Many White people grow up without thinking or talking much about their own race. As one White author explains, she used to think of people of color as the “real races,” while she thought of Whiteness as “plain, normal, the [race] against which all others were measured” (186). This initial stage is known as the contact frame of mind within psychologist Janet Helms’ model of White identity development. At this stage, White people are unlikely to have recognized the existence of White privilege or systemic racism, and they often see themselves as free of prejudice. Some may go their entire lives without ever exploring what it means to be White.

The disintegration frame of mind emerges if a White person experiences something that triggers a growing awareness of racism. One White student saw how her Puerto Rican roommate was followed around in stores. For another White woman, watching the video of Philando Castile being killed by a police officer forced her to confront the reality of racism. This new awareness of the pervasiveness of racism tends to lead to uncomfortable feelings of guilt and anger. Their discomfort may cause some people to withdraw—effectively closing their eyes and ears to racism in order to make their discomfort go away—or it could inspire them to take action.