Interracial families face unique challenges because of the historical legacy of white supremacy…

Interracial families face unique challenges because of the historical legacy of white supremacy, the long-standing social barriers against interracial marriage, and the cultural norm of racial homogeneity in marriage patterns.  For interracial families, racial socialization is complicated for important several reasons.  First, parents bring different racial identities, experiences, and ideologies to their relationship that may result in different ideas about how to racially socialize their children.  In addition, the politics of race in our society are such that their mixed-race children exist in a marginal and undefined space.  There is no clear community of mixed-race people or a comprehensive understanding of the mixed-race experience that can be used to guide racial socialization of mixed-race childrenin a positive, cohesive manner.  Unlike white or black children, most multiracial children do not have a parent with whom they can directly identify as a multiracial person.  Unless a parent is also mixed-race, the majority of mixed-race children learn about race from on or more adults who cannot completely understand their racial reality.  This means that most mixed-race children rarely have the luxury of being raised by a parent whose on racial identity and socialization process are relevant to their experience.

Rockquemore, Kerry Ann, Tracey Laszloffy, Julia Noveske. “It All Starts at Home: Racial Socialization in Multiracial Families”, In Mixed Messages: Multiracial Identities in the “Color-Blind” Era, edited by David L. Brunsma, 207.  Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006.

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