Has anyone ever met you and said, “Wow, you’re so well-spoken”? What about an overly tan White person holding up their arm to yours and saying, “I’m Blacker than you!” or the classic “can I touch your hair”? If you answered ‘no’ to one or more of the previous questions, you most likely would not realize these were examples of racial microaggressions. Even if you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, you still might not comprehend that these are blatant microaggressions.
Google defines a microaggression as a “statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.” I was never able to fully grasp this idea, as nearly every encounter I’ve had with racism has been a direct and intentional choice made by the perpetrator. In a city like Boulder—predominately white and ‘woke’—most people aren’t deliberately being racist, but microaggressions are known for their subconscious infiltrations. Often, those labeled as a ‘microaggressor’ are unaware of their effects on minorities.
Originated in the 1970s by Harvard University professor Chester Pierce and reestablished in 2007 by psychologist Derald Wing Sue, by 2016, the term had become much more widespread. Described as the ‘new face of racism,’ these microaggressions are typically seen as less harmful than overt displays of racism. A majority of this misconception stems from the actual word ‘microaggression.’ The unnecessary emphasis on ‘micro’ almost diminishes the harm done and encourages the idea that these issues are lesser than others. According to additional research on the topic, experiencing microaggressions can be equally as, if not more, harmful as intentional forms of racism.
“‘People say that microaggressions are small things, but our studies indicate that microaggressions have a macro impact as they affect the standard of living of a marginalized group,” Sue says. Daily microaggressions “create a lowered sense of psychological well-being. They deplete psychic energy or problem-solving and work productivity.” Why? Microaggressions are cumulative. “They occur to people of color from the time they awaken, until they go to bed…'”
My second semester of college has consisted of equations, calculations, and every writer’s biggest enemy—scientific notation. In these trying times, I yearned for a class without the chains of computations, so naturally, I found respite in my journalism courses. That is, until we were assigned to write ‘superhero origin’ stories. For a bit of context, there were three parts to this assignment: the first part began with the student (me) recording a short video where we briefly introduced ourselves. The second part took this video and randomly assigned it to another student, and vice versa, which we had to write a fictitious superhero origin story about. For further clarification, every student was designated another student’s introduction video and had to create an origin story from the information provided in the video. As an example, imagine Spiderman’s superhero origin story: typical teenager Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains superpowers, which he misuses at first, but after (spoiler alert) the tragic murder of his Uncle Ben, he learns to use his powers for good.
So, I attempted to create a superhero origin story for the student assigned to me. In the video, she wore a precious white dress that reminded me of a Wisteria, so due to the lack of information in her video, I modeled her superpower around the plant’s scent. After I submitted her story, a story written by my classmate appeared in my Canvas. As would anyone who just had a story written about them, I eagerly and excitedly opened the document.
The story began better than expected. I was shocked the author deduced my love of art from the thirty-second video I submitted. He wrote of how I loved arts and crafts, finger painting, and glitter—an impressively accurate description of my younger self. Then, things began to derail.
“As both a woman and a person of color, achieving dreams isn’t as easy for Maddie as it is for others.”
To skip to the main focus of this story, my ‘superpower’ was that I was a Black woman. The author used the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement as my motivation for becoming a Journalism major. After I read the story, I was left speechless. Neither my race nor gender were discussed in the video I submitted.
I assume the purpose of this assignment was to see the impression you made from a thirty-second video. But this made me feel like the only things noticeable about me were my Black skin and my breasts. I felt embarrassed and angry. I put forth my creative efforts when I was crafting my classmate’s superhero story, but the superpower I was given was not even a superpower.
A woman enduring sexism and racism is not a superpower. That is merely an aspect of life that minority groups must deal with every day. Being a Black woman is not an easy task, but for a Black woman’s existence to be reduced to a superpower infuriated me.
I understand the student who wrote this story did not intend to cause me such emotional turmoil, but he did. Thoughts like, perhaps he didn’t fully understand the assignment or maybe he just couldn’t come up with another idea circled my brain. Despite all the possible reasons for his choice of a superpower, I decided to muster up the courage to speak to my professor about the issue.
The next day, I went into class and told her that the superpower assigned to me was not a superpower but was just me being a Black woman. Her immediate response was, “Write that in your reflection.”
The third part of this assignment was to write a reflection on the story written about you. Unbeknownst to her, I had already angrily typed and submitted mine the night before.
The rest of our conversation consisted of her informing me that, as one of the few people of color in the entire lecture, I naturally have a target placed on my back, and this is “a part of being a minority group in Boulder.” Of course, she apologized if I was upset and informed me that just last year, she only had one Black girl in one of her classes.
This did not make me feel better. I knew that no one else’s superpower depended on the color of their skin or the genitalia between their legs. I don’t know exactly how I wanted her to respond, but I felt this issue needed to be addressed. I wanted her to inform the student that he did the assignment incorrectly. I wanted her to react in the way that I did when I read the story. I wanted her to understand that this small act had clouded my mind for that entire night. I wanted her to realize how much reassurance it took to acquire the motivation to speak to her about this. I wanted some authoritative validation that I was allowed to be upset. Instead, I felt tossed aside and the center of attention simultaneously.
Eventually, the word ‘microaggression’ was introduced to me. I finally had a name to put to this incident, and, for a minute, I felt seen. For that whole week, I researched microaggressions and the casual way they present themselves in daily life. The more I learned, the more I understood, and the angrier I became.
Although discovering what a microaggression is was enlightening, the term itself seemed to demean my experience. Alternatively, Tiffany Jana—founder and CEO of TMI Consulting and coauthor of Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions—introduced the term “exclusionary behaviors.”
Jana explains she likes to designate them “‘subtle acts of exclusion’ (SAE) as a more neutral descriptor of the phenomenon. The behavior might be subtle and not intentional, but it serves to exclude people and pushes them further on the margins. So we need more descriptive and useful language so that we can invite people into a more healing conversation.”
In hopes of relieving my anger, I shifted my focus to how to lessen the occurrences of these exclusionary behaviors. Especially at a predominantly White institution (PWI), behaviors like this are easily overlooked in formal and informal conversations.
The first step is to recognize these harmful behaviors and address them as such. They may be subtle and unintentional, but they hurt nonetheless. After informing the privileged of their damaging actions, they must seek to recognize and modify their ways. To begin to make change, acknowledgment is vital.
If you find yourself being pointed out for damaging behaviors to minority groups, set aside your initial defensiveness and attempt to understand their point of view. If you’re lucky enough to have a conversation about it, take a moment to listen and reflect. It does hurt to be called a racist, but it hurts indubitably worse to endure racism. With the inclusion of every type of person— along with those who have been at fault— the fight against racism becomes more forceful every day.