Page 271 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Racial Dialogues in the Classroom 245

in classrooms and other settings; (2) recognition of the intense emotions of
White students may allow educators a deeper understanding of affective
resistances; and (3) knowledge and understanding of difficult dialogues on race

may lead to the development of intervention strategies that prove successful
and unsuccessful in overcoming resistances, thus making such experiences a
learning opportunity for all students (Sue, Torino, et al., 2009).
In a series of studies exploring the perspective of both White students and

White educators on why difficult dialogues on race are difficult, it was found
that both students and teachers shared similar fears (Sue, Rivera, et al., 2009;

Sue, Torino, et al., 2009). We first discuss difficult racial dialogues from the
perspective of White students and then from that of White teachers.
White Students ’ Perspectives

It has been hypothesized that many Whites find dialogues on race diffi cult
for four primary reasons: (1) fear of being perceived as racist, (2) fear of realiz-
ing one ’ s racism, (3) fear of confronting White privilege, and (4) fear of taking
actions to end racism (Sue & Constantine, 2007; Watt, 2007; Willow, 2008).
While they may unintentionally deliver a microaggression during an interra-
cial encounter, the challenge from the target group evokes anxiety and dread
in Whites who attempt to deny the implications for their actions. Unwittingly,
the form of the denial may result in additional microaggressions (denial
of individual racism or denial of the racial reality of targets). In one study
designed to investigate these conclusions, it was found that White students
identifi ed several reasons about why racial dialogues were diffi cult for them
(Sue & Constantine, 2007; Sue, Rivera, et al., 2009).

Fear of Appearing Racist
One of the most dominant fears expressed by White students was that what-
ever they said or did in a racial dialogue might give people the mistaken
impression that they were racist. The fear was quite overwhelming and
hindered their abilities to participate in an honest and authentic manner, made
them tentative in their responses, and more often than not they either remained
silent or took a very passive approach to the topic. In classroom interactions
they would refuse to participate or make only superficial observations. Some

quotes from students illustrate their concerns and feelings: “ . . . if I talk about

race, I ’ m going to reveal my racism, ” “ . . . fear of revealing my own biases, ” and “ . . .

if I express any confusion or if I have any questions, they ’ re sometimes construed

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