Page 71 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Clash of Racial Realities 45

believe that Blacks receive equal treatment, while less than 50% of Blacks
believe so (Astor, 1997).
• There is tremendous resentment of Whites by all minority groups
(African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino/Hispanic Americans).
Two - thirds of people of color say that White Americans believe they are
superior, entitled to control others, insensitive to race issues, and reluctant
to share power and wealth with minorities (Harris Poll, 1994).

How one views the world, especially when it comes to race relations
and racial interactions, serves as a prism from which data and information
are filtered. Black pedestrians in New York City attempting to hail a taxi are

constantly wondering whether the cab that passed them did so because of
discrimination. Studies in Manhattan reveal that Blacks attempting to fl ag
down a cab are 25% less likely to be picked up when compared to White
pedestrians (Sue, 2003). Whites, however, never entertain the possibility that
they will be passed over because of the color of their skin. Nor when waiting
on the street with arms outstretched do they ever think about being passed
over because of the color of their skins. Yet, most Black Americans in a similar
situation are very aware of that possibility. These represent two different
consciousnesses and/or realities.
Another example of how racial realities are shaped can be given in
the following incident. In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an innocent and unarmed
23 - year - old Black immigrant, was shot and killed in a hail of 41 rounds by
four New York City Police Department plain - clothed offi cers. At their request
for identification, Diallo was holding out his wallet when shot and killed.

Officers stated they thought he was pulling out a weapon. A fi restorm of

controversy erupted subsequent to the event as the circumstances of the
shooting prompted outrage both within and outside New York City. Issues

such as police brutality, racial profiling, and contagious shooting were central to
the ensuing controversy (Fritsch, 2000). It is not my intent to relive the con-
troversies and outcome of the decisions, but to describe how it differentially
impacts disenfranchised groups in our society. The following narrative illustrates
the psychological impact and the differences in racial realities between Blacks
and Whites.
Directly after that incident, I [Derald Wing Sue] recalled a professional forum on
“ Racial Realities and Worldviews ” during which a Black female psychologist started
off her address to a primarily White audience by asking the following question: “ Do
any of you know what every Black mother with a teenage son experienced right after

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