Exploring Whether and How Black and White Parents Talk With Their Children About Race: M(ai)cro Race Conversations About Black Lives Matter

Leoandra Onnie Rogers*, Katharine E. Scott, Finn Wintz, Sarah R. Eisenman, Chiara Dorsi, David Chae, Andrew N. Meltzoff

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous research on parent-led race conversations reports robust racial differences in the content of race conversations between Black and white parents. It was unknown, however, whether these racial differences shifted in the months immediately following the summer of 2020 when there was heightened public attention directed toward white parents, specifically, to talk with children about racism. In the present study, we investigated whether and how Black (n = 344) and white (n = 381) parents talked about Black Lives Matter (BLM) with their 8- to 11- year-old children. Overall, 80% of parents (n = 725) reported talking about BLM, but Black parents were significantly more likely to discuss BLM than white parents (p =.008). Further qualitative analysis of the content of parents’ reports showed that Black parents were significantly more likely than white parents to provide responses about BLM that acknowledge racial inequality in society or explicitly affirm/support Black lives. White parents, in contrast, were significantly more likely to discuss BLM by focusing on equality but without acknowledging racial injustice or to provide responses that lacked clarity and/or substance. Using the m(ai)cro model of human development (Rogers, Niwa, et al., 2021), we discuss how parents’ reported race conversations are shaped by the sociopolitical context and their role in disrupting (or perpetuating) systemic racism through socialization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)407-421
Number of pages15
JournalDevelopmental psychology
Volume60
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 22 2024

Keywords

  • Black Lives Matter
  • m(ai)cro
  • parental race talk
  • racial justice

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Demography
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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