Academic

I believe the children are (a reflection of) our future?

By R. L?Heureux Lewis

Okay, so the title is just an excuse to use a lyric from my all time favorite singer, but it does have relevance. I have been recently working on an article that discusses the way Black and White children understand race in America. My main argument is that children today are socially forced to maintain a complex understanding of the meaning of race based on who they around and the social consequences of sharing their views (I won’t bore you with the details). Professor Butler’s recent picture of the week post conjurred up these thoughts (and laughs) for me. Americans have repeatedly hoped for a change in racial landscape, which in part will be ushered in by changes in attitudes about race. Are the children the harbinger of this change?

For example, a Black child born in the 1990s when asked about the importance of race may say, “race isn’t important” and suggest “everyone should be treated equally.” These responses contrast to the messages that Black parents typically socialize their children with that suggest race is important. Parents’ messages typically fall into racial pride messages and preparation for racial barriers. Unlike many suggest, children are much less passive receptors and recyclers of adult messages (especially on issues like race) and much more active creators of their worldviews which are informed by adults but not controlled by them. Children form perspectives based on a variety of factors: messages from home, peers, and society at large (e.g. via mass media, etc).

With that being said, do you think that Black children born and raised in the 1990s and 2000s view race differently than previous generations?

Do you think, for Black children, the significance of race has been replaced by other things?

Do you think that Black children’s perspectives on race reflect a change in perspective or youthful hope?

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Full post as published by BlackProf on January 30, 2008 (boomark / email).