Parental Racial Socialization: A glimpse into the racial socialization process in a dual-minority multiracial family

• In Event: 174 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Multiracial Identities

Abstract

We live in a racialized society where the social dimensions of race have real consequences. How children are racially socialized matters. Families, and specifically parents, are viewed as one of the most important socialization agents in their children’s early development. Research that focuses on racial socialization in multiracial families has been extremely helpful in advancing the field, but there has been an overwhelming focus on the racial socialization of multiracials with one white parent. Additionally, the existing research frequently gathers data from the multiracial individual themselves, thus overlooking the role that their parents plays in their racial socialization process. Research has also overlooked the role that these parents’ own racial socialization during their upbringing plays in their decisions to and manner in which they racially socialize their own children. While the field has made substantial strides, such limitations constrain an understanding of the range of parental contributions to a multiracial child’s racial socialization. To address this limitation, this paper will discuss a single case study that uses in-depth interviews to examine the way in which minority parents in multiracial families have navigated their own racial and ethnic differences and in turn taught their children about race. Broadly, this paper is a call for the field to begin to draw their attention to the way in which parents’ own racial socialization and awareness of race has significant implications for how they teach their children about race.

Author

• Cristina Marie Ortiz, University of Chicago