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Journal of Black Psychology
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"Racelessness" in a Canadian Context? Exploring the Link between Black Students' Identity, Achievement, and Mental Health

Andrea Smith

York University

Richard N. Lalonde

York University

The relationship between racial identity, academic achievement, and mental health for 107 Black Canadian university students was examined within Fordham's "racelessness" framework. Fordham posited that to achieve success, educational or professional, in a society where Blackness is devalued, Blacks adopt a strategy of racelessness—they downplay their Black identity, disengage from their culture of origin, and assimilate into the dominant culture. Racelessness, however, results in psychological difficulties. This study failed to find evidence of the adoption of a raceless strategy by students. In fact, racial identity did not appear to be directly related to academic achievement. Possessing a closer affinity to Blacks, however, appeared to be psychologically protective. In addition, mentally healthier students had a more positive academic orientation, which in turn was related to higher GPA. Taken together, these findings suggest an indirect relationship between racial identity and academic performance.

Key Words: racelessness • African Canadian • identity • academic achievement • mental health

Journal of Black Psychology, Vol. 29, No. 2, 142-164 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0095798403029002002
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