Redefining antiracism: Learning from activists to sharpen academic language

People have fought against racism for as long as it has existed and yet it persists in diverse and materially impactful ways. The primary challenge to eradicating racism is likely the power of white privilege. This paper argues that another important obstacle to progress has been the lack of a clear definition of antiracism that movement activists and scholars can collaboratively use to ensure that antiracist scholarship and efforts meet the full measure of the term's intention. While academia has struggled to converge on a definition, “lay race theorists” and movement activists—Black women in particular, have been participating in discourse online and through other venues where consensus appears to be developing around a definition. This article attempts to summarize activist discourse in defining antiracism as “the commitment to eradicate racism in all its forms” and individual antiracism as “the commitment to eradicate racism in all its forms, by (1) building an understanding of racism and (2) taking action to eliminate racism “within oneself, in other people, in institutions, and through actions outside of institutions,” noting that “antiracism is an ongoing practice and commitment that must be accountable to antiracist Black people, Indigenous people, and other People of Color and consider intersectional systems of oppression.” While research on the public conversation benefits from its easy access and limited additional burdens on movement activists, future research should test these definitions with movement activists to ensure that definitions and metrics are as relevant to the antiracist movement as possible.     

From Antiracism to Antiracisms

Although antiracism has existed as long as there has been racism, social scientists' attention to antiracism has increased in the past decade. In this essay, I argue that the body of scholarship on antiracism is characterized by three main strands: (1) a macro focus on the ideology and structure of antiracist social movement organizations, often attempting to distil 'the real' antiracism from others deemed not critical or radical enough to qualify; (2) a micro focus on what motivates individuals to become antiracist, usually concentrating more on whites and using an a priori assumption that people of colour are automatic antiracists; and (3) a more promising interest in the antiracisms of the racial middle (Latinos, Asians, multiracials). This latter focus is emerging with a handful of scholars largely outside the United States, questioning the assumptions of the previous two strands, and offering interesting potential for the future of the field.     

Racialized parenting in the United States

Contrary to anti-black, cultural deficit logics that frame Black parenting as tied to the reproduction of social disadvantage, research shows that Black parents, and other parents of color, are agentic as they parent in direct response to the dominant racial order of the United States. In this paper, I review this scholarship and primarily focus on how Black parents approach raising children in the racialized worlds that they live in. To mitigate the disadvantages caused by racism, Black parents use various intentional racialized parenting approaches to instill in their children a resilience to a racist social world. The strategies used to cultivate resilience to racism exist in varied social and institutional contexts, and intertwine with how parents understand race, class, and identity. Laborious racialized parenting techniques do not solely matter at the micro-level as such practices are unevenly recognized by white-dominant social institutions. This uneven dynamic indicates how hegemonic norms of American parenting culture fit within a project of racial neoliberalism. Consequently, Black parents are structurally pushed to burden more responsibility to prepare their children to survive a deeply racist and hyper-competitive social world with no guarantee that such intensive, strategic parenting will be rewarded.     

Antiracism apps: framing understandings and approaches to antiracism education and intervention

Mobile apps for antiracism have become valuable pedagogical and activist tools for their real-time and mapping capabilities, their portability and intimate bodily presence, which enables a reaction exactly when an act of racism occurs. In this article, five mobile apps aimed at producing antiracism education or intervention outcomes from the United Kingdom, Australia and France are the focus of an interrogation of the ways in which racism and antiracism are framed and the strengths and weaknesses of these initiatives for countering dominant forms of everyday racism. We identify a number of different approaches to racism and antiracism in our inquiry, which lead to particular sets of aims, features and uses: the app as a tool for capturing, reporting and responding to racist acts; as a way of reinforcing a wider sense of community identity and solidarity; to demonstrate racism, especially Islamophobia, and make its forms visible, and as a means for challenging racism through raising awareness and encouraging bystanders to oppose it. We argue that while these apps are well disposed to exposing and manifesting isolated incidents of racism in everyday life, we question their potential for transformative societal outcomes beyond the level of unilateral action in the context of events experienced as unique incidents.     

Race Made Salient:A Journey of Awareness for White Parents of Asian Children

Abstract

This paper examines some of the impacts of transracial adoption on White parents' awareness and conceptualization of race. Current literature suggests that dominant discourse in Canada is that the country is egalitarian and celebrates diversity and multiculturism. As a result, only overt instances of racism are identified as such. While some parents in our study subscribed to this discourse prior to adopting transracially, most experienced a growing awareness of the model minority concept and understood its negative implications. As they became more culturally competent, parents spoke of the need to help their children acquire strategies, tools and support to handle intrusive questions, racial teasing, and racial isolation.     

Song and Dance?: The Performance of Antiracist Workshops*

Les ateliers visant à combattre le racisme se sont imposés de plus en plus au sein de divers organismes; ils constituent une importante façon d'analyser les rapports de force qui, sur place, ont pris une couleur raciale. En examinant la méthodologie des ateliers, celle qui invite les participants à livrer leurs expériences personnelles d'incidents à caractère raciste, nous examinerons comment on aborde les sujets d'identité raciale, de racisme et d'antiracisme, comment ces mêmes concepts sont intégrés dans la pensée collective et comment ils sont appliqués à léchelle sociale. La méthodologie qui consiste à circonscrire les témoignages et à en établir les relations est comparée à celle, analogue, des politiques et pratiques du multiculturalisme institutionnalisé. Nous proposons donc de nouveaux modèles d'intervention, y compris un modèle d'atelier sur l'antiracisme qui tire parti des politiques de coalition et de leur application pratique. Because of their increasing presence in a variety of organizations, antiracist workshops have been significant in the recent history of antiracism, and are an important site for analysing local, racialized power relations. By reflecting on workshop practices that emphasize disclosure and display of personal experiences of racism, we may raise questions about how knowledge of racial identities, racism and antiracism is locally produced, understood, defined and circumscribed. The relations and confinements of representation in these workshop practices are compared to the similar tendencies of multiculturalist practice and policy. The alternatives suggested by this critique are also explored, including a model of antiracist workshops based on practical coalition politics.     

White Racial Socialization: Progressive Fathers on Raising “Antiracist” Children

For the past 30 years, the definition of racial socialization has referred to how parents prepare children of color to flourish within a society structured by white supremacy. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with eight white affluent fathers, this study explores fathers' participation in white racial socialization processes. The article focuses on fathers who identify as “progressive” and examines the relationship between fathers' understandings of what it means to raise an “antiracist” child, the explicit and implicit lessons of racial socialization that follow from these understandings, and hegemonic whiteness. Findings illustrate how these fathers understand their role as a white father, how their attempts to raise antiracist children both challenge and reinforce hegemonic whiteness, and what role race and class privilege play in this process.     

‘Keeping the story alive’: is ethnic and racial dilution inevitable for multiracial people and their children?

This paper explores how multiracial parents with White partners articulate narratives of ethnic and racial ‘dilution’ and cultural loss in relation to the socialization of their children. In our broader study of how multiracial parents raise their children, we found that parents commonly spoke of concerns around dilution and generational change in relation to four key themes: the loss of cultural knowledge and diminishing practices that connected parents and their children to a minority ancestry; the embodiment of White‐appearing children and the implications of this for family relationships; the use of biological or genetic discourses in relation to reduced blood quantum; and concerns amongst Black/White participants about whitening and the loss of racial consciousness. Parental understandings of dilution varied greatly; some expressed sadness at ‘inevitable’ loss; others were more philosophical about generational change; and others still proactively countered loss through strategies to connect their children to their minority heritages. We show that despite growing awareness of the social constructedness of race and an emergent cosmopolitanism among these parents, discourses of genetics, cultural lineage, and the ‘naturalness’ of race continue to hold sway amongst many multiracial parents.     

White people's activism in US- based social movements for racial justice

There is a long history of small groups of white activists engaging in social movements for racial justice led by Black Indigenous and People of Color in the United States. Yet organized white antiracism has received much less study than white racism. From forging antiracist identities to crafting racial justice organizing strategies, white people's involvement in BIPOC-led liberation struggles has proven both promising and problematic. This article explores what scholars know about white people's involvement in US- based racial justice efforts in order to pose central questions and quandaries for future study. It focuses on white antiracist activism in the United States beginning in the Civil Rights era. During the late 20th century, US-based racial justice campaigns became fragmented across diverse networks and issue areas making it harder to locate groups of white people collectively aligning with a visible and unified social movement for racial justice. This appears to be shifting. Racial logics and racist regimes have proven themselves eminently flexible, and investigating how white people have tried to join social movements for racial justice illuminates important areas for future study.     

Parent-Child Interaction Styles Between Gay and Lesbian Parents and Their Adopted Children

SUMMARY

While myths exist that call into question the parenting ability of gay and lesbian parents as well as the impact of such parenting on children in their care, there is an ever increasing body of literature that clearly demonstrates the capabilities of these parents with their birth children. However, there continues to be a dearth of research on gay and lesbian adoptive parents and their children. To address this deficiency in the literature, this article explores the parenting styles of gay and lesbian adoptive parents and strengths of their children between the ages of 5–9 years (N = 94), using scores from the Parent-as-a-Teacher Inventory and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale. Results illustrate that the gay and lesbian adoptive parents in this sample fell into the desirable range of the parenting scale and their children have strength levels equal to or exceeding the scale norms. Finally, various aspects of parenting style significantly predicted the adoptive parents' view of their child's level of care difficulty which subsequently predicted the type and level of strengths assessed within their adopted child. Recommendations for practice, policy and future research are highlighted.     

A Vocabulary of Motives: Understanding How Parents Define Quality Time

Although discussions of parenting refer to quality time, parents’ views of quality time have not been explored. Using the Sloan 500 Family Study, this article examines how 220 parents from 110 dual‐parent families define the spending quality time with their families and finds 3 distinct views: Structured‐planning parents saw it as planned family activities, child‐centered parents emphasized heart‐to‐heart talks with their children, and time‐intensive parents believed that all the time they spent with their families was quality time. Mothers and fathers both valued quality time, but, particularly when parents within a household disagreed, mothers more often described having a more active parenting role and assumed greater responsibility for quality time, reflecting a gendered division of parenting within the home.     

The sociology of antiracism in Black and White

This paper reviews sociological research on antiracism and suggests new directions for the field. Current research indicates although White antiracism constitutes attempts to negotiate privilege, it fails to divest from the systems of power that maintain the current balance of privilege in favor of White supremacy. In contrast, the antiracism of people of color provides some insight into attempts to secure liberation, a complete break from White supremacist power structures. I argue DuBois, Black Feminist Thought, and postcolonial sociology inform a sociology of antiracism that centers people of color rather than Whiteness. To illustrate the nuance of antiracism by people of color, I centered my study on Black antiracism. From this perspective, antiracism emerges as the set of practices that Blacks enact in everyday life to mitigate and confront hegemonic racialization. I suggest that one construct of hegemonic whiteness meant to uphold dominant racial ideology that produces emphasized blackness that facilitates symbolic and physical violence toward Blacks. Although emphasized blackness produces and reinforces constraints on Black antiracism, oppositional blackness exemplifies an ultimate form of antiracism in which Black bodies act as agents of social change through liberatory projects such as marronage and counterhegemonic knowledge production. I conclude this article with a case study of the Windward Maroons of Jamaica to illustrate oppositional blackness as the dynamics of resistance and empowerment that emerge to confront hegemonic whiteness.     

“Parents need a village”: Caseworkers' perceptions of the challenges faced by single parents of system-involved youth

Drawing upon the lived experience of juvenile justice caseworkers, this phenomenological study aimed to describe the challenges faced by single parents with children in the custody of the juvenile justice system, and how parenting practices are affected. Ten caseworkers were interviewed, from which the following essence emerged: “Parents need a village.” Five themes supported and contextualized this essence by detailing how challenges not only fall along each level of the Ecological Model, but also interact with one another, leaving parents with a profound sense of powerlessness and detachment from their children, themselves, and their futures. This study underscores that stakeholders combating youth violence must take an ecological approach in their efforts to support parents. Interventions should target neighborhood and individual needs, such as employment, housing, crime, service accessibility, and mental health problems, while simultaneously addressing issues of classism and racism that trap parents in cycles of poverty and violence.     

Parenting Style,Child Emotion Regulation and Behavioral Problems: The Moderating Role of Cultural Values in Australia and Indonesia

Abstract

Research has shown that the congruence of parenting styles with cultural values, rather than parenting styles alone, impacts child adjustment. This study examined if parents’ cultural values moderate the relationships between parenting styles and child outcomes across both an individualist culture (Australia) and a collectivist culture (Indonesia). Three hundred and eighty-seven parents of 2–10-year-old children from both countries reported their parenting styles, the importance of the collectivistic values (security, conformity, and tradition), and their child's emotion regulation and behavioral problems. In both countries, authoritative parenting was associated with higher child emotion regulation and lower levels of behavioral problems, and authoritarian parenting was associated with lower child emotion regulation and higher levels of behavioral problems. Although cultural values did not moderate the relationship between authoritarian parenting and child adjustment, in both countries greater importance placed on tradition attenuated the positive effect of authoritative parenting on child outcomes.     

Groupwork for Parents whose Children are in Care: Challenges and Opportunities

Until recently, the focus for child protection in NSW has been on risk assessment, supportive measures for parents, and ‘the best interests of the child’. The needs of the birth families, once their children have been removed have not received the same attention. An emerging body of research indicates a growing awareness of the importance of the link between good outcomes for children in care and positive ongoing links with their birth parents. Biological parents of children who have been removed invariably continue to have parenting relationships, if not with the removed child, then with subsequent birth children, step children and children in their extended family. Service provision for this group of parents is critical given the complexity and scale of their emotional needs, and the implications for the children they will care for. In this paper, we describe one such intervention: Kids in Care, a group program offered at Relationships Australia NSW, and consider the arising issues and dilemmas for both parents and group workers. Developed to address the particular needs of parents whose children have been taken into care, the group creates an environment of acceptance and support. This opens up possibilities for parents to consider issues of grief, stigma and trauma, as well as to develop skills in communication, assertiveness and emotional regulation.     

Oyate Ptayela: Rebuilding the Lakota Nation Through Addressing Historical Trauma Among Lakota Parents

SUMMARY

This article presents evidence to suggest that historical trauma has affected Lakota parents and children by changing parenting behavior and placing children at risk for alcohol and other substance abuse. The theoretical explanation of the Lakota historical trauma response is described and used as a framework for the design of a parenting skills curriculum. This intervention focuses on (1) facilitating parental awareness of life span and communal trauma across generations and (2) a re-cathexis or re-attachment to traditional Lakota values.

The experimental curriculum intervention was delivered to a group of ten Lakota parents and two Lakota parent facilitators on a Lakota reservation. Qualitative study results revealed that parents experienced the curriculum as effective, particularly the focus on both historical trauma and the reconnection with traditional Lakota mores. The curriculum's emphasis on traditional protective factors for alcohol and other substance abuse prevention for Lakota children presents implications for other parenting curricula. The article concludes with recommendations for future research in the area of Indian parenting and historical trauma.     

Antiracism Expanding Social Work Education: A Qualitative Analysis of the Undoing Racism Workshop Experience

The importance of addressing implications of racism has reached a critical point at colleges and universities across the United States, and schools of social work are no exception. This study uses grounded theory methods to thematically analyze data from student participants (N=30) on their thoughts and reactions during a 2 1/2-day Undoing Racism workshop sponsored by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Qualitative data were collected to answer the research question, How do students experience an intensive Undoing Racism workshop, and what are the implications for integrating antiracism into social work education? Findings imply that workshop-based learning may be more effective than solely using course content to teach antiracism material and also indicate the importance of activity-based learning, as well as an emphasis on developing concrete strategies to combat racism.     

Children’s perspectives on parenting coordination: Insights from the montreal parenting coordination pilot project

As part of a pilot project in the Montreal area, ten high-conflict families received free parenting coordination services. This explorative study aimed to document, through psychometric measures and semistructured interviews, how the parenting coordination process impacted children involved. Although not statistically significant, results suggest a diminution in the intensity of the conflict between parents over the course of parenting coordination, as perceived by the children. Qualitative data indicates variation in children’s opinions regarding their experience. Approximately half of the sample shared examples of improvements in their lives, mostly to do with diminution of parental conflict and better communication between parents. However, some shared frustrations with the intervention and their belief that parenting coordination was not helpful. Not feeling heard by the parenting coordinator (PC) as well as a perceived lack of neutrality were linked with negative discourse on parenting coordination.     

Mothers' and Fathers' Well‐Being in Parenting Across the Arch of Child Development

Limited research on parental well‐being by child age suggests that parents are better off with very young children despite intense time demands of caring for them. This study uses the American Time Use Survey Well‐Being Module (N = 18,124) to assess how parents feel in activities with children of different ages. Results show that parents are worse off with adolescent children relative to young children. Parents report the lowest levels of happiness with adolescents relative to younger children, and mothers report more stress and less meaning with adolescents. Controlling for contextual features of parenting including activity type, solo parenting, and restorative time does not fully account for the adolescent disadvantage in fathers' happiness or mothers' stress. This study highlights adolescence as a particularly difficult stage for parental well‐being and shows that mothers shoulder stress that fathers do not, even after accounting for differences in the context of their parenting activities.     

It's the Message,Not the Messenger: The Declining Significance of Black–White Contact in a “Colorblind” Society*

We argue that due to the modern‐day prevalence of colorblind racism, the impact of interracial contact on whites’ racial consciousness is limited. By comparing two qualitative data sets of white antiracists and whites who have a close black friend, we find there are a good number of whites for whom relationships with people of color are not the prime impetus for becoming antiracist. Whites often bracket out their black friends from their limited understandings of racism, and white antiracists often adopt progressive ideologies from other whites. Even when interracial contact is part of white antiracists’ experiences, it often is but one small step in a process of sensitization to an antiracist counterideology. The bearers of this antiracist ideology (the “message”) may or may not be persons of color (the assumed “messengers”) so we explore a variety of ways that this “message” takes hold (or not) among whites. While not discounting contact theory altogether, we make plain that colorblindness is a major factor limiting its explanatory power. We conclude by discussing the methodological and theoretical implications of our findings for sociological race relations research.