an interview, where Ellen Pompeo calls out the lack of diversity of staff on the interview set, has gone viral.
The movies, Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians have garnered tremendous success and praise for the strides they are making for Black and Asian representation in Hollywood. Dear White People and Fresh off the Boat are two current, popular shows that comment on racial issues. What links all these events and works together, is the discussion of racial microaggression — though they may not reference this specific term. Racial microaggressions, as defined by Columbia University professor Derald W. Sue and his associates, Christina M. Capodilupo, Gina C. Torino, Jennifer M. Bucceri, Aisha M. B. Holder, Kevin L. Nadal, and Marta Esquilin, are “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or group”. More and more, these incidents of racial microaggression are being highlighted in newsfeeds as society is realising the large role it plays in the quality of life of people of colour. Racial microaggression manifests in different forms that are detrimental to people of colour, hence workplaces and schools should conduct training programs to address it.
His snub clearly conveyed that he thought that Roderique, a Black woman, was not “worthy of his attention”.
Racial microaggression can be delivered or projected in many ways, which are harmful to people of colour. Sue et al. states that there are three main forms of racial microaggression:
- microassault
- microinsult
- microinvalidation
Microassaults and microinsults are verbal or non-verbal communications that disrespect the recipient of color. The difference between the two lies in the existence of intent. While microassaults are intended attacks in the form of “name-calling, avoidant behaviour, or purposeful discriminatory actions”, microinsults are subtle and often unintended biased statements, failures to acknowledge a person of colour, or “environmental indignities”. Lastly, microinvalidations are verbal communications that exclude or deny the struggles and realities of being a person of colour. The essence of Sue et al.’s argument is that racial microaggressions can be anything a person or one’s environment says, insinuates, does or fails to do, intentionally or not, and that there is a specific term for each form of racial microaggression.
Having your feelings and struggles completely denied only heightens the hurt and frustrations of daily and repeated racism.
One can examine this evidence through the lens of lawyer, journalist and organisational behavior Ph.D. candidate, Hadiya Roderique, and her experiences, which she writes about in The Globe and Mail essay, “Black on Bay Street: Hadiya Roderique had it all. But still could not fit in”. A related example in her essay describes an incident at a major law firm’s recruiting event where Roderique was purposefully ignored by a partner who only listened and responded to White male candidates. The partner knew she was there, and his snub clearly conveyed that he thought that Roderique, a Black woman, was not “worthy of his attention”. This is an example of a microassault that would make anyone feel belittled and angry. Other incidents Roderique recounts are often being assumed to be an administration assistant rather than a lawyer despite her suit and briefcase. This is an example of a microinsult. People unconsciously assumed that she could not possibly be an intelligent and successful professional, most likely based on the stereotype that Black people are not academically inclined. Roderique has grown accustomed to microinvalidations because throughout her life, non-coloured people have brushed off her experiences with racism by responding, “That’s probably not what they meant” or “Are you sure you’re not being too sensitive”. Having your feelings and struggles completely denied only heightens the hurt and frustrations of daily and repeated racism. Furthermore, Sue et al.’s concept of microinsults relates to representation. Growing up as an Asian Canadian, and not seeing Asians represented in popular media except as the nerdy kid or the exotic foreigner, takes a toll on one’s self-esteem. Only seeing White people dominating positions of power makes one think they do not have the same opportunities. Again, this is exactly why the all-Asian and all-Black cast of Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther are being celebrated. As Viola Davis so succinctly stated during her 2015 Emmy acceptance speech, “[y]ou cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there”.
In other words, it is so much harder for people of colour to thrive if they are not given the same opportunities as White people. In short, racial microaggression can be posed in many ways, but each occurrence wears away at the recipient’s well-being.
Racial microaggressions can be detrimental to the metal health of people of colour. They make people feel unimportant, isolated and disrespected.
Racial microaggression, in its various forms, is detrimental to people of colour. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finds that racial microaggressions, during human and environmental interactions, can negatively affect one’s self-esteem, social and psychological functioning, stress levels, socioeconomic status, and living conditions. In other words, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is saying that racial microaggressions can be detrimental to the metal health of people of colour. They make people feel unimportant, isolated and disrespected. Equally important is the fact that these subtle acts of discriminations are easily brushed under the rug — which in of itself is a microinvalidation — further reinforcing to victims that their experiences are unimportant and invalid. Imagine the anger and frustration that comes from finding the courage to speak out after being attacked, only to have others supporting your perpetrator, and saying that you were overreacting. Undoubtedly, this lends itself to biases in workplaces that can create barriers to jobs or promotions, thus creating a lack of equal opportunity. An essay by Kenneth Thomas challenges Sue et al.’s argument on the harm racial microaggressions, like microinsults, have on people of colour. Thomas asserts that, though assumptions based on stereotypes are inappropriate, these assumptions don’t warrant such vehemently adverse reactions. However, one would argue that assumptions based on stereotypes, like Black people being unintelligent and lazy, are deeply problematic. Implicit biases stemmed from such stereotypes ultimately contribute to unequal opportunities in employment. In conclusion, racial microaggression manifests in different forms, all of which negatively affect the mental health and living conditions of people of colour.
Workplaces and schools should conduct training programs to address racial microaggression, because even in educational and professional environments, they happen too often. For example, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, a Canadian Liberal Member of Parliament, posted on Instagram that racial microaggressions happen at Parliament Hill all the time. She has been working in the same building for the past year, and as an MP for two years, yet the security guards require her to show her employee pass, asking if she is with the White employees ahead, who they always, unsurprisingly, automatically waive through.
To say that these micro-aggressions do not bother me, would be a lie. They do. They happen all the time. “What are you doing here?’ “Show me your pass or you cannot get on the bus?” “Are you with them?” as they point to the White men in suits ahead of me. Each experience draining my energy, sucking a little bit of life out of me, like death by a thousand cuts.
So what do you do Celina? You stand. You swallow and you stand. That is what we have been doing for centuries. Enduring lash after lash, and standing. Enduring insult after insult and standing. Swallowing tears because mama said, “Never let them see you cry. Never let them know that they hurt you.” I stand for my daughters. I will accept every micro-aggression and racist insult that is hurled at me for them. I stand for all our daughters. We all need to stand. Love and hugs, Celina
In this example of a microinsult, it is being communicated to Caesar-Chavannes that as a Black woman, she is not on equal ground as her White counterparts. Despite that these guards have seen her every day for the past year, the fact that they question her right to be there is discriminatory. This is an occurrence that should not be allowed to happen in any workplace, let alone the Parliament. However, in this case, because the discrimination is veiled under the pretense of security, it can be easily brushed off as practice of proper protocol. This is one of the many reasons why experts, Sue et al., urge for there to be education on racial microaggression. They emphasise that training is needed especially because racial microaggressions are subtle, and hard to “identify, quantify, and rectify”. As a result, perpetrators do not realize the role they play in the psychological damage they inflict. They do not realise they are playing a part in “creating disparities in employment, health, and education” for minorities. In other words, it is important to teach people how to recognise racial microaggression, what the various forms and terminology for them are, and what harm they inflict. Training on racial microaggression would create progress towards equality, and urge White people to confront their privilege and part in the problem.
Racial microaggression manifests in different forms that are detrimental to people of colour, hence workplaces and schools should conduct training programs to address it. It is heartening to see the movement for diversity and equality gain momentum in recent times. However, in order to make lasting change happen, people should be educated on how to identify racial microaggressions and its forms: microassaults, micrinsults and microinvalidations. The psychological well-being and socioeconomic conditions of people of colour are at stake. It is important to educate people on racial microaggression while they are in school, and to reinforce their learning in the workplace to ensure that all people, regardless of colour, feel respected and a sense of belonging in their communities. Only then, can there be equality for people of colour.
