Parents’ Lessons on Racism and Anti-racism and Asian American Young Adults’ Racial Perspectives

• In Event: 20868 - The Politics of Racism and Anti-Racism: Racial Processes Across Institutions

Abstract

Addressing the call for sociologists to return to socialization research and the need for ethnic-racial socialization research on Asian American families, we examined parents’ messages on whiteness, racism, and anti-racism and their relation to Korean American and Vietnamese American young adults’ racial perspectives. We add to the literature on racial learning in families by assessing how color-blind and color-conscious messages received in childhood relate to young adults’ understandings of racism, anti-racism, racial privilege, and whiteness. We conducted 40 interviews in Fall 2023 and Winter 2024. Participants had to reside in Southern California, self-identify as Vietnamese American only (n = 20) or Korean American only (n = 20), be 18-25 years old, be born in the US or have immigrated to the US before age 5, and have been raised by Asian American-only parent(s). Some participants received color-blind messages (Vietnamese Americans more than Korean Americans), and these were related to their endorsement of a color-blind racial perspective. A majority of participants received color-conscious messages which were, in turn, associated with their acknowledgement of systemic racism. However, these color-conscious messages were not associated with a perception of having racial privilege (relative to other groups of color) or an endorsement of anti-racism. Despite acknowledging whites’ unfair advantages and Asian Americans’ disadvantages, parents’ messages did not encourage regular or broad engagement in action to address systemic racism; rather, they encouraged action only in the case of interpersonal racism and/or on behalf of one’s own self or group, and/or discouraged action that might compromise the child’s immediate or future education and employment prospects. In turn, a majority of young adults described having a role in addressing racism in only selected circumstances. We interpret these results in terms of Asian Americans’ middle position in the US racial hierarchy and discuss the implications for anti-racist social action.

Authors

• Tanya Nieri, University of California-Riverside

• Justin Huft, University of California-Riverside