Appropriated racial oppression shapes Black parents’ socialization of children
Black parents who experienced higher levels of appropriated racial oppression — defined as shaping one’s behavior and self-concept around dominant cultural norms of whiteness — were less likely to transmit positive, culturally protective messages that affirmed racial pride and self-worth to their adolescent children, a recent study found.
However, these effects were moderated by skin tone, becoming more pronounced among lighter-skinned parents and teens, said first author Shardé McNeil Smith, a professor of human development and family studies and of African American studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, the study was co-written by then-research coordinator Jaden Anderson and Shawn C.T. Jones, a professor and the director of the counseling psychology program, both of Virginia Commonwealth University; and U. of I. graduate students Anisa Codamon and Chelsea S. Alexander.
The findings raise troubling questions about the generational effects of racial oppression and how it may hamper parents’ ability to instill resilience, cultural pride and other protective qualities that prepare youths for navigating a racialized society, Smith said.
“We know that Black parents engage in parenting practices that help their children if and when they encounter racial discrimination, but we find that parents’ own racialized worldview can impact their ability to transmit positive messages that are empirically found to promote well-being,” Smith said. “Interestingly, our research found that this is particularly apparent for parents and youth with lighter skin tones.”