The second phase of Helms's model of White racial identity development describes the process of developing a positive White identity across three stages:

1. **Pseudo-Independence**: White individuals begin redefining their racial identity positively. They attempt to understand Black culture and interact more with Black individuals, though often still operating within a White cultural frame of reference.
2. **Immersion/Emersion**: Individuals seek accurate information regarding their participation in a racist society. Their focus shifts from paternalism toward helping other White individuals change.
3. **Autonomy**: This constitutes an ongoing process in which individuals internalize a positive racial identity, actively engage with people from other cultures, and develop the ability to identify oppressive structures.

Stages of Developing a Positive White Identity in Helms's Model

The first phase of Helms's model of White racial identity development describes the process of abandoning racism across three stages: 1. **Contact**: White individuals have limited interaction with Black people and lack awareness of cultural differences or their own privilege. 2. **Disintegration**: Increased interaction and awareness of their ethnicity and associated privileges causes cognitive dissonance, anxiety, guilt, and fear. 3. **Reintegration**: To resolve this dissonance, emotions may transform into anger toward Black people and feelings of White racial superiority, though further conflicts can shift the individual out of this phase.

Stages of Abandoning Racism in Helms's Model

* First Section:
-  The stages that describe the process of abandoning racism 
- (contact, disintegration, and reintegration)

* Second Section:
- Describe the development of a positive White identity 
- (pseudo-independence, immersion/emersion, and autonomy)

University of Connecticut

- "Sense of group or collective identity based on one's perception that he or she shares a common racial heritage with a particular racial group" (Helms, 1990, p. 3). 
- Examining the development of racial identity and for facilitating meaningful interactions and instruction in classrooms 
- Helms's model of White racial identity development consists of two sections with three stages each

Helms's Racial Identity Model: Racial Identity

For adolescents who are part of ethnic minority groups, their racial, ethnic, or cultural identity can be a central and highly significant aspect of their self-concept. The degree of this importance is often shaped by family dynamics and socialization processes.

Importance of Racial/Ethnic Identity for Minority Adolescents

A high school student, who identifies as White, starts a club to explore European cultural traditions with other White students. When asked why, the student says, "I've been learning a lot about the rich histories of my friends from different backgrounds, and it made me realize I don't know much about my own. I want to understand my heritage and feel a positive connection to it, not in a way that puts others down, but to understand myself better." This student's journey is primarily focused on d

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