Not the Same Old Song and Dance: Viewing Racial Socialization Through a Family Systems Lens to Resist Racial Trauma

Abstract

Racial socialization has been a mainstay within the psychological literature for the past four decades, touted primarily as a protective factor buffering the negative effects of racism. How effective this factor is in preventing behavioral and emotional trauma and promoting resilience for Black and Brown families remains to be studied. While the literature has focused on family communication between parent and child, little attention has been paid to familial dynamics inherent within racial socialization processes. This paper seeks to advance the conversation of racial socialization as The Talk toward one that holds more promise toward the goal of resilience in the face of systemic racism. To do so, we offer a reframe of The Dance, drawing upon key aspects from the family-and multisystem-focused literatures (e.g., synergy, homeostasis, feedback, metacommunication) to expand and justify the utility, complexity, and efficacy of racial socialization among Black and Brown families as a resilient response to historical and contemporary systemic racism in American society. We include methodological and applied recommendations to promote resilience, resistance, and ultimately healing in the face of racial adversity and trauma.

The Role of Counter-narratives in Resisting the Deficit Model of Families for BIPOC Families

“…These findings showcase how the deficit model of family, much like the achievement gap discourse Kuchirko & Nayfeld (2021) speak to, functions as a master narrative but also offers a vision of how families under-mind and challenge these master discourses. Participant’s storying may also function as resistance rather than resilience (Jones et al, 2021). While resilience focuses on the ability of individuals to “bounce back,” (Jones et al, 2021) assert that “resistance asks what we can do in ourselves, families and the greater community to both avoid environmental weathering and likely exhaustion from constant use” (p. 231).…”

“…The way we understand BIPOC families reflects a deficit model of families. The idea of the "right" family is highly racialized (Collins, 1998;Hunter, 2019), and White families have been used as the "norm" for research, even though the lived experiences of BIPOC families vary greatly and these families face stressors that White families do not (Houston, 2002). BIPOC families are often compared to SNAF families, creating master narratives of how BIPOC families should act.…”

“…BIPOC families are often compared to SNAF families, creating master narratives of how BIPOC families should act. For example, Black families are often seen as fatherless, impoverished, and prone to violence (Coles & Green, 2010;Hunter, 2019). Asian and Asian American families often have to combat the "Tiger Mom" stereotypes and master narratives that position these families as model minorities, more intelligent than others, or "all the same" (Hubert, 2006;Liu, 2019;Shih et al, 2019).…”

“When I Think of Black Girls, I Think of Opportunities”: Black Girls' Identity Development and the Protective Role of Parental Socialization in Educational Settings

“…Nonetheless, parents cannot shield their Black daughters from the realities of individual and structural level discrimination. Studies have, however, highlighted the ways Black mothers and fathers have supported their children in ways that are promotive of healthy identities and protect against the negative effects of discrimination (Murry et al, 2018 ; Anderson and Stevenson, 2019 ; Cooper et al, 2020 ; Umaña-Taylor and Hill, 2020 ; Jones et al, 2021 ). Noting the historical context of the Black experience in the United States, many Black parents engage in conversations with their children that reflect race-related concerns and expectations, which is defined as parental ethnic-racial socialization (Hughes et al, 2006 ; Anderson and Stevenson, 2019 ; Cooper et al, 2020 ; Jones et al, 2021 ).…”

Black Lives and Black Research Matter: How our Collective Emotions Continue to Drive a Movement

“…Building from these foundational models, we now have a slew of innovative and rich theories that attend to Black youths’ family, cognitive, and emotional processes (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019 ; Dunbar, Leerkes, Coard, Supple, & Calkins, 2016 ; Jones, Anderson, & Stevenson, 2021 ; Lozada, Riley, Catherine, & Brown, 2021 ; Smith‐Bynum, Anderson, Davis, Franco, & English, 2016 ), and that have social‐political and clinical application (Berger & Sarnyai, 2015 ; Carter, 2007 ; Hope, Hoggard, & Thomas, 2015 ; Saleem, Anderson, & Williams, 2020 ); for example, the conceptualization of discrimination as a social determinant of health (Paradies et al., 2015 ). The active engagement of scholarship in movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the social‐political applicability of research is important to the relevance of developmental science to impact public health policy that betters the lives of Black youth and their families.…”