Guidance for Grown-Ups
July 2007
Racial/Ethnic Identities and Allies

Selling Out or Working My Way Out? (link back to feature)

The Answers to Your Questions

The purpose of this activity is to ask teens to reflect on their personal racial/ethnic identity development.

1. In "Selling Out or Working my Way Out?," Ariel writes about her maturing identity as a young African American woman. She recalls being aware of her identity, and making decisions related to her future, as early as first grade. Ask the teens to read Ariel's essay to themselves. Then give them at least 15 minutes to free-write about the first time they thought about their race or ethnicity. Here are some questions to prompt their writing: How would you describe your race or ethnicity to other people? Does one word fit (like those check boxes on forms)? Or would you prefer to use several words, or none at all? When did you first become aware of your race? At that time, were you mostly among people of your own race? Can you describe exactly what happened? What changed after you became aware? When did you become aware of racial and ethnic identities different from your own? What have you learned about those differences and similarities?



2. Ariel writes, "Having a friend of my own race—though in a different grade—gave me someone to talk to about my feelings, someone to hang out with, and someone to help me confirm my culture within a private school setting." Ask the teens to reflect on the benefits of having friends with the same cultural background. Give them time to write an advice column to younger women about ways to "confirm their culture." If they want, they could pair off, and one person can pose a question and the other can give advice (like "Dear Teen Voices, I just started at a new school where I am the only person with my cultural background. I keep hanging out with friends from my old school after school and on weekends, but my parents think I would be happier at my new school if I made friends there, too. What should I do?")



3. Ariel writes about the challenges of making decisions in regard to her education, and how it makes her feel like two different people. She writes, "While growing up, my friends and family sometimes misunderstood my ability to be myself in both worlds as one person." Ask the teens to describe in writing how they embody two (or more) worlds in one person. What are those two worlds like? What do they love about each world? What do they struggle with in those worlds? How does it feel when family members are in one world but not in the other?



4. After the teens have reflected individually about living in more than one world, open up a group discussion on what kinds of situations could make anyone their age feel this way. Ask the teens to imagine the multiple worlds of their classmates—what could those be? Answers could include: having parents or family that speak two or more languages; living in one neighborhood and going to school in a different part of town; behaving perfectly in school but acting up at home (or vice versa); having parents of different racial backgrounds; having adoptive parents of a race different from you; splitting time between mom's house and dad's house; having people assume you like boys when you really like girls; feeling excited and engaged while playing sports or practicing an instrument but feeling really bored studying subjects at school (or vice versa); attending school with kids who seem to have a lot more money than your family. What other ways could teens feel like they live in more than one world?

Resources

Some ideas about Race and Identity Development:

• "The Identity Development of African American/Black Adolescents" by Timmy Lee & Lori Wicker — education.ucsb.edu.


• "Stages of Racial Identity," by Tom Link — pierce.ctc.edu


• Teen Project Race — teen forum on multiracial identities — projectrace.com


• My Shoes — online support group for biracial teens, especially those who appear white — myshoes.com. *Please note this site includes teens' personal stories about being biracial, what it means to "pass," etc. Adult supervision for teen participation in forums is advised.


• Teen Ink — first person nonfiction and fiction by teens on various subjects, such as —Why Does Your Hair Grow Like That?— by Oelania P., — teenink.com.

Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice

The purpose of this activity is to deepen teens' understanding of racial/ethnic identity development by learning from others' experience.

1. Ask the teens to pair off. Let them know they are going to interview their partner about her personal racial/ethnic identity development. They can use some of the questions from the previous writing exercise. And certainly encourage them to make up new questions! Remind the teens to only ask questions that they would want to be asked. Let the teens know that they can pass on any question they don't want to answer. Give each interviewer five minutes to ask her questions, then switch. Next, the teams can introduce their partners to the larger group.



2. If you are able to assign the teens homework, ask them to set up an interview with a friend or family member to discuss racial identity. They may want to interview someone of the same race, or someone of a different race. Have them ask that person how she or he first became aware of her race and what she does to affirm her racial identity. Ask the teens to take notes and give them each a few minutes to summarize their interviews the next time you meet as a group.



3. In the group, talk about the process of interviewing others about race and ethnicity. Did the conversation flow naturally or were there awkward moments? Were some questions more difficult to ask or answer? Why? How did they choose the person they interviewed? What did they learn from this process?



4. The next activity may require a field trip to the library, a bookstore, or Internet access. Ask the teens to research and create a summer reading list for all of their peers about the topic of racial identity. They are looking for stories, both fiction and nonfiction, that take into account what it means to grow up in a certain racial or ethnic group. Let the teens know that it's OK if they haven't read all the books on their list. The idea is to generate a list of books that they would WANT to read, and think that their peers may want to read, too. The very ambitious teens in your group could decide to read one or more of the books and then lead a book group and discussion at one of your meetings!



5. Because many racial and ethnic populations are underrepresented in mainstream media, it can be difficult for teens to find stories about people with their cultural background. Ask the teens to raise their hand and brainstorm publications, websites, radio stations, or particular programs that they feel are sources of cultural affirmation and are telling stories of people who share their racial/ethnic identity. (Hopefully they'll offer up Teen Voices!) Ask the teens to make a top five list in one or more category of media that affirms their cultural identities.

Resources

Teen Reading Lists for reference:

• African American Fiction and Non Fiction for teens — carnegielibrary.org


• Teens Between Cultures: A Reading List by Mitali Perkins — papertigers.org


• Memphis Public Library's multicultural reading list for teens — memphislibrary.org

Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options

The purpose of this activity is to understand the value of distinguishing between facts and opinions for respective racial/ethnic groups.

1. Ariel ends her essay with the following advice: "You need to figure out the things you can change, the things you can't change, and how you can make a difference noticeable to all." But it can be really hard to figure out what can be changed and what can't, especially when taking race (and racism) into account. One way to begin to understand what can be changed is identifying fact from opinion (or assumption). Ask the teens to make three lists based on a close re-read of the essay: Facts, Ariel's Opinion, and My Opinion.
   
   
   For example, the "Facts" list could include:
   • Ariel is African American.
   
   
   • The private schools she attends are mostly white.
   
   
   • She had to walk through a metal detector at public school.
   
   
   • Having a friend who shared her cultural background made life at private school easier.
   
   
   • There were no African American young men at Ariel's private school.
   
   
   • Ariel's family teased her.
   
   
   "Ariel's Opinion" list could include:
   • At private school she "could get a good education to be whatever I wanted to be in life.
   
   
   • She becomes a "strong black woman" because of her choices.
   
   
   • She is taking the path to be the person God wants her to be.
   
   
   "My Opinion" list could include:
   • Ariel is in greater physical danger at public school.
   
   
   • Ariel's family teased her about being "too white."
   
   
   • Ariel would be better off in public school.
   
   
   • Ariel can never be whatever she wants because she is black.
   
   
   • Ariel will be whatever she wants because she believes in herself.
   After drafting these lists, asks the teens to consider the purpose of this exercise. Why is it important to distinguish fact from opinion? When it comes to generalizing about particular racial/ethnic groups, what is the consequence of relying more on fact or opinion? Note: This same exercise can be completed using other material from resource lists above as the subject of the close analysis.



2. How many facts do the teens know about their personal racial/ethnic identities? How much do they know about their parents' identities? Provide the teens with the following categories (Family History, Role Models, Educational Opportunities, etc.) ask then to choose the one that interests them the most, and have them write five questions related to their race/ethnicity that they would like to answer in the next six months. Remind them to write questions that have facts as answers. Here are some examples:
   Family History
   • What is my family tree?
   • Who is my oldest living relative?
   • What languages do members of my family know, now or in the recent past?
   Role Models
   • How many Latina women own businesses in the U.S?
   • What kinds of businesses do they own?
   • Are there any groups that support young Latinas who want to start their own business?
   Educational Opportunities
   • What are the high school graduation rates of African Americans in the US?
   • What colleges are run by and for African Americans?
   • Which colleges offer degrees in African American studies?
3. Ultimately, Ariel's essay is about making very tough choices about her identity and her future. After the teens have considered the question of personal racial/ethnic identity in some depth, ask them to consider: What is at stake for Ariel when she decides between public and private school? (They may want to again distinguish from the facts of what is at stake vs. what they assume is at stake.) How does race or racism influence Ariel's choices? Did any of the teens make assumptions about race based on what the essay implied but did not say? Their responses can come in the form of group discussion, a journal entry, or the teens could debate the decision as if it were theirs to make.

Resources
• List of Historically Black Colleges and Universities — ed.gov


• US High School Dropout Rates 1972-2005 — nces.ed.gov


• Degrees Conferred by Sex and Race — nces.ed.gov


• How Public and Private Schools Compare — nces.ed.gov

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