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Professor Cecily Devereux

ENGL 102

The Negative Effect of Racism on Identity in “Tell Me What You Think of Me” by

Alexandra Chang and “Letter To My Son” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Alexandra Chang’s short story “Tell Me What You Think of Me” and Ta-Nehisi Coates’

essay “Letter To My Son” both reflect on the role of racism in identity, the first through the

fictional experiences of a Chinese narrator and the second through the reality of being Black in

America. In both cases, the narrators’ accounts of their experiences demonstrate how racism

affects their sense of self in relation to how they perceive themselves and how they are perceived

by others. In this essay, I will discuss how the identities of minorities are shaped by the social

norms in a dominant White culture by examining the emotional response that the narrators have

to racism, the narrators’ sense of belonging in their ethnic groups and how they feel they are

perceived by others, as well as the effect of racism on individual identity in order to better

understand racism’s detrimental effect on not only the minorities, but society as a whole. The

narrators’ experiences with racism demonstrate its negative effect on individual and group

identity, and considering current events where race continues to play a large role in the type of

treatment that is received, the need for society to be more accepting and inclusive is emphasized.

Chang’s narrator and Coates have differing emotional responses when they encounter

racism, largely due to their understanding of what position their racial group occupies in the

social hierarchy. The former’s uncertainty about her position in society is evident in her

conflicted feelings about her supposedly good deed, whereas Coates’ awareness of America’s

greatness being at the expense of lowly Blacks results in him feeling angered by the poor
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treatment of Black people. The narrator’s confusion arises from the discrepancy between the

identity that the white woman assigned to her by smiling at her instead of angrily dismissing her

as one of the “coloreds” (Chang 5) and her personal identification with the shunned Pakistanis as

an “us” (Chang 6), a member of a minority group. The narrator originally concludes that helping

the fallen white woman “felt right” (Chang 4), but later feels like she “did something terrible, or

at least something not right” (Chang 9) by continuing to help the woman after her racist

behaviour towards the couple but not her. In contrast, Coates is aware of the low ranking of

Black people in the social hierarchy and is frustrated that police are “endowed with the authority

to destroy [Black bodies]” (84) with little repercussion because “[t]he law did not protect [Black

people]” (85). This brutality perpetuates the American legacy which “aspires to the shackling of

black bodies” (Coates 84) because being “white ‘mattered’” (Coates 87) the most. These

emotional reactions to racism in Chang’s fictional story and Coates' lived experience

demonstrate how being identified as part of certain races within the racial hierarchy can affect

the severity of racism that individuals encounter.

Chang and Coates’ stories demonstrate how racism and its accompanying preconceived

notions affect the treatment of minority groups as well as its members’ sense of belonging in

society. Both texts demonstrate the importance of feeling solidarity with others, group identity,

and how it shapes the way the world perceives an individual as well as how they perceive the

world. The racist woman’s hierarchy of race and presumption that the South Asian community

was solely responsible as the coloreds “taking over the neighborhood” (Chang 5) results in

rudeness towards the couple, but not the narrator. However, the narrator’s solidarity with the

Pakistani couple, reflected in her prediction that they were thinking “you’re like us” (Chang 6),

contradicts the identity the woman assigns her as not one of the coloreds and causes a conflict in
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who the narrator believes she is. The woman’s refusal to correctly acknowledge the narrator’s

racial identity causes her to wonder “how had [the White woman] not seen [her]?” (Chang 9) and

prompts the narrator’s internal declaration of the Chinese as “[her] people” (Chang 9) which

demonstrates the significant role the group racial identity plays in determining individual

identity. Coates describes how White society displaying power “direct[ly] (lynching) and …

“insidious[ly] (redlining)” (88) had reduced Black people to inferior race that were unworthy

“the same respect as those that built the West” (88). Coates’ realization that “some of these

straight-haired people with blue eyes have been ‘black’” (88), despite White America being a

devastating conqueror, implies that being Black was more than just a skin color, but a culture.

This is supported by his declaration that “[Black people] made [them]selves into a people”

(Coates 88), noting that this solidarity borne against fighting White dominance created a group

identity that played a vital role in his identity as a Black person. Chang and Coates both suggest

that while racism may incorrectly presume identity, having a sense of belonging to a larger group

helps solidify individual identity.

The two texts demonstrate how the coping mechanisms that individuals employ to deal

with racism can negatively affect individual identity. Chang’s narrator and Coates both alter

small aspects of their behaviours, and ultimately their identities, to better assimilate into Western

society and prevent others from perceiving them negatively. The narrator’s palpable relief when

the couple offers to help the struggling narrator with the woman has her admitting that although

she “[doesn’t] believe in God, in that moment [she] did” (Chang 5). The narrator’s brief change

in belief demonstrates her willingness to alter a fundamental part of herself to fix the

cumbersome situation of “two pathetic, stranded people” (Chang 4) occupying the sidewalk so

others are more comfortable. When reflecting on the woman’s reaction to the Pakistani couple,
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the narrator acknowledges that “these small moments [of microaggression] … chang[ed] the way

[she] behaved in the world” (Chang 8), thus demonstrating the harmful effect of altering identity

to make oneself more acceptable in accordance with White standards. Similarly, Coates practiced

“a culture concerned chiefly with securing the body” (86) through his conscious, careful

behaviour in “[t]he streets [which] transform[ed] every ordinary day into a series of trick

questions” (86). His deliberate actions emulated acceptable behaviours that would placate a

White society that brought upon “a beat-down, a shooting, or a pregnancy” (Coates 86) to Black

people in the streets and increase his chance of survival long enough to escape to a world “where

children did not regularly fear for their bodies” (Coates 85). Chang’s narrator and Coates both

alter their actions and beliefs to gain acceptance into the dominant White culture. However, their

behaviour leads to an inauthentic portrayal of themselves and ultimately culminates in a loss of

individual identity.

The experiences of Chang’s narrator and Coates demonstrate the detrimental effect of

racism on their emotional wellbeing, group identity and individual identity. Unfortunately, these

occurrences have been a stark reality for Asians in light of the COVID-19 pandemic with the

New York Police Department reporting that anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 361% since

2020 (Yam) and a national online survey of US residents revealing that more than 40% of

participants were likely to engage in at least one discriminatory behaiour toward people of

Asians (Dhanani and Franz 747). Katherine Chan, a Vancouverite author, blogger and writer for

CBC, recounts her experience with an elderly couple who avoided her and her son on a walk

during the pandemic where she felt ashamed of her Asian heritage because of its negative

association with the virus and felt the need to “change [her] appearance, dye [her] hair, blend in,

[and] wear clothes that would make [her] look more white” (Chan). This reaction of forgoing
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aspects of one’s identity in favour of assimilating into the dominant White culture in society to

avoid further racism is damaging because it can negatively affect one’s sense of self. Racism has

also been proven to have a negative impact on mental health with Hwang and Goto discovering

that perceived racial discrimination was associated with outcomes such as “higher psychological

distress, suicidal ideation, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression” (326). Failure to eradicate

racism not only detrimentally affects minorities who bear the brunt of the emotional and physical

abuse, but also society as a whole by sending the message that certain races hold supremacy and

they will not be held accountable for their actions. Given the detrimental effects of racism on

identity and wellbeing, there is a clear need for society to be more accepting and inclusive

yesterday, now and tomorrow.

Works Cited

Chan, Katharine. "Are They Avoiding Us Because We’re Asian Or Because They’re

Physically Distancing?” CBC.ca, 4 May 2021,

https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/view/anti-asian-racism-canada-covid-parenting.

Accessed December 1 2021.

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Chang, Alexandra. “Tell Me What You Think of Me.” ENGL 102 820: Introduction to Critical

Analysis eClass, Prof. C. Devereux, October 2021, University of Alberta.

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “Letter to My Son.” Atlantic, vol. 316, no. 2, Sept. 2015, pp. 82–91.

EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=lfh&AN=108673531&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 29

November 2021.

Dhanani, Lindsay Y., and Berkeley Franz. “Unexpected Public Health Consequences of the

COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey Examining Anti-Asian Attitudes in the USA.”

International Journal of Public Health, vol. 65, no. 6, 2020, pp. 747–754. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01440-0. Accessed 7 December 2021.

Hwang, Wei-Chin, and Sharon Goto. “The Impact of Perceived Racial Discrimination on the

Mental Health of Asian American and Latino College Students.” Cultural Diversity &

Ethnic Minority Psychology, vol. 14, no. 4, Oct. 2008, pp. 326–335. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.14.4.326. Accessed 7 December 2021.

Yam, Kimmy. “NYPD Reports 361 Percent Increase in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Since Last

Year.” NBC News, 10 Dec 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/nypd-

reports-361-percent-increase-anti-asian-hate-crimes-last-year-rcna8427. Accessed 10

December 2021.
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