Page 176 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

150 racial/ethnic microaggressions and racism

and culture. It is similar to the alienation described above, but resides
primarily in how the Black person views himself or herself from a White
perspective. A Black person may come to see White ways as more desir-
able and develop a loathing for their own Blackness. Low self - esteem
is masked through attempts to seek validation from the larger society.
Oftentimes, the contempt for blackness is expressed toward other African
Americans.
• Race - related trauma — As we have indicated in an earlier chapter, traumatic
stress need not be a singular, overwhelming, and life - threatening event,
but can be induced through many small daily assaults that become
cumulative. Many racial microaggressions, for example, can have a simi-
lar effect as being exposed to a hate crime. The two, however, can be
interrelated; hate crimes can be experienced vicariously and made even
more traumatic because of hypervigilance and sensitivity to racism, and
racial microaggressions can be felt more intensely because they symbolize
hate crimes and their historical force. Trauma symptoms include height-

ened autonomic arousal, emotional fluctuations, nightmares, or intrusive
thoughts.

• Race - related fatigue — At the end of Chapter 1 , we cited the essay “ Fatigue ”
by Don Locke, an African American psychologist. The essay speaks to
the effect of constant insults, invalidations, and racial hassles. The efforts
to be constantly vigilant, to hold on to one ’ s racial/cultural identity, to
defend against insults and invalidations, and to claim one ’ s humanity in
the face of chronic and never - ending White supremacy are truly exhaust-
ing. The toll on Black Americans is related to a depletion of psycho-
logical and spiritual energies that distract them from learning in the
classroom, working at maximum efficiency in employment, and even

dealing with the daily routines of life. Racial microaggressions deplete
and sap the psychological, cognitive, and spiritual energies of African
Americans.
• Racial mistrust — Past and present racial discrimination against African

Americans has resulted in a defense against racism whereby Whites are
perceived as potential enemies unless they prove otherwise. Elsewhere,
we have indicated that racial or cultural mistrust may represent a healthy
functional survival mechanism developed and used by Blacks to survive
in a highly racist society (Sue & Sue, 2008). Rightly or wrongly, Whites
may be perceived as symbols of racism. As a result, Blacks may approach
interracial interactions with a great deal of suspicion and guardedness,

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