The present study examined the relationship between racial identity, self-esteem and perceived racist events among African Americans in a predominantly White Midwest city. A sample of 40 participants who self-identified as African, African American, Black or Mixed completed the Cross Racial Identity Scale, General Ethnic Discrimination, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a demographic information sheet. The results suggest that most of the participants reportedly identified as the Cross Racial Identity sub-groups of Assimilation or Multiculturalist Inclusive, which are the first and final stages respectively. It appears as though those in this predominantly White Midwest city identifying with the dominant group serves as an artificial shield for perceived racist events.

Jas M. Sullivan and Ashraf M. Esmail’s African American Identity: Racial and Cultural Dimensions of the Black Experience is a collection which makes use of multiple perspectives across the social sciences to address complex issues of race and identity. The contributors tackle questions about what African American racial identity means, how we may go about quantifying it, what the factors are in shaping identity development, and what effects racial identity has on psychological, political, educational, and health-related behavior. African American Identity aims to continue the conversation, rather than provide a beginning or an end. It is an in-depth study which uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to explore the relationship between racial identity and psychological well-being, effects on parents and children, physical health, and related educational behavior. From these vantage points, Sullivan and Esmail provide a unique opportunity to further our understanding, extend our knowledge, and continue the debate.

This study was an exploration of the relationship between self-esteem, color-blind racial attitudes, and the perception of racial discrimination among African Americans and White Americans. Race-based discrimination is a complex amalgamation of factors which coalesce to form racially discriminatory thoughts and feelings, which then inform discriminatory behaviors. Color-blind racial attitudes is one such factor which has been demonstrated to negatively impact the perception of acts of racial discrimination. Another factor which influences race-based discrimination is self-esteem. Based on established literature, I hypothesized that self-esteem would moderate color-blind racial attitudes, such that lower levels of self-esteem would diminish the perception of racial discrimination. A total of 118 participants completed a web-based survey, which included demographic information, a vignette which captured an instance of race based discrimination, measures of color-blind racial attitudes, self-esteem, and perception of racial discrimination. Results of a hierarchal regression indicate that self-esteem did not significantly moderate the relationship between CoBRA and perception of racial discrimination in the workplace. Results further indicated that the total scores for color-blind racial attitudes were a significant predictor of a person's decision about the influence of race in a workplace incident.

Centuries of overt and covert segregation, oppression and discrimination against persons of African ancestry in America by their white counterparts have conditioned this marginalized group to be mistrustful of their relations with white Americans. This response, known as cultural mistrust, significantly contributes to negative help-seeking attitudes and underutilization of mental health services because the majority of practitioners are white (Grier and Cobbs, 1968; Whaley, 2001). This report will use multiple regression statistical analysis to explore racial identity, perceived racism, and religious orientation as predictors of cultural mistrust to propose ways practitioners can increase African-American utilization of mental health services. Gender differences in cultural mistrust will also be explored.

This innovative portrait of student life in an urban high school focuses on the academic success of African-American students, exploring the symbolic role of academic achievement within the Black community and investigating the price students pay for attaining it. Signithia Fordham's richly detailed ethnography reveals a deeply rooted cultural system that favors egalitarianism and group cohesion over the individualistic, competitive demands of academic success and sheds new light on the sources of academic performance. She also details the ways in which the achievements of sucessful African-Americans are "blacked out" of the public imagination and negative images are reflected onto black adolescents. A self-proclaimed "native" anthropologist, she chronicles the struggle of African-American students to construct an identity suitable to themselves, their peers, and their families within an arena of colliding ideals. This long-overdue contribution is of crucial importance to educators, policymakers, and ethnographers.