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

• Published in: Developmental psychology Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 407 - 421
• Main Authors: Rogers, Leoandra Onnie, Scott, Katharine E., Wintz, Finn, Eisenman, Sarah R., Dorsi, Chiara, Chae, David, Meltzoff, Andrew N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-03-2024
• Subjects: Black Lives Matter; Black Lives Matter movement; Black People; Black white differences; Children; Female; Human; Human development; Male; Parent Child Communication; Parental Characteristics; Parents; Parents & parenting; Qualitative research; Race; Racial and Ethnic Differences; Racial differences; Racial Discrimination; Racial inequality; Racial Justice; Racism; Socialization; Systemic racism; Talking; White People; m(ai)cro; parental race talk; Black Lives Matter; racial justice
• DOI: 10.1037/dev0001693
• EISSN: 1939-0599
• ISSN: 0012-1649

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.
Public Significance StatementIn a society still affected by racism, whether and how parents talk with their children about racial injustice is important. The present study examined whether and how Black and white parents talked with their children (8-11 years old) about Black Lives Matter (BLM) in the months immediately following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. We found that while 80% of parents (n = 725) reported talking to their child about BLM, white parents were significantly less likely to do so than Black parents. Furthermore, white parents were more likely to offer insubstantial or nonsensical explanations about BLM, whereas Black parents most frequently acknowledged racial injustice and affirmed the value of Black life.