Stages in Racial Identity Development

      As the various stages of racial identity development were being described in class today, I was definitely able to relate certain memories of past instances in my life that somewhat "fit" a certain stage.  As a kid, I can recall a few times that I remember actually thinking about race.  I grew up in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee, and my neighborhood was predominantly white.  I went to Catholic grade school which was also mainly whites.  For the most part in my early school age years, I probably would have fit into the category/stage of "acceptance of status quo."  I went to school with people who were "like me," so I did not have many diverse experiences.
      However, I think there were definitely a few times during that same general time where I did "notice" my whiteness, falling into the "uncomfortable" phase.  My dad's sister married a black man, my Uncle Claude, and I remember being confused when I was little as to how I had cousins who looked black.  My Uncle Claude is a really big, happy guy, so he would always play Santa at the family Christmas party.  Although I don't actually remember it, my family has told me that when I was 4 or 5 years old, I did not want to go sit on Santa's lap, because he didn't look like the Santa I was used to seeing so I was uncomfortable and confused.
      Now, as a college student in a diverse city and community, I feel as though I fit the "acceptance of self" stage.  I am comfortable being white, and I understand that not all white people are or have to be racist.  Also, I find myself very interested and excited about diversity and meeting new people who might be different from me.  One of my roommates is Hmong, and I love talking to her about her culture and learning about the Hmong religion.  However, although I would put myself into the acceptance of self stage overall, there are also some occasions that I revert back to previous stages.  Last year when I was picking up my 4 year old neighbor from daycare because I had to babysit, I remember a somewhat "uncomfortable" situation.  When I got there, I asked him if he had been a good boy that day.  His teacher was right near us, and he replied "yep I was. that brown lady told me so and she's my teacher."  He is obviously just an innocent little kid just saying things the way he sees them, but I still felt uncomfortable because I didn't know how to address the situation or if I even should.  His teacher started laughing and said that Parker has said that to her before, so it ended up being just fine.  However, I was definitely at least a little uncomfortable with how to handle it.