How to Distinguish Racelighting From Gaslighting

Darren is a Black male and is a successful manager at a local company. One day, he was walking up the stairs behind his boss. Darren doesn’t say hello because Andrew is on the phone. Andrew is a white male and has been with the company for years. Not realizing Darren was behind him, Andrew refers to another Black staff member as a racial slur and “a threat.” Darren immediately questions Andrew on why he used those words. Andrew seeks to protect himself and decides to deny his actions. He vehemntly argues that Darren “misunderstood him” and is “putting words in his mouth.” After this exchange, Darren is frustrated and saddened but has no plans to tell others or press the issue further. In contrast, Andrew is concerned about Darren telling others and people thinking he is a racist, so he sets out to marginalize Andrew by framing him as a liar. Andrew gets to his desk and sends Darren an email asking for a report to be submitted now that is due next week. Darren writes back noting the planned date of submission but that he will now expedite and get the report in tomorrow. Andrew responds back noting that Darren should “follow expected guidelines” and “be honest.”

Gaslighting is a form of psychological control with malicious intent. When gaslighting occurs, perpetrators set out to systematically deliver false information to their victims. This is designed to manipulate the victim by distorting their reality and lead them to second-guess their memories and realities. The term emanates from the 1938 play, Gaslight, written by Patrick Hamilton. In the play are two main characters, Jack and Bella. Jack is the villain and seeks to psychologically manipulate Bella into believing that she is becoming delusional. On numerous occasions, he hides objects (e.g., paintings, cutlery, watches) and then accuses Bella of stealing them. He openly flirts with their maid. When Bella protests his actions, he denies them vigorously and suggests that Bella is making things up. He even suggests that the gaslight in their house isn’t dimming when in fact it is. These messages are stated with such veracity and authenticity that Bella believes that she is indeed losing her mind. Gaslighting can occur in relationships between partners, but it can also be a function of racism. When gaslighting is racial, we refer to it as racelighting. However, there are several factors that distinguish racelighting from gaslighting.

Racelighting is an act of psychological manipulation where Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) receive racial messages that distort their realities and lead them to second-guess themselves. When this occurs, it can lead BIPOC to question their memories, experiences, emotions, preparation, knowledge, decision-making, and self-worth. In this story of Darren, we see that he is experiencing racelighting from Andrew. Andrew is actively attempting to advance a narrative that leads Darren to second-guess his own “honesty” and “integrity.” As we learn more about this story, we will demonstrate how this is one example of racelighting where Andrew’s intent is clear. This brings us to the first way that racelighting differs from gaslighting. Racelighting messages can be rendered from the perpetrator to their victim consciously, as in the cases of Bella and Darren. Whenever a perpetrator intends to sow doubt and disorient the racelightee, we refer to this as active racelighting. This is most closely to the play Gaslight in terms of the relationship between Jack and Bella. However, racelighting can also occur unconsciously. When the perpetrator’s actions are informed by unconscious biases, they can unknowingly sow doubt and disorient the racelightee. We refer to this as passive racelighting. Passive racelighting can be the response to an accumulation of racial microaggressions in an environment. BIPOC can be led to second-guess themselves due to pervasive stereotypes about them and their daily experiences with microaggressions.

After the racial slur incident, Andrew routinely engages in efforts to psychologically manipulate Darren. He moves deadlines and timelines on projects continuously, gives Darren bad information on projects, routinely tells Darren to “be honest and have integrity,” and anytime Darren says anything unprecise, Andrew accuses Darren of being untruthful. Andrew spreads rumors about Darren’s to his colleagues, labeling him as “deceptive” and a “slickster.” Soon afterward, Darren’s department turns against him. Stereotypes about Black male criminality make the situation more believable. They similarly talk about him with these words among themselves and in public. Anytime Darren tries to raise issues with his mistreatment to others, he is assumed to be untrustworthy. Darren feels under fire and makes an increasing number of mistakes. Andrew takes a sign off a door and accuses Darren of stealing it. When Darren asserts his innocence, Andrew notes how Darren can sometimes be “deceptive.” After that incident, every mistake Darren makes is now amplified into fitting into this larger narrative about his honesty and integrity.

A second key factor that distinguishes between racelighting and gaslighting is the centrality of race and racism. Racelighting messages must be racial. Messages and actions that serve to racelight BIPOC can be those that extend stereotypes about BIPOC as being troublemakers, unintelligent and incapable, or emotionally unstable. They can also include messages that deny the existence of and experiences with racism. Not all racist statements and racial microaggressions are racelighting, however; the defining line is whether the messages themselves serve to psychologically manipulate and distort the realities of BIPOC.

Darren feels like he can’t contribute to any conversations at work because everything he says is now examined with intense scrutiny and assumed to be misleading. He notices how colleagues look at him with suspicion. Darren begins to believe that maybe he is a “problem,” or is “not cut out for his job,” and “is too loose with his words.” He questions his own honesty and integrity. He doubts and second-guesses himself on everything at work and even at home sometimes. He now has challenges sleeping at night and becomes increasingly frustrated. Just months after the incident with Andrew, Darren submits his resignation and changes industries. After he leaves, every problem in the department is blamed on him, even for projects he had no involvement in.

In this narrative, we see that Darren’s experience with racelighting begins with Andrew but is reinforced by his own colleagues. This is a third way in which racelighting can differ from gaslighting. While gaslighting is typically directed between a gaslighter and their victim, racelighting can occur at an individual or group level. This means that someone can experience racelighting from multiple racelighter(s), some of whom may be active racelighters and others that may be passive racelighters. In addition, racelighting can be limited to a single racelightee, as with the case of Darren. However, there can also be instances where multiple BIPOC in a given group setting (e.g., department, classroom, hospital, team) experience racelighting from their peers. This can occur because racism is both an individual experience and communal experience. Ultimately, racelighting can be a powerful experience that serves to harm BIPOC.