Whiteness and Serendipity

Abstract

The current focus on Whiteness is timely, as the papers included in the Major Contribution extend the discourse first presented by The Counseling Psychologist in 1993. The articles explore the evolution of White allies in a naturalistic and phenomenological way, as there is heavy reliance on current allies telling the story of their sojourn toward becoming relevant. Although mentoring played a critical factor in the evolution of many allies, serendipity best described the nature of a person’s epiphany, trigger, or turning point. There is irony in the fact that most students enter counseling psychology with a tendency to emphasize a color-blind or universalist perspective about the nature of humanity, yet most counseling psychology programs may actually reinforce these attitudes by exposing students to theory suggesting people are more alike than different with regard to intrapsychic and personality dynamics.