“Martin Luther King Fixed It”: Children Making Sense of Racial Identity in a Colorblind Society
Abstract
Children in the United States grow up in a context wherein colorblindness and racism coexist. This article examined how colorblindness functions as a societal "master narrative" that shapes how children construct their own racial identities. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 217 Black, White, and Multiracial children (M age = 9.92) in public schools in the Pacific Northwest during 2013-2014 academic year. Our analysis identified four race narratives, which varied systematically by child age and race. Associations were also found between narrative types and children's ratings of racial identity importance. Although colorblindness infuses many of the racial narratives, there was evidence that children also question and disrupt this master narrative with stories of resistance that counter colorblind norms.
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White youth are explicitly and implicitly taught that race does not matter, while simultaneously experiencing systematic privilege on the basis of race.
“Thus, white youth are explicitly and implicitly taught that race does not matter, while simultaneously experiencing systematic privilege on the basis of race (Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021; Spencer, 2006, 2021; Sue, 2006; Tatum, 2017).”
From Studying Ethnic-Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context (2022) · cites this paper as Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021
Same-age peers of color are more likely to name racism and make meaning about it than white youth.
“and are more likely to name it and make meaning about it than white youth (Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021).”
From Studying Ethnic-Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context (2022) · cites this paper as Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021
This perspective is learned and internalized by many white youth, often taking the form of racial colorblindness.
“This perspective is learned and internalized by many white youth, often taking the form of racial colorblindness (Moffitt et al., 2021; Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021).”
From Studying Ethnic-Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context (2022) · cites this paper as Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021
Such person-in-context analysis demonstrates the nuanced identity work white youth are engaged in, even in early adolescence, and even when many simultaneously reiterate racially colorblind claims.
“Such person‐in‐context analysis demonstrates the nuanced identity work white youth are engaged in, even in early adolescence, and even when many simultaneously reiterate racially colorblind claims (Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021).”
From Studying Ethnic-Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context (2022) · cites this paper as Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021
Cites
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But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation
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Studying Ethnic-Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context
Moffitt, U., & Rogers, L. O. (2022) · Journal of Research on Adolescence · doi:10.1111/jora.12762 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Rogers, L. O., Moffitt, U., & Foo, C.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rogers, Leoandra Onnie
- Venue
- Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2021-09-01
- Volume
- 92
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1817-1835
- ISSN
- 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8624
- OpenAlex
- W3183101822
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 7.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1303753)
- Spencer Foundation/National Academy of Education
- Spencer Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- color vision deficiency, racial identity, children, metanarrative, racism, multiracial children, Black children, white children, resistance narratives, age differences
- MeSH terms
- Child, Humans, Schools, United States, Northwestern United States, Narration, Racial Groups, Racism
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