The GoodTherapy Blog

Neighborhood kids playing together White families with children are more likely to choose racially homogeneous neighborhoods and schools, according to a study published in The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.

Neighborhood segregation has generally declined since the 1970s, but the decline among white families has been slower. The study suggests this can undermine racial equality by altering the development of white childrenâ€™s attitudes toward diversity. These attitudes can have far-reaching consequences for childrenâ€™s future educational and employment pursuits.

Segregation Among White Families

The study measured school-age childrenâ€™s exposure to diverse racial groups in their neighborhoods between 2000 and 2010. Ann Owensâ€”the studyâ€™s author and an assistant professor at the University of Southern Californiaâ€”then compared this exposure to adultsâ€™ exposure.

Owens found children experience more racial segregation than adults, and white children live in slightly whiter neighborhoods than white adults. This may be due to white familiesâ€™ tendency to live in more segregated neighborhoods than single white adults and white adults without children.

[fat_widget_right]The analysis further suggests school boundaries play a key role in this segregation, with white families choosingâ€”whether consciously or notâ€”to live in more segregated school districts. Owens theorizes that white parents might base quality of a school system on its racial composition, as many believe schools with less diversity are more highly ranked.

Research on Segregation and Unconscious Bias

Previous research supports the notion that white people may prefer segregated neighborhoods. Given the choice between an all-white neighborhood, a neighborhood that is 40% black and 60% white, or an all-black neighborhood, a 2009 study found white people preferred the all-white neighborhood.

Other research suggests racial perceptions are generally distorted, supporting the notion that segregation can affect attitudes. Data from 2013 suggest people overestimate the racial diversity of the United States. Survey participants thought ethnic minorities comprised 49% of the country. The correct figure is 37%.

White people also overestimate the percentage of crimes committed by black people, according to two surveys conducted in 2005 and 2010. For example, white respondents believed black people committed about half of all violent crimes. The accurate figure was around 20%.

These perceptions may help explain an unconscious bias toward white neighborhoods.

References:

Badger, E. (2014, April 18). Americans vastly overestimate how diverse the country really is. Retrieved from http://www.citylab.com/politics/2013/10/americans-vastly-overestimate-how-diverse-country-really/7320/
Krysan, M., Couper, M. P., Farley, R., & Forman, T. (2009). Does race matter in neighborhood preferences? Results from a video experiment.Â American Journal of Sociology,Â 115(2), 527-559. doi:10.1086/599248
Owens, A. (2017). Racial residential segregation of school-age children and adults: The role of schooling as a segregating force.Â The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences,Â 3(2).
Ross, M. (2017, March 23). Study finds that white families live in less diverse areas. Retrieved from http://dailytrojan.com/2017/03/22/study-finds-white-families-live-less-diverse-areas/
Swanson, A. (2014, December 1). Whites greatly overestimate the share of crimes committed by black people. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/12/01/whites-greatly-overestimate-the-share-of-crimes-committed-by-black-people/?utm_term=.6c1a20e6d01f

Spoiler alert: The following article contains plot details and other information from the movie Get Out.

Like many Americans, I went toÂ see the movie Get OutÂ when it was released at the end of February. I wasâ€”also like many Americans, I imagineâ€”both horrified and impressed by what I took in, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the movie’s thematic and practical implications for the therapy field since.Â The film comes at an important time, servingâ€”as Ashlee Blackwell points out in an article forÂ The Guardianâ€”“a vital reminder that racism remains a more terrifying force than any supernatural boogeyman.”

To my friends who have expressed curiosity but don’t like the horror genre, I’ve caught myself saying the film, which can be summarized as follows, is no more disturbing than our actual racist history: Chris, a black man, accompanies his white girlfriend to her family estate. While her family is friendly,Â something doesn’t feel right, and he discovers a number of the estate’s black residents have gone missing. When another black man urges Chris to “get out,” he begins to uncover the truthâ€”and learns that “getting out” may not be so simple.

It is my opinion that theÂ film, a critical success, effectively communicates the well-warranted cultural distrust many men of color have toward medicine, toward therapy, and toward white womenâ€”all symbols of systems who have manipulated and oppressed people of color over time. [fat_widget_right]

As I reflect on the film, on the tail end of Black History Month, I thought it appropriate to situate the psychotherapy profession in the context of historical racial offenses, as it is only through naming and claiming our unjust history that we can begin to move forward in a more equitable way. I specifically want to draw attention to the ways the movie summons the corrupt racial history of medicine, of psychotherapy, and of white female allegations against black men. While Get Out,Â marketed as a “horror-comedy,” will likely serve as entertainment as much as it provides political commentary, its box office success suggests a resonance with audiences who are craving affirmation.

Righteous Distrust of Medicine

On her page about people of colorÂ and psychotherapy, Dr. Monnica Williams discusses the distrust with which individuals may viewÂ the medical field in general and the belief, held by many, that medical institutions themselves are racist. Historically, it was not uncommon for slaves to be abused and experimented on by white doctors. People of color could not, with their low social status, refuse to participate in experiments, and neither could they withhold consent. Thus, they were frequently victimized and evenÂ used as examples when teaching surgical techniques to medical students.

One historical horror cementing this distrust for many people of color was the Tuskegee Syphilis study, a medical experiment observing the trajectory of untreated syphilis in black men in rural Alabama. This study was conducted between 1932 and 1972 under the pretense of offering free health care, but the men were not told of the purpose of the study, the reasons behind it, or even informed they had syphilis. Doctors did not treat their patients for the disease, either: By 1947, penicillin was widely recognized as the primary treatment for syphilis, but doctors still did not prescribe it.

Many medical practices have long perpetuated white supremacy by denying people of color the same agency over their bodies and identities automatically granted to white patients. The case of Relf v. Weinberger in 1973 brought this to light with the issue of forced sterilization for black women of reproductive age, a topic addressed at length by Dorothy Roberts in her book Killing the Black Body.Â This theme of medical agency appears in the film Get Out wherein black bodies and minds are hunted, bid on, and used for the social, emotional, and physical gain of whites. Rose’s father, a white neurosurgeon, captures Chris for the express purpose of using his body and talents to benefit an older white man.

The ethics of informed consent are so vital to our field, but rarely are these racial dynamics examined in our professional discussions of what informed consent looks like. Even if the above examples are severe, it is important for us to know about these practices so we might approach the informed consent process withÂ the people we work with in a delicate, responsible manner.

Righteous Distrust of Psychotherapy

What we see depends on what we’re looking for, and our lived experiences will naturally filter the way we perceive the world. As a family therapist and white woman, I was particularly haunted by scenes of hypnosis and cognitive rape perpetuated by the white mother, herself a psychotherapist, who takes advantage of the psychic vulnerabilities of Chris, a young black man with maternal family trauma. In his words, she “gets inside his head” not for benevolent purposes, but to control and abuse.Â The therapeutic relationship may be impacted by racial and ethnic stereotypes, though professionals in the field may not wish to admit it. These stereotypes, whether they stem from prejudice or feelings of guilt, are likely to have impact on the care and treatment of the person seeking help.

WilliamsÂ points out on her webpage that many people of color approach mental health care with caution, further saying they are right to be cautious. The therapeutic relationship may be impacted by racial and ethnic stereotypes, though professionals in the field may not wish to admit it. These stereotypes, whether they stem from prejudice or feelings of guilt, are likely to have impact on the care and treatment of the person seeking help.

It is also well-documented that people of colorÂ are disproportionately diagnosed with psychosis, which has implications for over-medication and institutionalization. Another concern lies in the the possibility of people of color who are cautious or defensive in treatment being labeled as “noncompliant” with treatment. Therapy without acknowledgement and thorough analysis of both present-interactional and historical power systems only serves to maintain the status quo.

RighteousÂ Distrust of White Women

There are two female psychologists for every male psychologist, and nearly 84% of psychologists active in the workforce are white. Thus, I feel it is important to examine the historical basis for the distrust men of color may have toward white women. In the film Get Out, Rose serves as a sort of gatekeeper of oppressionâ€”by bringing boyfriends back home to “meet the family,” she is knowingly putting them at risk. She is consistently dismissive of her boyfriend’s fears and concerns, playing up her niceness and distress when it benefits her.

In 2015, a history of of white allegations against black men resurfaced when Dyllan Roof used the phrase “They’re raping our women” to justify his murder of nine churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina. Allegations about the “brute passion of the Negro” have been used to justify violence toward black people since the time of slavery,Â and these were thematically represented in Get Out when Rose gasps out, “Help me!” upon the arrival of a police car toward the film’s end.

Rather than assuming perceived reservation or suspicion to be “noncompliance” or assuming people of color seeking help are themselves “the problem,” as therapists (particularly, as white female therapists) we must turn our assessments inward. What prejudices are we projecting outward in our interactions with the people seeking our help? How do our biases affect the care we provide, and how can we communicate authentically in a way that earns (and deserves) trust?

These are questions without easy answers, but as mental health professionals, we are used to holding complexity. We must approach the difficult topic of race with both realism and accountability if we expect those we treat to be real and accountable with us.