Parents constructions of their child's Black-white (bi)racial identity(ies): A critical discourse analysis

Abstract

<p>Past research suggests that biracial individuals experience racism similar to that of other racialized groups (Anderson, 2015) and that they are better able to confront racism and the challenges that come with identifying with more than one race when parents openly discuss racial differences (Rollins & Hunter, 2013; Snyder, 2012). Employing a Critical Race Theoretical framework and utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study was two-fold in that it explored the constructions of six parents with black-white biracial children as it related to their child/ren’s racial identity(ies) and also examined the way that black-white biracial children’s identities were represented and supported in family support settings. Using Gee’s (2011) toolkit for CDA, five main discourses were identified in the data: colour blindness, children are too young to understand race, ‘blackness’ is negative, white fragility allows white people to offload responsibility, and that Eurocentric ideals are considered the norm in family support settings.</p>