Colorful Conversations

Colorful Conversations

Discussing race within White families: how conversations are had and how to promote better conversation habits

What children are taught by their parents about race shapes their perceptions and behavior for the rest of their lives. Families can promote equality and respect for all racial groups through simple discourse, but there are a few concepts that are helpful to understand first.

Color Conscious Socialization Approach

Color Blind Racial Socialization Approach

A parent who would rather recognize race as a factor when understanding the identity of a child and understand that White people hold a place of privilege (Gobeil, 2022).

A parent who ignores the concept of race, minimizes social indifferences, and/or claims that paying attention to race deligitimizes minority groups (Gobeil, 2022).

VS.

HIGHER conformity + HIGHER conversation orientation reported

LOWER conformity + HIGHER conversation orientation reported

HIGHER levels of microaggressions reported

LOWER levels of microaggressions reported

(Curran et al., 2023)

(Curran et al., 2023)

percentage of White parents who engage in discourse with their children about race engage in the color blind approach (Freeman et al., 2022)

70%

• Gobeil, G. (2022). Race and Transracial Adoption: Why the discussion of race and culture within transracial adopted families is important early on in childhood. Maya America, 4(1), 33–40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48687477
• Freeman, M., Martinez, A., & Raval, V. V. (2022). What Do White Parents Teach Youth About Race? Qualitative Examination of White Racial Socialization. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, 32(3), 847–862. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12782
• Curran, T., Arroyo, A., & Fabbricatore, J. (2023). Family Communication Patterns and Expressing Racial Microaggressions Amongst White Adult Children. Journal of Family Communication, 23(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2023.2205844

How to...

Promote Consciousness

“White children whose families and teachers do not want to call children’s attention to issues of race are therefore not preparing children for existence in a multiethnic society, are not preparing them to make sense of the media images they will encounter, are not helping them recognize, name, and disrupt the racism present in their childhood peer settings,” (Copenhaver-Johnson, 2006).

Approaching Conversations

(Smith, 2020)

RESIGN

RESPECT

RECOGNIZE

EXAMINE

Recognize the reality of these experiences for people and put aside preconceptions.

Examine your motivations and why this conversation is important.

Resign from a place of comfort and accept that we don't know everything.

Approach the conversation with respect.

RESET

REBOOT

RESEARCH

RELEARN

Reboot and commit to making a change in yourself and others.

Reset your mind and internalize what you have learned.

Research topics you didn't previously know or understand.

Relearn and be open to questions.

10

COMFORT

RECOGNIZE

Be comfortable with your story and working toward racial equality.

Recognize your privilege.

• Copenhaver-Johnson, J. (2006). Talking to Children about Race: The Importance of Inviting Difficult Conversations. Childhood Education, 83(1), 12–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2006.10522869
• Smith, D. (n.d.). The 10 R’s of talking about race: How to have meaningful conversations. The 10 R’s of Talking About Race: How to Have Meaningful Conversations | Net Impact. https://netimpact.org/blog/talking-about-race