Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: A Reconceptualization of African American Racial Identity
Robert M. Sellers Department ofPsychology University ofMichigan
Mia A. Smith and J. Nicole Shelton Department ofPsychology
University of Virginia
Stephanie A. J. Rowley Department ofPsychology University ofNorth Carolina
Tabbye M. Chavous Department ofPsychology
University of Virginia
Research on African American racial identity has utilized 2 distinct approaches. The mainstream approach hasfocused on universal properties associated with ethnic and racial identities. In contrast, the underground approach hasfocused on documenting the qualitative meaning of being African American, with an emphasis on the unique cultural and historical experiences of African Americans. The Multidimensional Model ofRacial Identity (MMRI) represents a synthesis of the strengths of these two approaches. The underlying assumptions associated with the model are explored. The modelproposes 4 dimensions ofAfrican American racial identity: salience, centrality, regard, and ideology. A description of these dimensions is provided along with a discussion ofhow they interact to influence behavior at the level ofthe event. We argue that the MMRI has the potential to make contributions to traditional research objectives of both approaches, as well as to provide the impetus to explore new questions.
African Americans’ experiences in the United States differ significantly from those of members of other ethnic groups. Although many ethnic groups have ex- perienced discrimination and oppression in the United States, the form of oppression that African Americans have faced is unique. While the worthiness of other ethnic groups has often been questioned upon their arrival in American society, no other groups’ humanity was denied them by the U.S. Constitution. African Americans were defined legally as property by the United States government for almost a century. For nearly 100 years after the end of slavery, laws were enacted with the expressed purpose of making social contact between Whites and African Americans illegal. Such laws effectively relegated African Americans to the status of second-class ci
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