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pauraque_bkSee Baby Discriminate - Kids as young as 6 months judge others based on skin color. What's a parent to do?
This article is well worth a read. It cites some experimental evidence about how white kids learn -- and don't learn -- about race and discrimination. Apparently vague platitudes like "everyone is equal" don't work on young kids, who have no idea you're talking about skin color unless you specifically say so.
I love the comparison to gender roles, which of course we do explain to kids in no uncertain terms. "Women can be doctors" -- great, no one has a problem telling boys that. We even feel good about it. Then why does it seem painfully awkward to tell a white kid "Black people can be doctors"? Who are the vague euphemisms for, the kids or the adults?
Pretending race doesn't exist only confuses white kids, who will notice it anyway, and it *certainly* isn't doing non-white kids any favors. Way to deny the existence of a large part of their life experience, like it or not! (cf Stephen Colbert: "I'm color-blind. By that I mean, I can't see black people.")
This article is well worth a read. It cites some experimental evidence about how white kids learn -- and don't learn -- about race and discrimination. Apparently vague platitudes like "everyone is equal" don't work on young kids, who have no idea you're talking about skin color unless you specifically say so.
I love the comparison to gender roles, which of course we do explain to kids in no uncertain terms. "Women can be doctors" -- great, no one has a problem telling boys that. We even feel good about it. Then why does it seem painfully awkward to tell a white kid "Black people can be doctors"? Who are the vague euphemisms for, the kids or the adults?
Pretending race doesn't exist only confuses white kids, who will notice it anyway, and it *certainly* isn't doing non-white kids any favors. Way to deny the existence of a large part of their life experience, like it or not! (cf Stephen Colbert: "I'm color-blind. By that I mean, I can't see black people.")
