Forums

Learning and
Long-Range
Goals


Learning and thinking are powerfully affected by internalized oppression. Here real, objective racism, internalized racism, and deep feelings of powerlessness combine to make it very difficult to commit ourselves to flexible thinking all the time, or to correct action toward long-range goals, or to efforts with delayed rewards. Prevented by society from acting on our correct thinking - and we often do see clearly what is wrong and what needs to be done - we are limited to acting on our feelings. It would be hard to find a more effective way of keeping us powerless and ineffective towards our own liberation.

Survival


Internalized oppression is a major factor in the perpetuation of so-called "getting by" or "survival" behaviors. Some of these behaviors were developed in the slavery era of our oppression as a necessary response to acute problems of survival in that situation. Learning to silently withstand humiliation by practicing on one another is an example - e.g., playing "the dozens." The development of "happy" or "clowning" or "shuffling" or "ignorant" patterns are other examples. In order to "survive" we have learned also not to show or share our feelings ("cool" patterns) or to disguise them ("tough" patterns) - particularly feelings of tenderness, love, and zest.

Because we have been the victims of attack, humiliation, and exploitation, the restimulated patterns draw us to play out these behaviors on others and to feel that we must do so in order to survive, or at least to prevent ourselves from again being the victim of the pattern.

Such patterns no longer serve our interests or our liberation; but just as the pattern of oppression continues to operate even when it no longer serves the exploitative purposes for which it was originally installed and perpetuated, so, too, our "pseudo-survival" patterns have a momentum of their own and remain in force long after they have ceased to serve any useful purpose for us.

We can no longer allow ourselves to settle for survival. Survival is not enough. To accept these "pseudo-survival" behaviors or call them part of black culture, is giving in to the worst kind of internalized racism and powerlessness.

Other
Oppressions
and
Divisiveness


The workings of distress patterns have caused us to introduce, tolerate, proliferate, and internalize within our black sub-culture other oppressions such as classism, sexism, anti-Semitism, the oppression of young people, and the oppression of other oppressed groups. This has only created further disunity and divisiveness among black men and women and young persons and persons who appear to be of different classes. (In fact, almost all black people are of the working class, although this reality may be obscured from both themselves and other blacks.) Unity and pooling of the power among blacks, and between blacks and other oppressed groups, is thus effectively prevented.

These are some, but by no means all, of the common manifestations of internalized racism among black people. It is probable that each black person in the United States has experienced at least one of these distress patterns but always in some individual, unique way. Each of us has been individually oppressed and participated in internalizing and experiencing this oppression in individual ways.

Although the effects of these patterns have been devastating to our people, we need not despair. We have achieved a major beginning victory against them. We have realized that these terrible feelings and the destructive behaviors that result from them are only patterns - patterns of distress imposed on us from the outside! We know that these can be destroyed by systematic and committed discharge and re-evaluation. These destructive patterns can be replaced by a reality of rationality, love, power, and unity among all blacks and all oppressed peoples.

The perpetuation of internalized distress patterns is the only thing that stands in the way of our coming together and taking the lead in ending all racism, oppression, and exploitation. Knowing this can be done, only patterns of despair and powerlessness stand in the way of our acting on this certain knowledge.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?

We possess, right now, the knowledge, the tools, and the power to attack and eliminate patterns of internalized racism from among ourselves and in the wide world. I am sure that nothing will contribute more significantly to our individual re-emergence nor to black liberation than our firm commitment to this project.

No Internalized Oppression here

Isolation
From
Other
Blacks


Patterns of internalized racism have caused us to be deeply hurt by our brothers and sisters. We often develop defensive patterns of fear, mistrust, withdrawal, and isolation from other blacks. On top of this we sometimes feel ashamed of our fear of our own people.

The isolation which results from internalized oppression can become so severe that a black person may feel safer with and more trustful of white people than of blacks. This is an illusion, a confusion, created by the pattern, but an individual may accept living inside this pattern because it feels "comfortable" and therefore "workable." Clear thinking tells us, however, that this is not a good enough solution. No black person's re-emergence will be achieved unless he or she faces and dissolves the isolation from her or his own people.

Other
Oppressions
and
Divisiveness


The workings of distress patterns have caused us to introduce, tolerate, proliferate, and internalize within our black sub-culture other oppressions such as classism, sexism, anti-Semitism, the oppression of young people, and the oppression of other oppressed groups. This has only created further disunity and divisiveness among black men and women and young persons and persons who appear to be of different classes. (In fact, almost all black people are of the working class, although this reality may be obscured from both themselves and other blacks.) Unity and pooling of the power among blacks, and between blacks and other oppressed groups, is thus effectively prevented.

These are some, but by no means all, of the common manifestations of internalized racism among black people. It is probable that each black person in the United States has experienced at least one of these distress patterns but always in some individual, unique way. Each of us has been individually oppressed and participated in internalizing and experiencing this oppression in individual ways.

nope!

d1blackmogul

Female, 44, Akron, OH

"Mistrusting Our Thinking

Institutionalized racism and the internalized racism which results from it have given rise to patterns which cause us to mistrust our own thinking. We carry around doubts about our own and other black people's ability to think well. Even when we do have confidence in our own thinking we are often prevented from putting this thinking into action by the racist and oppressive structures and practices of the society."

STANDARDIZED TESTING...

having worked in an industry that required licensing (and passing a test to obtain it), i have seen this concept in action, to a certain extent...

as a manager, i had to deal with a staff that had to take license tests even those who had been very successful in the industry rior to the licensing requirement... white and other nonblack employees passed the test with ease regardless of their level of experience or prior performance...

my top sales performer was a black man who had a h
show moreher black staffers... after doing several tutorials and investing in the exam prep courses with no results i finally (worked up enough nerve) to sit my black colleagues down and tell them that when they answer the test questions think first which answer you would pick, then pick the answer you think a white person would pick... i told them to use the answer they think a white person would pick... they all sat for the test on the same day... they all passed with flying colors by that method - 96-100%... while it was great that everyone got to keep their jobs, it was also disheartening... even the white people thought something was amiss (i.e. potential conspiracy) knowing that the simple strategy of "don't think like a black person" could trip the system so effectively... even worse(or better, depending on how you look at it) was that one of the black employees decided to apply the same strategy to all of his business activities (what to say to clients, how to make a sales presentation and answer objections, how to present info to underwritiers, etc) and within 90 days he more than tripled his performance and become the top seller in the office... ...
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Well I think every industry is like a culture in itself complete with there own jargon/ terminology and to due well in that industry you must learn the culture and terminology first before you can introduce and transcribe foreign ideas that may or may not be useful.

INEZ_WILLIAMS

Female, 36, Anderson, SC

very good. this started with the Jim Crow laws.

It started when our identity was taken, and we were given a new one.

I agree with this thread 110%. I see patterns of Internalized racism everyday. Most blacks willl often take the word of a white as gold before they thoroughly research the issue for themselves. Blacks often see themselves as a color, limited to a certain role instead of intelligent beings capable of anything in this world. The world is as simple as 1 + 1 = 2.

Everytime you perform an action an equal re action will be the result regardless of how many ways you imagine the situation. Everything you do will result in something else. For blacks real power will never come until they control there own destiny. 66% of affluent black become affluent by working for other people. 80% of Affluent whites become affluent by investment income. So the point is clear, 1 + 1 =2. If you fail to perform the steps neccesary to become free, then you will never be free.

d1blackmogul

Female, 44, Akron, OH

"Mistrusting Our Thinking

Institutionalized racism and the internalized racism which results from it have given rise to patterns which cause us to mistrust our own thinking. We carry around doubts about our own and other black people's ability to think well. Even when we do have confidence in our own thinking we are often prevented from putting this thinking into action by the racist and oppressive structures and practices of the society."

STANDARDIZED TESTING...

having worked in an industry that required licensing (and passing a test to obtain it), i have seen this concept in action, to a certain extent...

as a manager, i had to deal with a staff that had to take license tests even those who had been very successful in the industry rior to the licensing requirement... white and other nonblack employees passed the test with ease regardless of their level of experience or prior performance...

my top sales performer was a black man who had a h
show moreher black staffers... after doing several tutorials and investing in the exam prep courses with no results i finally (worked up enough nerve) to sit my black colleagues down and tell them that when they answer the test questions think first which answer you would pick, then pick the answer you think a white person would pick... i told them to use the answer they think a white person would pick... they all sat for the test on the same day... they all passed with flying colors by that method - 96-100%... while it was great that everyone got to keep their jobs, it was also disheartening... even the white people thought something was amiss (i.e. potential conspiracy) knowing that the simple strategy of "don't think like a black person" could trip the system so effectively... even worse(or better, depending on how you look at it) was that one of the black employees decided to apply the same strategy to all of his business activities (what to say to clients, how to make a sales presentation and answer objections, how to present info to underwritiers, etc) and within 90 days he more than tripled his performance and become the top seller in the office... ...
show less

how does one 'think white' or 'think black'?

i can understand 'thinking like the dominant culture' and 'thinking like any particular subculture'.

i guess i always 'thought white', since i've always done well on standardized tests.