Major Workshop

Wednesday, May 30—8:30–11:00 a.m.

From Foundations to New Perspectives on Black Identity: A Presentation and Conversation with William E. Cross, Jr., and Bailey W. Jackson III

This session consists of presentations by William Cross and Bailey Jackson that highlight their current thinking that has evolved from their respective Black/Africa-American Identity Development models.  Since the development of their original models in the 1970’s (Nigresence by Cross and Black Identity Development by Jackson) the presenters have made several enhancements that update and further inform the understanding of the racial and ethnic identity development processes for Black and African-American people.

First, highlighting how the concept of identity micro-aggressions has been grafted to explain how everyday stress operates in the lived experience of a broad range of social groups such as Gays and Lesbians, African Americans, Asian Americans, etc., Cross explores a model of identity enactments to show that - despite obvious and important differences in identity content - divergent social groups are more alike than different in the way social identity is enacted during critical everyday transactions. Next, Jackson identifies and expands on the role and importance of Black culture in understanding racial identity development. This new perspective promotes an understanding of racial identity development that is construed not solely as a consequence of racism, but rather as an interweaving of both the effects of racism and elements that are part of a heritage of Black culture that exists independently of the primary influence of racism.After a short presentation by each theorist, participants will engage in an interactive discussion about the material, and develop applications that provide a practical understanding of the theory enhancements. 

William E. Cross, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor and Coordinator of Counselor Education
Coordinator of CEP Graduate Studies
School of Education, Department Educational and Clinical Studies,
University of Nevada at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Bailey W. Jackson III, Ed.D.
Professor Emeritus
School of Education
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts