Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence Quotes

“(b) those who endorse a color-blind ideology actually engage in a higher rate of racially insensitive behaviors, and”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“When educators lack critical consciousness about race/racism, have not adequately dealt with their own racial hang-ups, and are uncomfortable and unprepared to deal with difficult dialogues on race, they become part of the race talk problem (Bell, 2003; Pollock, 2004).”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“While self-change requires becoming a nonracist person, societal change requires becoming an antiracist one.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans were second-class-status Americans. They were seldom welcomed and were told to stay in their place and not allowed into the mainstream culture of the privileged even when fully acculturated.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Yes, we are all the same under the skin, and human beings, but why is being human defined from a White, Western perspective?”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“(c) attaining a racially color-blind society is unattainable and only reinforces racism and societal inequality.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“multicultural education that has a strong antiracist orientation is of utmost importance in helping children to develop a nonracist identity.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Other groups of color need to acknowledge the courage of Black America, and our indebtedness to them for what we have learned from their struggles. Although all groups can recount their own unique struggles for equal rights, African Americans have always been in the forefront in advocating for social justice. Many other groups of color (and other marginalized groups—women and LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer] individuals) have learned much from the Black movement, including the importance of group identity, and have profited from the work, struggle, and sacrifice of African American brothers and sisters.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Individuals who have come to recognize and own their biased beliefs and prejudices, their roles in perpetuating racism, the pain their obliviousness has inflicted on people of color, and their privileged and advantaged position in society may feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“In many respects, anger and defensiveness may become so aroused that the person loses control of their self-monitoring capacities and the ability to accurately assess the external environment. These latter two characteristics are extremely important for a successful dialogue on race.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“When people of color talk racism, Whites seem to interpret statements as a personal accusation, and rather than reach out to understand the content, respond in a defensive and protective posture. In many cases, even statements of racial facts/statistics such as definitions of racism, disparities in income and education, segregation of neighborhoods, hate crime figures, and so forth arouse defensiveness in many Whites.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Through a process of social conditioning, however, White children are increasingly taught to associate only positive qualities with their own race and negative ones with other racial groups. The process of our cultural conditioning occurs through significant others (Sue, 2003), our educational curriculum (Minow, Shweder, & Markus, 2008), the mass media (Cortes, 2008), and institutions in society (APA Presidential Task Force, 2012; J. M. Jones, 1997).”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“the belief that a race-neutral society can produce procedural justice for all groups and that it will end prejudice and discrimination is not supported by research on color-blind racial ideology.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“feelings should not be denied, avoided, or suppressed. Rather, the effective facilitator should help others to make sense of them—what do they mean and say about the person? This is a two-prong approach that involves the ability to monitor and attribute meaning to one's own feelings and those of the trainees.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“In order to deflect the perceived criticism, trainees may directly or indirectly attack the content of the communication (message) and/or the credibility of the communicator. When confronted with a defensive challenge by trainees, facilitators of race talk may also become defensive when they find that their message is being invalidated or that their credibility is being assailed.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“When trainees feel accused of being biased, they engage in self-protective behavior in the form of righteous indignation or innocent victimhood.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“race talk between several individuals does not occur in isolation from other observers or students; although other participants may not have actively engaged in the dialogue, they are usually vicariously involved. By shutting down the communication between two individuals, it shuts down the entire group process.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“The problem with the maintenance of harmony is that it negates deeper explorations of biases, stereotypes, and nested emotions associated with race and racism. The teachable moment is lost.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Trainers have to be cognizant of the many defensive strategies used by participants to avoid race talk in order to anticipate and overcome them.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“For persons of color, dealing with bias and prejudice is a day-to-day occurrence. If Whites are to be helpful, their lives must also be a constant “have to” in dealing with racism.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“When around people of color or when race-related issues or racial situations present themselves, it is important to ask, “Where are the feelings of uneasiness, differentness, or outright fear coming from?” They may reveal or say something about one's biases and prejudices.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“issues or racial situations present themselves, it is important to ask, “Where are the feelings of uneasiness, differentness, or outright fear coming from?” They may reveal or say something about one's biases and prejudices.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“It may be helpful to identify a cultural guide; someone willing to help the person understand his or her racial/cultural group; someone willing to introduce the person to new experiences; someone willing to help process one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“people of color is a necessary condition to dispel stereotypes and fears (Allport, 1954; APA Presidential Task Force, 2012; J. M. Jones, 1997). Ironically, White Americans are most likely to have contact with people of color who represent only a narrow spectrum of the group—those who have gotten into trouble with society or who need special help.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Taking responsibility for change means overcoming the inertia and feeling of powerlessness on a personal level. People can grow and change if they are personally willing to confront and unlearn their racist conditioning (Kiselica, 1999; Sue, 2003; Winter, 1977).”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“Becoming culturally competent in facilitating difficult dialogues on race presupposes that parents and teachers must first do the necessary work of confronting their own biases, prejudices, and assumptions about human behavior. Self-healing must come before other healing.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“For White Americans, successful racial dialogues allow them to grasp the significance of what it means to be White, and how Whiteness with its accompanying invisible norms and standards are entrenched into their everyday lives. This racial awakening and the development of a nonracist identity is intimately linked to racial identity development (Helms, 1990, 1995; Sue, 1995, 2013; Tatum, 1992, 1997).”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“40% of the Native American population may be of another race (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005),”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“while the politeness protocol, the academic protocol, and the color-blind protocol serve as ground rules that prevent race talk by Whites, the commandments (a) “Thou shall not air dirty laundry in public” and (b) “Thou shall not speak ill of one another and destroy group unity” are equally powerful forces preventing people of color from honestly dialoguing about their thoughts and feelings toward one another.”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race

“It is important to understand that prejudice by people of color occurs under an umbrella of White racial superiority and supremacy. Raised in the United States, they are equally prone to inherit the stereotypes and biases of the society. Although people of color can be prejudiced and discriminate, they do not have the power to oppress on a large-scale basis (Spradlin & Parsons, 2008; Sue, 2003).”
― Derald Wing Sue, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race