Preparing Our Educators

Graduate students discuss impact of racial identity on supervision relationships

L to R: Bethany Fulton, Natalie Williams and Caroline Lopez.

ATHENS, Ohio (Nov. 17, 2010)--Natalie Williams, Bethany Fulton and Caroline Lopez, graduate students at The Patton College, presented their research, “ The Impact of Racial Identity on the Supervision Relationship” at the CEHS Research Forum on November 12.

The presenters showed a continuum of racial identity and discussed how the different racial situations of the supervisors and advisees in the relationship could negatively impact their relationship, at times actually being more detrimental to the advisee than helpful. As an example, Williams read one account where an advisee’ s white supervisor was visibly uncomfortable dealing with issues of racism.

“This could play out a lot of ways, but when you have those discrepancies in race, that’s how tension arises.” Williams said.

The relationship is not just impacted by race itself, but by where the individuals are in terms of racial identity development. Minority and white racial identities go through a continuum, Lopez explained.

The presenters conducted a visual demonstration, asking the audience to hold hands and respond to verbal cues.

“Gender and ethnicity play a strong role in relationships,” Lopez said. “When you have such powerful identities involved, it can really affect the relationship dynamic.”

Fulton noted the importance of tackling racial issues, even though it can be an uncomfortable discussion.

“When faced with uncomfortable situations, we have a tendency to pull back,” Fulton said. “We have to get comfortable with our uncomfortableness.”

For a visual demonstration, the presenters asked everyone in attendance to stand up and hold hands, then read a series of statements related to racial impact on their lives. If participants felt the statement applied to them, they stepped forward. By the end of the demonstration, a clear racial divide had formed, with most white participants having stepped forward so far that many had to break the connections formed with their hands.

“(The exercise) is a visual aid that encourages us to think of ways we act without really thinking about larger, important issues,” Fulton said. “When we have moments of awareness, hopefully we try to move ahead progressively in our comprehension.”

The CEHS Research Forum provides faculty members the opportunity to present their research findings to interested students and faculty as well as answer their questions. Forums are held Fridays at 12 p.m. and lunch is always provided. For more information, visit http://www.cehs.ohio.edu/news-events/events.htm.

Story by R. Devin Hughes; Photos by Mark Brunton