The concept of anti-racism reflects the insight that not being racist is insufficient, because the failure to actively and explicitly address dominant structures and discourses surrounding ethnic-racial inequalities only reinforces the (racist) status quo (Bonilla-Silva, 2015;Kendi, 2019;Lewis et al., 2020;Neville et al., 2013). An important first step in anti-racism is acknowledging that racial categories were socially constructed to justify the oppression and exploitation of other humans for profit (e.g., Kendi, 2019;Lewis et al., 2020;Richeson & Sommers, 2016). Research shows that White majority parents predominantly support an ideology in which ethnic-racial difference should not be seen or talked about, claiming that they do not "see" color, and therefore treat everybody equally (e.g., Katz, 2003;Vittrup, 2018). However, given the overwhelming evidence of systemic racism in Western societies (e.g., Feagin & Elias, 2013;Lentin, 2008), silence about ethnicracial difference ignores-and, therefore, perpetuatesvery real differences in the societal experiences of people with different ethnic-racial identities and can arguably be defined as racist in and of itself (Bonilla-Silva, 2015;Richeson & Sommers, 2016). Thus, anti-racist socialization of children in the family context can only be achieved when parents first acknowledge ethnic-racial difference.

The current study investigated the ethnic hierarchy in ingroup and outgroup preference and rejection among 6to 10-year-old children of the dominant White Dutch group (n = 145), and the underrepresented Turkish-Dutch (n = 78), and Afro-Dutch (n = 57) groups (55% girls, M = 7.49, SD = .98) in the Netherlands. Results from a social preference task indicated that White Dutch children showed clearly more preference for their own ethnic group (ingroup preference) compared to the two outgroup preferences (Middle Eastern and Black), while Turkish-and Afro-Dutch children showed limited ingroup preference. Both White and Turkish-Dutch children showed less preference for and more rejection of the Black outgroup compared to Afro-Dutch children. Younger children showed more Black rejection compared to older children. This study provides much-needed evidence for the generalizability of prejudice patterns in children beyond the United States, and suggests that interventions aimed at improving interethnic relations are already relevant at primary school age.