I recently finished Dr. Margaret A. Hagerman‘s fascinating book White Kids. Dr. Hagerman is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Mississippi. She spent two years living with and interviewing white families in a Midwestern town. Her purpose was to test the assumption that childhood socialization is passive and one-directional phenomenon. There is a host of research in disparate social science fields, including political science, that seeks to explain how parents impact the views and actions of their children. But how the children themselves engage in those views and actions is less well understood.

Hagerman is particularly interested in how young people develop their racial attitudes. She specifically chose to examine white families for several reasons. First, it is well known that families of color in the United States have explicit conversations about race in America (e.g., “the talk” about police), but it is not clear how race is addressed in white homes. Second, if we are to make progress in addressing racial inequality in America, it is important to understand racial discourse among whites, particularly in the formative years.

Hagerman paints a stark and, ultimately, somewhat depressing picture of how race emerges in white homes. She examines three groups of families: (1) those that have segregated themselves into racially homogeneous environments, view America as post-racial, and teach their children colorblindness; (2) families that remain in more diverse communities, but leverage the advantages of whiteness (e.g., private schooling) for their children; and (3) families that purposely engage in diverse communities and openly discuss issues of racial inequality in America.

All three groups, however, have their own challenges when it comes to racial discourse and attitudes. The first group is unwilling to recognize the ways in which race structure inequality in America. They are firmly of the view that those who work hard have an equal chance at getting ahead. The second group tends to recognize inequality, but views it largely through the lens of class instead of recognizing the unique role of race. The third group engages in social justice actions, but is also prone to white saviorism. In the end, even the third group is unwilling to let go of advantages in pursuit of a community-focus, as opposed to the child-focus that many of us tend to have as parents. But, in each of the groups, it is clear that children are not simply passive recipients of their parents views, but are actively engaged in wrestling with race.

The child- versus community-focus struck me the most in reading this book. I am a young parent who (with my wife) is making decisions about where to buy a house. As a society, we view parents as “good” if they relentlessly pursue advantages for their own children. I would imagine this is a product of our tradition of individualism in America. Alas, this view reinforces structural inequalities in society. I am certainly influenced by that individualist view and have traditionally thought of that as my parental role. But as I continue to learn about inequality and white privilege, I struggle with collective versus individual good. I can see that they do not have to be mutually exclusive, but it is easier for us to compartmentalize them and, in the end, even view community good through the lens of what is good for our own children (e.g., it would be good for my child to do this volunteer work). This book prompted much thinking about my role as a parent, beyond just my family.

One extension of Hagerman’s work that seems important after the 2016 election is to conduct similar ethnographic research, but with poorer white families who are both residentially integrated and segregated. Wealthier white families are certainly important due to their levels of privilege both racially and economically, but working class and poor whites play such an important role in racial inequality in the United States historically (and presently). Thus,  understanding racial discourse in their homes and how their children wrestle with race would be of additional value.

I highly recommend this book. It is an engaging read, which is not always the case with academic books. In the end, Hagerman does not have a clear set of recommendations for addressing these issues, but white parents should absolutely think about how they approach race in their parenting and wrestle with their role in racial inequality.