Internalized Racism

Abstract

In this issue, Robert T. Carter has made an important contribution to the literature in clinical psychologists’ understanding of the psychological injury caused by experiences of racism. However, Carter’s focus on specific encounters with racism might be narrow and limited. The author of this reaction contends that racial incidents (i.e., discrimination, racial harassment, and discriminatory harassment) represent only one of the ways that racism injures its victims. The internalization of racism might be even more damaging. Accordingly, she herein examines the concept of internalized racism as one more piece of the puzzle necessary for elucidating psychological injury that is due to racism.