Internalized Racism In The Book 'What We All Long For'

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Racial Stigma Through the perspective of a Vietnamese and African American

Internalized racism is a disease but a disease worse than cancer. This issue has negatively impacted many marginalized communities. The history of colonialism, slavery and racism throughout the world contributes to stereotypes against people of colour. Internalized racism is a form of systematic oppression where individuals and communities of colour support white privilege and power. This causes many people within coloured communities to have a low self-esteem while others may feel that they need to act a certain way to be recognized and respected. In the novel “What We All Long For,”Brand explains how …show more content…
She was born into a prideful Vietnamese family; however, Tuyen was not like the rest of her family. She has an identity crisis and constantly rejects her Vietnamese heritage. Tuyen goes on to explain how she feels ashamed of identifying as a Vietnamese. The novel states “Tuyen rebelled against the language refusing to speak it. At the age five she went through a phase calling herself Tracy because she didn’t like anything Vietnamese” (21). Tuyen describes the strong hatred she has for her mother tongue and when she was young she even considered changing her name. Eurocentric standards influence Tuyen to change her name and deny her identity. These ideologies enforce many people of colour to change their traditional names in order to be accepted and not considered different from a person with a typical European name. In the novel, it continues to explain what other ways she denies her identity. Both Tuyen and Binh believed that every individual must identify with an ethnicity but Tuyen definitely did not want to be classified as a Vietnamese. In the novel it states “As if assuming a new blood has entered their veins; as if their umbilical cords were also attached to this mothering city, and this made Binh and Tuyen not Vietnamese but that desired ineffable nationality: Western” (67). Tuyen desperately wants to be accepted from society and she does not want her differences as an ethnic …show more content…
He is characterized as a person who is criminally inclined, dangerous and violent which are the stereotypes of a black man. The view of African American males has been distorted and twisted by the media from the conception of African American enslavement and even through the so called “color blind” society of today. The system is not letting men like Jamal succeed because of their racial identity. Since his mother has committed suicide and his father has neglected him this has a major factor in why he is in constant trouble with the police. In the novel Tuyen states “He’s just a young black man-child who’s fucked just like the rest of us. He’s trying to find his way. But they just won’t let him” (48). Tuyen says the quote to make it clear that white privilege does not include him since he is an African American and this holds him back from society. In the novel Jamal is attempting to figure out who he is and tries to fit in with stereotypical “black culture” while making those decisions, society is also against a black man’s success which does not help Jamal’s situation. Towards the end of the novel Jamal’s father pays for him to be bailed out of jail. But as soon as he is released from jail he goes back to his usual ways and commits a crime by stealing Quy’s car. In the novel it says “Jamal wrench the door of the beamer open violently, grabbing the man and dragging him out
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