What Do White Parents Teach Youth About Race? Qualitative Examination of White Racial Socialization

Abstract

Research has examined racial socialization practices within families of color, but less is known regarding what White parents teach their children about race and/or racism. To explore White racial socialization processes, we interviewed 30 White parents of White children ages 7–17 years living in the Midwest. Using thematic analysis, we identified 22 themes organized into four domains: Content of conversations, factors to consider in socialization, developmental differences, and White identity/privilege. A majority of parents reported conversations about current or historic racial events, while relatively few also reported speaking specifically about systemic racism and microaggressions. Parents viewed adolescents as better able to handle difficult topics than children. Findings contribute to theoretical frameworks and may inform the development of educational resources.

The Role of the Family for Racism and Xenophobia in Childhood and Adolescence

“…Thus, white parents use ethnic–racial socialization to equip their white children with competencies to form better interracial and interethnic relations rather than coping mechanisms to resist racism. When white parents engage in more explicit forms of communication about race and ethnicity, the content of parental ethnic–racial socialization frequently includes color-evasiveness (minimizing and ignoring race, and existing racial disparities), and rarely color-consciousness (e.g., talking about discrimination, inequality, the relevance of skin color, and encouraging intercultural contact) and sometimes a mixture of both approaches (Abaied & Perry, 2021; Freeman, 2021; Perry et al, 2019).…”

Confronting Whiteness in Developmental Science: Disrupting the Intergenerational Transmission of White Racism

“…While White parents were more likely to engage in racial socialization messages after Mr. Floyd’s murder, they were far less likely in 2020 to acknowledge the realities of racism or refer to Whiteness specifically than the 2019 sample. This may help explain Freeman et al.’s (2022) findings above and might be linked to superficial racial justice ally performances that ensued after Mr. Floyd’s murder (see Spanierman, 2022). Racially color‐blind messages were prevalent, especially those that reflected power evasion (i.e., the belief that everyone has the same opportunities, see Neville et al., 2013).…”

“…The first two articles focused on parents' reports of their conversations with their White children about race and racism. Freeman et al (2022) used qualitative thematic analysis among a highly educated sample of 30 White parents of White children (7-17 years) in Ohio to explore the content of WRS messages, motivations for engaging in such discussions, and developmental differences across age groups. Consistent with the literature, participants rarely discussed systemic racism or racial microaggressions with their children.…”

What's Whiteness Got to do With it?

“…This special section addresses the dearth in the literature examining Whiteness. Several publications assess racial socialization practices among White families (Abaied et al, 2022;Cox et al, 2022;G alan et al,2022;Freeman et al,2022). One manuscript My sincere thanks to Lisa Spanierman, Dawn Witherspoon, Linda Halgunseth, and Lisa Wray-Lake for the invitation to contribute to this special issue.…”

“…This special section addresses the dearth in the literature examining Whiteness. Several publications assess racial socialization practices among White families (Abaied et al., 2022; Cox et al., 2022; Gàlan et al.,2022; Freeman et al.,2022). One manuscript examines incarcerated White youth’s understanding of Whiteness and criminality (Muñiz & Marshall, 2022).…”