ABSTRACT
Constructions of race have long played a central role in the apartheid ideology of South Africa that served to ensure White minority domination, while legitimizing the subordination of the Black majority. This chapter presents research from a 1995 nation-wide investigation, employing ethnography and phenomenological interviews, examining the impact of racial identification in the apartheid context. Content analyses of formal interviews with 15 Black South Africans revealed 14 common themes. The themes corresponded to a duality in response to racial identification, some suggesting psychological damage, while others indicating psychological resilience. When racial identification included the internalization of the myths of Black inferiority, negative psychological consequences resulted. Racial identification had a positive psychological impact when it involved the facilitation of a group consciousness, political mobilization, and acted as a source of empowerment, belongingness and pride. Racial categorizations in South Africa may be intractable given the persistence of socio-economic disparities between groups, and the positive functions racial identity serves for Blacks.
