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Critical Perspectives on Youth
White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America
Riveting stories of how affluent, white children learn about race
American kids are living in a world of ongoing public debates about race, daily displays of racial injustice, and for some, an increased awareness surrounding diversity and inclusion. In this heated context, sociologist Margaret A. Hagerman zeroes in on affluent, white kids to observe how they make sense of privilege, unequal educational opportunities, and police violence. In fascinating detail, Hagerman considers the role that they and their families play in the reproduction of racism and racial inequality in America.
White Kids, based on two years of research involving in-depth interviews with white kids and their families, is a clear-eyed and sometimes shocking account of how white kids learn about race. In doing so, this book explores questions such as, "How do white kids learn about race when they grow up in families that do not talk openly about race or acknowledge its impact?" and "What about children growing up in families with parents who consider themselves to be 'anti-racist'?"
Featuring the actual voices of young, affluent white kids and what they think about race, racism, inequality, and privilege, White Kids illuminates how white racial socialization is much more dynamic, complex, and varied than previously recognized. It is a process that stretches beyond white parents' explicit conversations with their white children and includes not only the choices parents make about neighborhoods, schools, peer groups, extracurricular activities, and media, but also the choices made by the kids themselves.
By interviewing kids who are growing up in different racial contexts--from racially segregated to meaningfully integrated and from politically progressive to conservative--this important book documents key differences in the outcomes of white racial socialization across families. And by observing families in their everyday lives, this book explores the extent to which white families, even those with anti-racist intentions, reproduce and reinforce the forms of inequality they say they reject.
American kids are living in a world of ongoing public debates about race, daily displays of racial injustice, and for some, an increased awareness surrounding diversity and inclusion. In this heated context, sociologist Margaret A. Hagerman zeroes in on affluent, white kids to observe how they make sense of privilege, unequal educational opportunities, and police violence. In fascinating detail, Hagerman considers the role that they and their families play in the reproduction of racism and racial inequality in America.
White Kids, based on two years of research involving in-depth interviews with white kids and their families, is a clear-eyed and sometimes shocking account of how white kids learn about race. In doing so, this book explores questions such as, "How do white kids learn about race when they grow up in families that do not talk openly about race or acknowledge its impact?" and "What about children growing up in families with parents who consider themselves to be 'anti-racist'?"
Featuring the actual voices of young, affluent white kids and what they think about race, racism, inequality, and privilege, White Kids illuminates how white racial socialization is much more dynamic, complex, and varied than previously recognized. It is a process that stretches beyond white parents' explicit conversations with their white children and includes not only the choices parents make about neighborhoods, schools, peer groups, extracurricular activities, and media, but also the choices made by the kids themselves.
By interviewing kids who are growing up in different racial contexts--from racially segregated to meaningfully integrated and from politically progressive to conservative--this important book documents key differences in the outcomes of white racial socialization across families. And by observing families in their everyday lives, this book explores the extent to which white families, even those with anti-racist intentions, reproduce and reinforce the forms of inequality they say they reject.
261 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2018
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4763 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
August 18, 2018
I received a free copy of this e-book via Netgalley.
I'm a teacher, and in my years in the classroom, I have taught in wildly different environments. A couple of my schools had mostly black students by design, but the others were heavily white. All were private schools. I'm black, so I've navigated these varied spaces with my own form of privilege: I don't need to see people who have the same color skin as I do to feel like I belong, and yet I know that racial "color blindness" isn't a thing. I might be comfortable in white spaces, but that doesn't mean I don't know those spaces are white.
White people may not usually face racism to the extent that non-white people do, but that doesn't mean that race doesn't apply to them. Being the racial majority affords its own obvious privileges, which Hagerman does an excellent job of detailing and cataloguing. For middle-schoolers, the task of identity formation is even more difficult than it might be otherwise. Because they live in a world where—like it or not—race matters, they also have to figure out how race factors into their identities. I was intrigued to read the detailed stories and quotations in this book from people are in the majority and are still making choices and building lives in a racially-driven society.
I found myself nodding along through much of the book. It's a shame that some white people who inhabit mostly all-white spaces think that the mere act of discussing race is racist in and of itself. It's a paradox that the people who benefit the most from racial structures in society (such as generational wealth) have the most interest in protecting those structures (to maintain their wealth) as well as the most agency to change them (which might threaten their wealth or opportunities). It's understandable to want what's best for your kids and to do whatever is necessary in order to help them prosper, but it makes a big difference when you started out with a lot yourself.
Hagerman doesn't offer many solutions to the problem of building race-consciousness in early adolescents, but she paints rich pictures of real people's lives. Racial stereotypes are caricatures, so they can only carry the discussion so far. Her work offers us round characters from the white side of the tracks in a world where more minority actors are stepping into the spotlight. Let's see how the action unfolds.
I'm a teacher, and in my years in the classroom, I have taught in wildly different environments. A couple of my schools had mostly black students by design, but the others were heavily white. All were private schools. I'm black, so I've navigated these varied spaces with my own form of privilege: I don't need to see people who have the same color skin as I do to feel like I belong, and yet I know that racial "color blindness" isn't a thing. I might be comfortable in white spaces, but that doesn't mean I don't know those spaces are white.
White people may not usually face racism to the extent that non-white people do, but that doesn't mean that race doesn't apply to them. Being the racial majority affords its own obvious privileges, which Hagerman does an excellent job of detailing and cataloguing. For middle-schoolers, the task of identity formation is even more difficult than it might be otherwise. Because they live in a world where—like it or not—race matters, they also have to figure out how race factors into their identities. I was intrigued to read the detailed stories and quotations in this book from people are in the majority and are still making choices and building lives in a racially-driven society.
I found myself nodding along through much of the book. It's a shame that some white people who inhabit mostly all-white spaces think that the mere act of discussing race is racist in and of itself. It's a paradox that the people who benefit the most from racial structures in society (such as generational wealth) have the most interest in protecting those structures (to maintain their wealth) as well as the most agency to change them (which might threaten their wealth or opportunities). It's understandable to want what's best for your kids and to do whatever is necessary in order to help them prosper, but it makes a big difference when you started out with a lot yourself.
Hagerman doesn't offer many solutions to the problem of building race-consciousness in early adolescents, but she paints rich pictures of real people's lives. Racial stereotypes are caricatures, so they can only carry the discussion so far. Her work offers us round characters from the white side of the tracks in a world where more minority actors are stepping into the spotlight. Let's see how the action unfolds.
March 11, 2020
Everyone go and read this book right now and stop doing what these parents do. This book made me so angry. Not because any of it was surprising. I have experienced and heard almost every single event/conversation in this book. It was just jarring to have it all in one place. Basically, the gist is that rich white parents do not talk about race to their kids and pretend that they are colorblind, but then they say crazy racist things that their kids parrot. No one wants to be a racist or considers themselves one, but then they keep segregating themselves and stigmatizing Black and brown kids and parents. It's maddening.
September 11, 2018
Get your highlighters out folks! Luckily, I read this in the form of an advanced digital copy so, thanks to technology (and the publisher), I was able to mark it up and make notes to my heart’s content. White Kids is Margaret A. Hagerman’s incredibly brave and timely study of a group of children, blessed with enough security that they are less likely to feel directly threatened by the (slow) socioeconomic advancement of people of color. This small, specified sample allowed her to really isolate the concept of race and how society (or at least this particular demographic) regards racial lines, discrimination, etc, both consciously & subconsciously. I have to admit that I stopped after the first couple chapters to Google the author because she was so in tune to what we (people of color) would call microagressions that I would have sworn she was coming from a place of experiencing that torn feeling when someone says something hurtful or stereotypical and, even though you know they didn’t mean anything by it and probably don’t even realize that they’ve said anything wrong, you can’t stop the wave of hurt & defensiveness you feel. You guys, I could have cried when I saw her picture. I am always advocating & encouraging people to read & talk to people that don’t look anything like them but, the reality is, not everyone does. So, to have someone that looks like Hagerman not just write a book but literally devote years of her life to researching this topic, is huge. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt so “seen”. I may also have a different appreciation than most for this book because of the unique perspective I grew up (and still live) with. My parents were opposite in every way. My mother is white from an educated, affluent family while my father was black from a family that had left sharecropping in Mississippi for the promise of “good” industrial jobs in Michigan. My maternal grandparents live in a home that has been in magazines, belong to a club & sit on various influential boards in multiple states. My paternal grandparents were a cook & a janitor & lived in an area riddled with crime and drugs. I went to a private school where my classmates had pools and planes & then visited my Dad’s family where I slept on a pullout couch in the “hood” and looked forward to penny candy and freezee cups. I have been privy to what both demographics say & do when they feel they are “amongst themselves” and have always tried to be a bridge between the two. It often feels like I’m alone in this space because it is rare for a person to have such unfiltered access to one group while also holding an understanding of the other. This author may not have first person experience in both sects but she is sensitive to both sides in a way I haven’t seen before. To say that I appreciate her & her work feels like an understatement. I hope that other people of color read this & not only feel “seen” but also take the opportunity to see the other side & see that, while it isn’t an excuse, sometimes people really just don’t know any better. At the same time, some DO know better so they’re doing better and it does show in the next generation. I’d also love to see white people, particularly those that are or plan to be parents, read this to (hopefully) check the bias & open their eyes to the ways in which they are shaping their children both consciously & subconsciously. It would be an amazing read for parents of multiracial children or children of another race to get an idea of the ways in which the world may look or feel different to your child than it does to you. In other words, White Kids is a must read for everyone.... but don’t forget your highlighter.
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June 2, 2019Now also on Bogi Reads the World:
http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/nonf...
Impulse library borrow, in an attempt to find something that would explain white Midwesterners to me. :) I appreciated this ethnographic study of children from affluent white Midwestern families a lot. I am a Hungarian Jewish immigrant to the Midwest and I feel I learned a great deal; mostly that many aspects of how white Anglo-American people talk about race that I used to chalk up to ignorance are actually deliberately taught to kids, both by parents and private school teachers. But I also really liked that the book was very firm on kids having agency and disagreeing with their parents, being more radical than their parents, etc. and that it discussed how both right-wing and left-wing white families from affluent neighborhoods engage with race. (It was interesting to see how white people also segregated themselves from other white people geographically based on political views.)
Another aspect I appreciated was the author discussing how this demographic can instrumentalize people of color, queer and other minority people for "learning experiences" even in a 'progressive' left-wing context. While obviously my background is very different from that of African-American people in general and also African and Asian immigrant kids, who are most discussed in this context in the book, this was VERY relatable to me and I often feel instrumentalized in a similar way. And I was glad to see an Anglo-American author notice that phenomenon and study it in detail.
Overall I got a lot out of this book, but I also found myself wondering how the data would look now with more and more white kids in this demographic coming out as QUILTBAG+. I got another book from the library which is an ethnographic study of trans kids :) (After White Kids, I'll get to read Trans Kids!) and I wonder if that will elide race more. I'll see?
_____
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library
http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/nonf...
Impulse library borrow, in an attempt to find something that would explain white Midwesterners to me. :) I appreciated this ethnographic study of children from affluent white Midwestern families a lot. I am a Hungarian Jewish immigrant to the Midwest and I feel I learned a great deal; mostly that many aspects of how white Anglo-American people talk about race that I used to chalk up to ignorance are actually deliberately taught to kids, both by parents and private school teachers. But I also really liked that the book was very firm on kids having agency and disagreeing with their parents, being more radical than their parents, etc. and that it discussed how both right-wing and left-wing white families from affluent neighborhoods engage with race. (It was interesting to see how white people also segregated themselves from other white people geographically based on political views.)
Another aspect I appreciated was the author discussing how this demographic can instrumentalize people of color, queer and other minority people for "learning experiences" even in a 'progressive' left-wing context. While obviously my background is very different from that of African-American people in general and also African and Asian immigrant kids, who are most discussed in this context in the book, this was VERY relatable to me and I often feel instrumentalized in a similar way. And I was glad to see an Anglo-American author notice that phenomenon and study it in detail.
Overall I got a lot out of this book, but I also found myself wondering how the data would look now with more and more white kids in this demographic coming out as QUILTBAG+. I got another book from the library which is an ethnographic study of trans kids :) (After White Kids, I'll get to read Trans Kids!) and I wonder if that will elide race more. I'll see?
_____
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library
February 18, 2019
This is going to be the new book I start recommending to my other white friends who are interested in issues of racial justice. Just about every conversation recorded in this book is something I’ve heard at some point in my life, whether it’s the liberal white conversations or the conservative white conversations about race.
And if you are a white middle class parent and don’t see yourself in this book... well look again. Because you are here, just like I am.
I think Hagerman’s framing of her research is important too, because she argues that in order to understand where racism comes from, and how it persists, we need to look at how white families and family structures support it and allow it to persist. There are very clear differences in how white kids think about race and those differences correlate with their families make choices about neighborhood and schooling, and the conversations white patents have with their kids, though kids don’t necessarily reproduce their parent’s’ ideas exactly.
At the same time Hagerman points out that liberal white affluent families who choose racially integrated schools for their kids seem to hold the belief that they can address or undo structural racism with their personal choices. And they are ... not correct about that. While their choice may have some integrity, given that they are both saying they value diversity AND choosing a diverse environment for their kids, they are not necessarily making they world better or more just for black kids (even if they think they are).
I pay particular attention to this because that’s the type of white parent I’m trying to be. Lots and lots of food for thought; I will probably need to read it again in a year.
And if you are a white middle class parent and don’t see yourself in this book... well look again. Because you are here, just like I am.
I think Hagerman’s framing of her research is important too, because she argues that in order to understand where racism comes from, and how it persists, we need to look at how white families and family structures support it and allow it to persist. There are very clear differences in how white kids think about race and those differences correlate with their families make choices about neighborhood and schooling, and the conversations white patents have with their kids, though kids don’t necessarily reproduce their parent’s’ ideas exactly.
At the same time Hagerman points out that liberal white affluent families who choose racially integrated schools for their kids seem to hold the belief that they can address or undo structural racism with their personal choices. And they are ... not correct about that. While their choice may have some integrity, given that they are both saying they value diversity AND choosing a diverse environment for their kids, they are not necessarily making they world better or more just for black kids (even if they think they are).
I pay particular attention to this because that’s the type of white parent I’m trying to be. Lots and lots of food for thought; I will probably need to read it again in a year.
June 22, 2024
As author Margaret Hagerman herself notes, she’s doing something different in White Kids; she’s looking at how children from upper-middle-class and even richer homes learn about race, directly and indirectly. She interviewed quite a few affluent, Caucasian tweens and then revisited them when they got to high school. What Hagerman reveals floored me.
I had thought this a pedagogical textbook useful for teaching the students at my elementary school. It’s integrated, but the majority of my students fit this demographic. What I found instead was much, much more. This is definitely not just for teachers — it’s for every American seeking to understand how racial prejudice can be transmitted through what’s said and what’s not. Excellent and riveting.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and NYU Press in exchange for an honest review.
I had thought this a pedagogical textbook useful for teaching the students at my elementary school. It’s integrated, but the majority of my students fit this demographic. What I found instead was much, much more. This is definitely not just for teachers — it’s for every American seeking to understand how racial prejudice can be transmitted through what’s said and what’s not. Excellent and riveting.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and NYU Press in exchange for an honest review.
July 30, 2019
Wow, hello, this book blew me away. I often read non-fiction related to education because of my profession, and I have seen this book recommended by many people, so I gave it a go and WOW.
What an amazing look at white kids in America. As a black person, I know that white people don’t talk about race with their children as much, but my goodness! There is a paragraph in this book that took me so by surprise that I had to stop and put the book down to contemplate it!
This book brings up lots of large issues about what to do with this information, how to change peoples thought processes. It ends fairly positively (?) in that it’s not over, because the kids in the book are now about to go to college.
For me, I have a lot of thoughts about this book but here are the top three:
1) Am I certain I want to have children and have them maybe go to school with some of these kids?
2) these kids are the future, so everyone who thinks old racists just need to die for the US to get better are dead wrong LOL FOREVER
3) WHITE PARENTS TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT RACE
But also, go get this book now and read it!
What an amazing look at white kids in America. As a black person, I know that white people don’t talk about race with their children as much, but my goodness! There is a paragraph in this book that took me so by surprise that I had to stop and put the book down to contemplate it!
This book brings up lots of large issues about what to do with this information, how to change peoples thought processes. It ends fairly positively (?) in that it’s not over, because the kids in the book are now about to go to college.
For me, I have a lot of thoughts about this book but here are the top three:
1) Am I certain I want to have children and have them maybe go to school with some of these kids?
2) these kids are the future, so everyone who thinks old racists just need to die for the US to get better are dead wrong LOL FOREVER
3) WHITE PARENTS TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT RACE
But also, go get this book now and read it!
April 17, 2019
This book is interesting but not exactly what I was looking for. The author spent years interviewing wealthy whites families to find that most do not believe in white privilege. I would say most people who read this book already know this problem exists in our country. I was hoping to get ideas on how parents and schools can teach kids about our racially divided society. The author states in the end she is not a parenting expert and therefore does not share any strategies on teaching our kids. However, one thing she said really stuck with me - white parents can play a role in challenging racial inequality only if they are willing to “reject the idea that their own child is more innocent and special and deserving than other people’s children are.”
Some of the things the parents said in interviews were pretty bad, but it was really eye opening to read what the kids said, like the 12 year old who talked about “that bus thing” - where Eleanor Roosevelt had to ride in the back of the bus. (And her mother did not correct her on this). This book just shows there’s a lot of education about race that needs to happen with white children. And this must start at home.
Some of the things the parents said in interviews were pretty bad, but it was really eye opening to read what the kids said, like the 12 year old who talked about “that bus thing” - where Eleanor Roosevelt had to ride in the back of the bus. (And her mother did not correct her on this). This book just shows there’s a lot of education about race that needs to happen with white children. And this must start at home.
October 25, 2018
What a fantastic book. Very heavy subject, of course, but I would say this is essential reading for every parent (or wannabe parent). Although the book focuses exclusively on White families, I think families of other races who also tend to be among the privileged/affluent in this country (Asian Americans, for instance) could also really benefit from some of the insights into how picking a neighborhood with the “best” schools may not always be best in terms of bridging the racial divide in this country. It doesn’t seem conducive to raising race-and-privilege-conscious children to have them be in either private schools or schools that are reputed to be the “best,” as these schools also tend to be overwhelmingly white.
The question we come back to over and over is, “How do you balance the best interests of *your* child with the best interests of all children in society?” It’s a fascinating question (with not very clear-cut answers), but if people from privileged backgrounds begin to think beyond their own child/children, we’d already be taking a step in the right direction.
The question we come back to over and over is, “How do you balance the best interests of *your* child with the best interests of all children in society?” It’s a fascinating question (with not very clear-cut answers), but if people from privileged backgrounds begin to think beyond their own child/children, we’d already be taking a step in the right direction.
January 16, 2019
Fascinating commentary from rich white kids and their parents about race. Of the many messages in this book, I'll most remember the pervasiveness of the "colour blind" myth/lie, the belief by some people that they "don't see race." It's not just a harmless self-deception; that belief prevents people from seeing the racism in front of their faces, prevents them from seeing injustice everywhere, and let's them pretend racism is a thing of the past.
Hagerman notes that the kids she studied had both race and class privilege. I'd love to see similar studies of white kids in lower and middle income brackets.
Hagerman notes that the kids she studied had both race and class privilege. I'd love to see similar studies of white kids in lower and middle income brackets.
May 15, 2018
Illuminating book to a degree. I am far from affluent but have heard this language my whole life. I'm not perfect, but I am educated to the social issues among minorities in my own community and sure they apply to others. I am familiar with the coded conversations and often hear them among parents, my family and friends , and neighbors. Margaret Hagerman has written a very well researched report, in my opinion. It is certainly worth a read by the folks in those affluent communities (I know way too many of them....) but seriously doubt they'd recognize themselves (or they would, but would argue until they are blue in the face they aren't like that!) Racism is not going away any time soon, it's just gotten a bit more covert.
Just had a thought about "gifted programs"; it's been my experience over the past 30 some odd years that gifted doesn't mean much in any school. I've known so many "gifted" children (now adults) and I can tell you- there was nothing , absolutely nothing, gifted about them. Lower end gifted children were anyone who could sit and follow simple directions in a classroom . High end gifted?- parking cars and delivering pizzas as adults..... so, i my not so humble opinion- gifted programs- hogwash! Just separates kids, whose parents yell the loudest and push the most, from the hoi pollio (poorer children and children of color). The truly gifted? Oh, I work with many of them and they are brilliant, productive adults who amaze me on a daily basis! And most weren't in gifted programs, they come in many colors and ethnic backgrounds and most were moved through school VERY rapidly and completed college very young.
I received a Kindle Arc in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
Just had a thought about "gifted programs"; it's been my experience over the past 30 some odd years that gifted doesn't mean much in any school. I've known so many "gifted" children (now adults) and I can tell you- there was nothing , absolutely nothing, gifted about them. Lower end gifted children were anyone who could sit and follow simple directions in a classroom . High end gifted?- parking cars and delivering pizzas as adults..... so, i my not so humble opinion- gifted programs- hogwash! Just separates kids, whose parents yell the loudest and push the most, from the hoi pollio (poorer children and children of color). The truly gifted? Oh, I work with many of them and they are brilliant, productive adults who amaze me on a daily basis! And most weren't in gifted programs, they come in many colors and ethnic backgrounds and most were moved through school VERY rapidly and completed college very young.
I received a Kindle Arc in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
January 12, 2019
There is a lot to unpack in this book. I am a person who grew up in a very white community, and I know I had many of the same thoughts as some of these kids. As I age and raise a child of color, I am striving to expose her to a more diverse world, learn about and share in her culture, and even use my privilege to benefit her. I chose a school district that could be more diverse but has more than many in the area.
On to the book. As an adult learning and being open to learn and listen and HEAR of other's lived experiences, I found myself frustrated with many of these kids and their parents. Raising "colorblind" kids does not help anyone.
This is an important book. I feel it should be required reading for many different groups (teachers, adoptive parents, community leaders, etc).
On to the book. As an adult learning and being open to learn and listen and HEAR of other's lived experiences, I found myself frustrated with many of these kids and their parents. Raising "colorblind" kids does not help anyone.
This is an important book. I feel it should be required reading for many different groups (teachers, adoptive parents, community leaders, etc).
April 9, 2019
Reading this book was timely for me as I look at sending my oldest to kindergarten next year and sift through the options. This book has helped me to reframe and rethink my own paradigm for public education and raising my kids: it helps me to see the layers of racism, the paradox of “being a good parent” and “raising good citizens.” It’s a challenging read and I’m still processing it. Highly recommend for people thinking about schools, parenting, and racism.
July 26, 2019
The author doesn’t have kids and I think this shows. I get she is an anthropologist and it could be tough for a parent to have the time/access that she did. That said I found the way the book was written to be overly judge mental of the children themselves and that was frustrating.
January 10, 2021
This book is an ethnographic/grounded theory research study of affluent white children and their thoughts on race: basically, the researcher, Margaret Hagerman, spent extended amounts of time in different communities within the same midwestern metropolitan area to observe and interview parents and students.
Her findings are intriguing and many, not the least of which is that children in the studied age group (around 8-12) do not automatically take on the racial views of their parents. This is partly because children watch parents "walk the walk" as much as "talk the talk," and also because multiple parental decisions impact the racial environment for children. Children have more or less exposure to racial diversity and conversations about race depending on where they live, where they go to school, what clubs and activities they participate in, what media they consume, whom they befriend, where they go on vacation, etc.
I appreciated Hagerman's clear-eyed critique of all parents, from the naively colorblind parents who avoid talking about race or who think racism is either dead or only revived through talk about racism to the hyper-liberal parents who attempt to raise their children to be anti-racism, only to flounder on the rocks of their own privilege as their children recognize structural inequity in society but not in their own lives. The latter point, as a parent who hopes to raise anti-racist children despite my employment at a very-white, private school, was particularly convicting and I will continue to chew on that for a while.
My one complaint about the book was that she seemed to have an implicit assumption that privilege is a zero-sum game. That makes some sense given that the literal definition of privilege involves hierarchy, but Hagerman seemingly leaves no room between giving up the benefits of affluence and whiteness to benefit society at the expense of one's child(ren) and hoarding benefits to benefit one's child(ren) at the expense of broader society. Maybe I missed something, don't quite understand privilege, or just need to wrestle with those concepts a bit more. I just wish she would have spent more time addressing this assumed paradigm since it shaped many if not most of the value judgments in her book.
I recommend this to parents who wish to raise their children to oppose racism, especially if they are growing up amidst privileges like wealth, private schooling, etc.
Her findings are intriguing and many, not the least of which is that children in the studied age group (around 8-12) do not automatically take on the racial views of their parents. This is partly because children watch parents "walk the walk" as much as "talk the talk," and also because multiple parental decisions impact the racial environment for children. Children have more or less exposure to racial diversity and conversations about race depending on where they live, where they go to school, what clubs and activities they participate in, what media they consume, whom they befriend, where they go on vacation, etc.
I appreciated Hagerman's clear-eyed critique of all parents, from the naively colorblind parents who avoid talking about race or who think racism is either dead or only revived through talk about racism to the hyper-liberal parents who attempt to raise their children to be anti-racism, only to flounder on the rocks of their own privilege as their children recognize structural inequity in society but not in their own lives. The latter point, as a parent who hopes to raise anti-racist children despite my employment at a very-white, private school, was particularly convicting and I will continue to chew on that for a while.
My one complaint about the book was that she seemed to have an implicit assumption that privilege is a zero-sum game. That makes some sense given that the literal definition of privilege involves hierarchy, but Hagerman seemingly leaves no room between giving up the benefits of affluence and whiteness to benefit society at the expense of one's child(ren) and hoarding benefits to benefit one's child(ren) at the expense of broader society. Maybe I missed something, don't quite understand privilege, or just need to wrestle with those concepts a bit more. I just wish she would have spent more time addressing this assumed paradigm since it shaped many if not most of the value judgments in her book.
I recommend this to parents who wish to raise their children to oppose racism, especially if they are growing up amidst privileges like wealth, private schooling, etc.
July 26, 2022
From an author who babysat well off white kids for years to observe them in their natural habitats, this was an insightful and surprisingly empathetic look at where and how they form their ideas about race. Hagerman does a great job of pulling in theory, explaining it in context, and never outright blaming individuals (kids or their parents) for the racism and prejudice built into society. I left this book knowing to check my privilege at the door, but also acknowledging that in itself, that is not enough to change anything.
September 25, 2024
3.5 - I really didn't learn anything new from this book. While reading everything from a child's perspective was new to me, all of the outcomes and conversations taking place around them were extremely predictable.
If you're new to reading books about race - consider picking this book up.
If you're not - no unique or groundbreaking revelations occurred, you can probably skip it.
If you're new to reading books about race - consider picking this book up.
If you're not - no unique or groundbreaking revelations occurred, you can probably skip it.
August 30, 2019
Probably the most thought provoking book I’ve read in 2019. Reading this book cemented some of my opinions and had me reconsidering many others - especially regarding education.
The stories are both horrifying and fascinating. One story in particular was so cringey, I had to put the book down for the night.
In the author’s own words: “Overall, from my point of view, this has not been a particularly hopeful book.”
...But you should still read it!!
The stories are both horrifying and fascinating. One story in particular was so cringey, I had to put the book down for the night.
In the author’s own words: “Overall, from my point of view, this has not been a particularly hopeful book.”
...But you should still read it!!
July 20, 2021
This book was a bit tough to read at times. There is a lot of information, but not a lot of solutions or ideas for solutions. I have definitely been reflecting on my first parenting choices and raising children in a large urban city and what we're going to do about school in just a couple of years. I think this book goes hand in hand with the podcast "Nice White Parents". I'd like to be part of the solution to lift all kids up rather than just focus on mine getting all of the resources, but I fear when faced with structural and systemic barriers that I will fall prey to the same thought processes and tactics.
February 24, 2019
As the author says, this is not a particularly hopeful book. And respect to the author for her work, I’m not sure how it will be a useful book. But it definitely is an insightful and interesting book.
Parents of color have no choice but to talk to their kids about race and racism in order to keep them safe and to facilitate their navigating the world with a minimum of personalizing the barriers that are placed in front of them. White parents very much do have a choice. This book examines how those white parents help their middle school age kids understand race, on the spectrum from “what racism?” and “I don’t really have a race... I guess white?” to overt discussions of the impacts past and present of institutional racism in ways that advantage white people and disadvantage people of color. Most white folks of means will find themselves and their conversations with their kids somewhere in this book.
Will it matter? I suspect the vast majority of parents reading this book are more aligned with the average Evergreen parent’s approach to talking with their kids about race and racism. The parents who are intentional and socially liberal in that discussion are more likely to be reading up on the subject. So I don’t predict many affluent white parents will be moved to change course significantly because of this book. For sure reading it did reinforce the decisions that our family has made regarding teaching our kids and making intentional choices. In its pages I saw parallels between myself and other parents who aspire to be Antiracist, but who wrestle with decisions about where to live, school choice, supplementary education (that in truth advantages our kids over others), etc. Perhaps reading it will help keep us honest with ourselves about the impact of our choices.
In the end, I don’t think individual parenting actions will tip the scales to solve racism and inequality in our society. Just this morning I read an article about hyper parenting (sometimes called helicopter parenting) being driven by income inequality. I think that’s the bottom line. Until income inequality is addressed societally thru governmental policy, kids of color will never get a fair shot because white people like me will keep putting their kids at the front of the line thru use of their abundant resources. A vicious cycle. So I guess what I’m saying is we need to vote for people who will change the system and share the advantages we have financially to advance that cause.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/p...
Parents of color have no choice but to talk to their kids about race and racism in order to keep them safe and to facilitate their navigating the world with a minimum of personalizing the barriers that are placed in front of them. White parents very much do have a choice. This book examines how those white parents help their middle school age kids understand race, on the spectrum from “what racism?” and “I don’t really have a race... I guess white?” to overt discussions of the impacts past and present of institutional racism in ways that advantage white people and disadvantage people of color. Most white folks of means will find themselves and their conversations with their kids somewhere in this book.
Will it matter? I suspect the vast majority of parents reading this book are more aligned with the average Evergreen parent’s approach to talking with their kids about race and racism. The parents who are intentional and socially liberal in that discussion are more likely to be reading up on the subject. So I don’t predict many affluent white parents will be moved to change course significantly because of this book. For sure reading it did reinforce the decisions that our family has made regarding teaching our kids and making intentional choices. In its pages I saw parallels between myself and other parents who aspire to be Antiracist, but who wrestle with decisions about where to live, school choice, supplementary education (that in truth advantages our kids over others), etc. Perhaps reading it will help keep us honest with ourselves about the impact of our choices.
In the end, I don’t think individual parenting actions will tip the scales to solve racism and inequality in our society. Just this morning I read an article about hyper parenting (sometimes called helicopter parenting) being driven by income inequality. I think that’s the bottom line. Until income inequality is addressed societally thru governmental policy, kids of color will never get a fair shot because white people like me will keep putting their kids at the front of the line thru use of their abundant resources. A vicious cycle. So I guess what I’m saying is we need to vote for people who will change the system and share the advantages we have financially to advance that cause.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/p...
January 16, 2019
I think the most important benefits of reading this book are: the opportunity for white parents to work through their thoughts/issues/shame/guilt in the private space between themselves and the text, and the opportunity to have an external source of information for conversations among white parents who want to interrogate how they and their kids are reifying white supremacy in their own family culture and choices. I'm a white parent, my partner is white, and many of our friends are, of course, also white. All of us are embarking on our first school decisions as our kids age into preschool/kindergarten, and in the context of our relationships it's hard to call each other out on the various forms of coded language and racism that emerge as we talk about these decisions. (Obviously a skill set that needs sharpening, but in the meantime...) The examples offered in this book - both general decisions made by parents and specific comments made by both kids and parents - are helpful for working through our own relationships to similar decisions and conversations. I only wish she had suggested her ideas for how to expand on this research. It's important. My partner and I both read this book in the week before we embarked on touring kindergarten options and great conversations have ensued.
October 12, 2018
This book came into my life exactly when I needed it. As I struggle to find a neighborhood and school that balances diversity with a good education, I've found myself using some of the same logic and making some of the same assumptions to justify my top and bottom choices as these parents. Raised in a middle class white family, I've used some of the same coding that the parents use and have struggled with some of the same points. Growing up in a small, rural town with little diversity, I also saw my childhood thoughts reflected in some of these children. I don't want my child to grow up sheltered in a white privileged community because it's important for the development of his worldview that he is surrounded by people of different races and class. While the author didn't explicitly state an answer, she did help me work through my struggle to identify where I want to live and raise my child. All white parents should read this book.
April 3, 2019
About what I expected based on the reviews I read and what you get from a dissertation turned into a book. Raise white kids in multiracial settings (school, neighborhood, sports), talk to them explicitly about structural racism, and realize that there are going to be mistakes along the way. There were a fewvaluable insights in this book and while nothing was surprising, I hope that it’s the start of more critical theory on this topic written for a general audience.
August 31, 2018
Free LibraryThing Early Reviewer book. Hagerman studies wealthy white kids from three Midwest neighborhoods, one of which was basically my neighborhood even though it’s halfway across the country. There’s the conservative suburb where many white parents use private schools even though they ostensibly moved there for the quality of the public schools; there’s the liberal suburb where many white parents move heaven & earth to get their kids into the “good” public school whose racial diversity is (wrongly) perceived to come from the children of immigrant PhD students from the local university; and there’s the progressive city neighborhood where many white parents are ideologically committed to public schools, agonize over whether it’s fair to give their children outside experiences like trips and tutors, but do it anyway. I felt very seen: that last neighborhood was populated by two types of cars: hybrid cars and cars over 10 years old, often with political bumper stickers (i.e., our last two cars). Part of this story, then, is increasing residential segregation among groups of white people, based on political/cultural differences.
Hagerman argues that kids don’t receive racial ideologies unchanged and unchallenged from their parents, but rather do a lot of the work of race-thinking themselves and with peers (and also influenced by media). Especially for the first two groups of white kids, their parents rarely mention race and may even teach that speaking about race—noticing race—is itself racist, even though they also often use racially coded or even explicit language (“ghetto” kids, Hispanic “gang members”). Those kids usually advocated color-blindness but also asked Hagerman lots of questions about race when their parents weren’t around, like whether blacks had different muscles that made them better at sports. “Racism” is the worst accusation many white kids can imagine, and it’s therefore also a joke (you asked for a marker of a particular color and that makes you racist!). The conservative parents teach color-blind ideology that ends up blaming minorities for their own subordination; the liberal parents teach that discrimination was a problem historically and remains in existence today, but as a matter of individual prejudice rather than structure; and the progressive parents teach that race is one of a number of linked axes along which power and subordination may operate, even as they also teach their kids that they are powerful and entitled to a good life in ways that can reproduce white dominance. There are no good answers, though I have to admit I was impressed by the progressive white kid who talked about protests of Trayvon Martin’s death by basically saying that whites’ role as allies was to listen and support, not to stand in front trying to lead the protest. I hope there’s a lot more of that kid out there.
Hagerman argues that kids don’t receive racial ideologies unchanged and unchallenged from their parents, but rather do a lot of the work of race-thinking themselves and with peers (and also influenced by media). Especially for the first two groups of white kids, their parents rarely mention race and may even teach that speaking about race—noticing race—is itself racist, even though they also often use racially coded or even explicit language (“ghetto” kids, Hispanic “gang members”). Those kids usually advocated color-blindness but also asked Hagerman lots of questions about race when their parents weren’t around, like whether blacks had different muscles that made them better at sports. “Racism” is the worst accusation many white kids can imagine, and it’s therefore also a joke (you asked for a marker of a particular color and that makes you racist!). The conservative parents teach color-blind ideology that ends up blaming minorities for their own subordination; the liberal parents teach that discrimination was a problem historically and remains in existence today, but as a matter of individual prejudice rather than structure; and the progressive parents teach that race is one of a number of linked axes along which power and subordination may operate, even as they also teach their kids that they are powerful and entitled to a good life in ways that can reproduce white dominance. There are no good answers, though I have to admit I was impressed by the progressive white kid who talked about protests of Trayvon Martin’s death by basically saying that whites’ role as allies was to listen and support, not to stand in front trying to lead the protest. I hope there’s a lot more of that kid out there.
January 27, 2021
Hagerman performs a longitudinal study on how well off white children develop views and opinions on race. What she observes is a range of views of race that are fundamental to a childs upbringing or socialization. I found the power/race dynamics in choosing schools to be the most interesting aspect. There is a zero sum game being played by wealthy parents that indicate a deeper challenge to the white supremacy, mainly the attainment of education. Lol, I never thought people would treat it as such. They tend to fall between resource attainment for their children and a resistance to furthering the systems of racial inequality that are shaped by the privileged to do such that. This leads to a split between two geographical regions, the private school and the public school, with stereotypes formed by the children based on each region. Two quotes belonging to the book sum it up nicely
“parents of race- and class-privileged children are faced with a difficult paradox: in order to be a “good parent,” they must provide their children as many opportunities and advantages as possible; in order to be a “good citizen,” they must resist evoking structural privileges in ways that disadvantage others.”
and
“Most importantly, white parents can play an important role in challenging the perpetuation of racism and racial inequality in the United States only if they are willing to give up some of their own white racial power by rejecting the idea that their own child is more innocent and special and deserving than other people’s children are.”
Thoughts or the 'Ima get my shit off' section:
It makes more sense to me now that Peter Thiel would have the views he does on elite education. lol it is totally gonna discriminate and you better pay for it because its not for everybody and that is the part of the product. That will definitely impact how students are recruited, and now brings the efficacy of of affirmative action into question. The underlying goal of education reform will then be to; A) say the rich do not deserve the education because resources should be redistributed (not true) B) coddle black and brown children because in they do not have the resources of the rich (white liberals....). The trick is that, if you are intelligent enough to achieve higher learning then you are intelligent enough to create something meaningful without school. Hopefully we are getting to the point where we can at least acknowledge the jux. None of the children in the book would ever consider that. What's sadder, many black students may find solutions to the inadequacies of education (https://twitter.com/s_hall_teach/stat...) still not outpacing the prejudice they face from teachers and disciplinarians. With no radical change in the programme of education, this pulls us into another conversation about whether black people are over represented in carceral systems or prone to violence due to poverty or drugs. Basically, we will keep on with ethnographic ideations on how bad black people actually behave and how worthy we are of or complaints. Or we will get the same racially misaligned education initiatives parroting bad technology. With that said, black parents placing black children in privileged education systems could be a good thing...
All struggles
Are essentially
power struggles.
Who will rule?
Who will lead?
Who will define,
refine,
confine,
design
— EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING (Butler, Parable of the Sower, p. 94)
also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VlR4...
“parents of race- and class-privileged children are faced with a difficult paradox: in order to be a “good parent,” they must provide their children as many opportunities and advantages as possible; in order to be a “good citizen,” they must resist evoking structural privileges in ways that disadvantage others.”
and
“Most importantly, white parents can play an important role in challenging the perpetuation of racism and racial inequality in the United States only if they are willing to give up some of their own white racial power by rejecting the idea that their own child is more innocent and special and deserving than other people’s children are.”
Thoughts or the 'Ima get my shit off' section:
It makes more sense to me now that Peter Thiel would have the views he does on elite education. lol it is totally gonna discriminate and you better pay for it because its not for everybody and that is the part of the product. That will definitely impact how students are recruited, and now brings the efficacy of of affirmative action into question. The underlying goal of education reform will then be to; A) say the rich do not deserve the education because resources should be redistributed (not true) B) coddle black and brown children because in they do not have the resources of the rich (white liberals....). The trick is that, if you are intelligent enough to achieve higher learning then you are intelligent enough to create something meaningful without school. Hopefully we are getting to the point where we can at least acknowledge the jux. None of the children in the book would ever consider that. What's sadder, many black students may find solutions to the inadequacies of education (https://twitter.com/s_hall_teach/stat...) still not outpacing the prejudice they face from teachers and disciplinarians. With no radical change in the programme of education, this pulls us into another conversation about whether black people are over represented in carceral systems or prone to violence due to poverty or drugs. Basically, we will keep on with ethnographic ideations on how bad black people actually behave and how worthy we are of or complaints. Or we will get the same racially misaligned education initiatives parroting bad technology. With that said, black parents placing black children in privileged education systems could be a good thing...
All struggles
Are essentially
power struggles.
Who will rule?
Who will lead?
Who will define,
refine,
confine,
design
— EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING (Butler, Parable of the Sower, p. 94)
also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VlR4...
June 6, 2019
"Parents tied a school's reputation directly to the race and class composition of its students. While claiming to be concerned about such things as safety and class size, the families...were ultimately seeking whiter-and in their view, inextricably wealthier-school districts for their children, regardless of any other of the school's characteristics.' Further, in her discussion of the social construction of a good school, Johnson explains that parents in her study understood that 'a good school is in a good neighborhood, and a good neighborhood is a wealthier and whiter neighborhood."
"Ironically, though parents are moving to Sheridan for better public schools, they are quick to criticize the supposed black families (who they believe are) moving to Petersfield 'by the droves' for better public services and schools, calling these imagined parents 'irresponsible."
Man, this book. It's not a long read, but it's a deep read because I was highlighting practically every other page, and wanting to shout them out to the world. Hagerman does research including observation and in-depth interviews with white families and children in three affluent suburbs of an unnamed city about how these children learn about race, and the way their parents have made decisions about where to live and where to send their kids to school. It is worth reading alone for her takedown of the idea of color-blind racial ideology, and the way the white children would squirm when she asked them questions about race.
The next time someone tells you that "they don't see race" or and this is one you will notice people say all the time, call certain areas of a city "sketchy," this is the book you should press into their hands. Although she does not explicitly call for it, I think this book also demonstrates the way white people must be involved in the dismantling of white supremacy, especially through their decisions about where to live and where to educate their children.
Many thanks to New York University Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of White Kids, (and which I was much delayed in reading and reviewing) all opinions are mine.
"Ironically, though parents are moving to Sheridan for better public schools, they are quick to criticize the supposed black families (who they believe are) moving to Petersfield 'by the droves' for better public services and schools, calling these imagined parents 'irresponsible."
Man, this book. It's not a long read, but it's a deep read because I was highlighting practically every other page, and wanting to shout them out to the world. Hagerman does research including observation and in-depth interviews with white families and children in three affluent suburbs of an unnamed city about how these children learn about race, and the way their parents have made decisions about where to live and where to send their kids to school. It is worth reading alone for her takedown of the idea of color-blind racial ideology, and the way the white children would squirm when she asked them questions about race.
The next time someone tells you that "they don't see race" or and this is one you will notice people say all the time, call certain areas of a city "sketchy," this is the book you should press into their hands. Although she does not explicitly call for it, I think this book also demonstrates the way white people must be involved in the dismantling of white supremacy, especially through their decisions about where to live and where to educate their children.
Many thanks to New York University Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of White Kids, (and which I was much delayed in reading and reviewing) all opinions are mine.
February 12, 2019
This book reads more academic-y than most books on the typical bookstore shelves. But if you are interested in the way that communities talk about race, you will find it compelling.
The author follows 36 white kids in a midwestern metropolitan setting, by hanging out in their homes, going with them to extracurricular activities, hanging out with their parents, and interviewing them. She is exploring their understanding of race in their own communities. I found the way that the families talked indirectly about race (e.g. saying "diversity" instead of Black) and negotiated a school system (operationalizing choice; selecting institutions for their kids that had a "social justice" mission while bypassing institutions that admitted people of color; relying on measures of innate giftedness/"need" as a way to justify their choices;...) fascinating. And I also had to take a deep breath and take a look at the way I live my own life.
However, I do wonder if the selection of "affluent" white people -- and the author's continued mention of that affluence (being able to buy $200 worth of smoothies for a sports team's snack, for instance)-- will make many white readers think that the findings here are not about them. Most people, even those who have and replicate privilege, don't think of themselves as affluent, especially if the markers are things like "not having to worry about paying for their kids to college." The author also interjected her own (negative) judgment about her participants into her narrative in a way that made me wonder if she already knew what she would find. I think this analysis would have been even more interesting if something complicated or surprising came out of this research.
Her conclusions were aimed at individuals --marrying ideals about social justice with actions that impact the common good (rather than just one's own family). I do wonder if relying on "affluent" people to change is an efficient recommendation for social change.
The author follows 36 white kids in a midwestern metropolitan setting, by hanging out in their homes, going with them to extracurricular activities, hanging out with their parents, and interviewing them. She is exploring their understanding of race in their own communities. I found the way that the families talked indirectly about race (e.g. saying "diversity" instead of Black) and negotiated a school system (operationalizing choice; selecting institutions for their kids that had a "social justice" mission while bypassing institutions that admitted people of color; relying on measures of innate giftedness/"need" as a way to justify their choices;...) fascinating. And I also had to take a deep breath and take a look at the way I live my own life.
However, I do wonder if the selection of "affluent" white people -- and the author's continued mention of that affluence (being able to buy $200 worth of smoothies for a sports team's snack, for instance)-- will make many white readers think that the findings here are not about them. Most people, even those who have and replicate privilege, don't think of themselves as affluent, especially if the markers are things like "not having to worry about paying for their kids to college." The author also interjected her own (negative) judgment about her participants into her narrative in a way that made me wonder if she already knew what she would find. I think this analysis would have been even more interesting if something complicated or surprising came out of this research.
Her conclusions were aimed at individuals --marrying ideals about social justice with actions that impact the common good (rather than just one's own family). I do wonder if relying on "affluent" people to change is an efficient recommendation for social change.
February 16, 2021
A few months back, a friend shared this article about Margaret Hagerman's book: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/ho.... After reading the article, I decided I needed to check it out. Hagerman takes a critical look at how white children growing up in affluent households develop their ideas about race and racism. In particular, Hagerman considers how the messages that parents overtly convey to their children influence (and do not) their children's views and the role of the "bundled choices" that parents make about their children's lives.
This book struck me on two levels: as a white, affluent parent raising two children in a progressive household and as an MLIS student currently looking at the research process. As a parent, I certainly recognized myself, my decisions, my children, my peers, both in ways that were reassuring and in ways that were uncomfortable. I appreciate Hagerman's efforts to clarify how parents can play a role in both reducing personal prejudice and also eliminating structural inequities. As a grad student, I appreciated Hagerman's clear information about her research process, theory, methodology, assumptions, and goals. In a way, the book is like a very long ethnographic research article, and reading it helped me understand how better to structure a research proposal.
I recommend this book to parents interested in expanding their understanding of racism, anti-racist work, and how we raise our children. If you appreciated the podcast, Nice White Parents, this book touches on similar themes. I also recommend it to graduate students looking for a better understanding of how qualitative research (and specifically ethnographic research) is conducted.
This book struck me on two levels: as a white, affluent parent raising two children in a progressive household and as an MLIS student currently looking at the research process. As a parent, I certainly recognized myself, my decisions, my children, my peers, both in ways that were reassuring and in ways that were uncomfortable. I appreciate Hagerman's efforts to clarify how parents can play a role in both reducing personal prejudice and also eliminating structural inequities. As a grad student, I appreciated Hagerman's clear information about her research process, theory, methodology, assumptions, and goals. In a way, the book is like a very long ethnographic research article, and reading it helped me understand how better to structure a research proposal.
I recommend this book to parents interested in expanding their understanding of racism, anti-racist work, and how we raise our children. If you appreciated the podcast, Nice White Parents, this book touches on similar themes. I also recommend it to graduate students looking for a better understanding of how qualitative research (and specifically ethnographic research) is conducted.
September 7, 2021
Listened via Hoopla.
Hagerman doesn't particularly present answers, but definitely brings the questions we white-people-with-means should be asking ourselves. Things like, "What would it look like for a white affluent parent to make a choice NOT to give their children "the best"?" There definitely needs to be more thinking about what is best for all children in the community and not just selfishly thinking only of your own.
"I think it is important that white parents talk to their children about racial divides in the United States, but it is even more important that parents think about the larger social environment that they construct for their child- thinking about what they do in addition to thinking about what they say. Choices about homes, schools, vacations, social networks, extracurricular activities, media, language, and so forth, play a key role in young people's social views. And these actions matter all the time, not just in the aftermath of a racialized tragedy."
She talks about how choices are bundled- like choosing a location to live is not only about the location, but also about the school and what activities your child has access to and what experiences they'll have. I think about how so many white people in the Bay Area will relocate out of cities like San Francisco and Oakland to Marin and Moraga once their child is about to turn 5. Think about what a "good" school really means when you talk about a school being "good" verses "bad."
Also, unrelated to race, I wish people thought about the environmental impact of moving to the suburbs- your carbon footprint is increased when you move away from city centers and things like driving to school and after school activities becomes more common over walking or busing to school and activities. Is your child getting a "good education" at the risk of a worse global environment because you sit idling in the pick up line every day? What does their education mean if no one can breathe because thousands of parents chose to prioritize their own children instead of the community of children?
But this book is about race, not the environment, but this kind of individual vs. community thinking is really important and we can tell by looking at how we're dealing with refugees and covid right now that we haven't got community thinking down.
Hagerman doesn't particularly present answers, but definitely brings the questions we white-people-with-means should be asking ourselves. Things like, "What would it look like for a white affluent parent to make a choice NOT to give their children "the best"?" There definitely needs to be more thinking about what is best for all children in the community and not just selfishly thinking only of your own.
"I think it is important that white parents talk to their children about racial divides in the United States, but it is even more important that parents think about the larger social environment that they construct for their child- thinking about what they do in addition to thinking about what they say. Choices about homes, schools, vacations, social networks, extracurricular activities, media, language, and so forth, play a key role in young people's social views. And these actions matter all the time, not just in the aftermath of a racialized tragedy."
She talks about how choices are bundled- like choosing a location to live is not only about the location, but also about the school and what activities your child has access to and what experiences they'll have. I think about how so many white people in the Bay Area will relocate out of cities like San Francisco and Oakland to Marin and Moraga once their child is about to turn 5. Think about what a "good" school really means when you talk about a school being "good" verses "bad."
Also, unrelated to race, I wish people thought about the environmental impact of moving to the suburbs- your carbon footprint is increased when you move away from city centers and things like driving to school and after school activities becomes more common over walking or busing to school and activities. Is your child getting a "good education" at the risk of a worse global environment because you sit idling in the pick up line every day? What does their education mean if no one can breathe because thousands of parents chose to prioritize their own children instead of the community of children?
But this book is about race, not the environment, but this kind of individual vs. community thinking is really important and we can tell by looking at how we're dealing with refugees and covid right now that we haven't got community thinking down.
June 15, 2020
Several existing reviews of Hagerman's White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege landed on one line of the book that stuck with me. After interviewing dozens of affluent white parents and children to probe their views on race over a period of months, rather than offering a list, or thick description, of steps parents can take to raise anti-racist children, she concludes that white parents must “reject the idea that their own child is more innocent and special and deserving than other people’s children are.”
I can see why some readers are upset and feel the book didn't offer enough concrete takeaways (there are other resources that do that, though). Her prescription, however, is tremendous and can be applied to every interaction white parents (like myself) and teachers (like myself) have with children. All children. Every child.
But really, systemic change requires that the people with power change themselves. So many studies have shown that no matter how much education black people complete, their financial, social, and cultural capital, as well as their health outcomes, lag behind whites. Not to mention their safety during traffic and sidewalk stops.
Read this whole book. White parents really have a lot of work to do to absorb and live the message that we should “reject the idea that their own child is more innocent and special and deserving than other people’s children are.”
I can see why some readers are upset and feel the book didn't offer enough concrete takeaways (there are other resources that do that, though). Her prescription, however, is tremendous and can be applied to every interaction white parents (like myself) and teachers (like myself) have with children. All children. Every child.
But really, systemic change requires that the people with power change themselves. So many studies have shown that no matter how much education black people complete, their financial, social, and cultural capital, as well as their health outcomes, lag behind whites. Not to mention their safety during traffic and sidewalk stops.
Read this whole book. White parents really have a lot of work to do to absorb and live the message that we should “reject the idea that their own child is more innocent and special and deserving than other people’s children are.”
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