What does it mean to be Black and White? A meta‐ethnographic review of racial socialization in Multiracial families

Abstract

Racial socialization—parent–child communication about race—may promote cohesion and relational satisfaction in Multiracial Black–White families, where parents and children have unique racial experiences. However, little is known about how racial socialization is actually practiced in Multiracial families. The current paper addresses this gap by synthesizing the existing qualitative literature on racial socialization in Multiracial Black–White families. Seventeen articles were identified using three electronic databases and appraised based on a critical review form for qualitative investigations. We then used meta‐ethnographic methods and two theoretical frameworks to explore patterns of racial socialization, which included messages about (1) Monoracial Black experiences, (2) the irrelevance of race (e.g., color‐evasiveness), and (3) Multiracial experiences. The findings illuminate the intricacies of parental racial socialization in Multiracial Black–White families. The implications for family theory and practice are discussed.

“You're biracial but…”: Multiracial socialization discourse among mommy bloggers with Black and non‐Black multiracial children

“…There is a dearth of research on the racial socialization practices in multiracial families (Atkin & Yoo, 2019; Stokes et al, 2021, Umaña‐Taylor & Hill, 2020). The scholarship that does exist has mixed results, which is likely due to the intersections of multiple racial identities and histories that multiracial families contend with.…”

“…The scholarship that does exist has mixed results, which is likely due to the intersections of multiple racial identities and histories that multiracial families contend with. For example, some scholarship finds that mothers to biracial children deliver the same range of racial socialization messages as those in monoracial families (Hughes et al, 2006; Rollins & Hunter, 2013) but is overwhelmingly informed by the experiences of White mothers in Black‐White families (Atkin & Yoo, 2019; Stokes et al, 2021). White parents of multiracial children report that they lack the experience of being a person of color and therefore have limited knowledge on recognizing, predicting, and interpreting the racialized experiences their children will have (Rauktis et al, 2016).…”

“…Additionally, in Black‐White families racial socialization is often the responsibility of the Black parent (Rockquemore & Brunsma, 2002). Collectively, research finds that while racial socialization in Black‐White families is context specific and influenced by the salience of race in each family, Black‐White multiracial youth are socialized in one of three domains: monoracial Black, color‐evasive, or multiracial (Stokes et al, 2021).…”

Counting Families, Counting Race: Assessing Visible Family Structural Change among Multiracial Families, 1980–2018

“…As is the case with any child's experience, the "multiracial experience" is framed by a range of factors that make up familial context, such as the organization of families and their ties to extended kin, the gender and racial composition of members, as well as the quality of relationships between all members. Understanding the development of multiracial youth as they move into and through adulthood (Stokes et al, 2021) requires data that can illustrate these features. Data on the two or more race population is critical to ensure the continued ability to explore the demography of these families across a range of family forms.…”

“…Importantly, race still stratifies how one marries more so than education or religion (Rosenfeld, 2008) demonstrating the endurance of racial boundaries, even in the lives of those who cross them to form families and rear children (Campion, 2019). Socialization of racial identities that defy standard racial categorization often require parents and their children to adopt creative strategies to establish and nurture a multiracial "self" (Stokes et al, 2021). While this process may be easier in recent years as multiracial identities are indeed more visible and institutionalized than they once were (Davenport, 2016), multiracial adolescents continue to confront challenges around taking on identities that outsiders often do not validate or deem authentic (Campion, 2019).…”