A Descriptive Study Using the Comprehensive Race Socialization Inventory: Findings From the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement

Abstract

This study examines race socialization, defined as the process whereby individuals learn about the meaning and significance of race and racism. With data from the 2001–2004 National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), we analyze responses to the Comprehensive Race Socialization Inventory (CRSI) among 1,170 African American and Caribbean Black adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years. The CRSI captures sources, frequency, content of messages, and prevalence of the most useful message, among other components (e.g., onset and recency, anticipatory socialization, and socializing behaviors). We find 90% of respondents report someone talked with them about what being Black means. In addition, most respondents report receiving messages from all four sources specified in the CRSI (i.e., parents, relatives, friends, and other adults). We find little evidence to suggest sources differ by sex, age, ethnicity, or U.S. region. The question assessing the most useful message is open-ended. Over 60% of respondents recall content supporting “Race equality,” maintaining a “Positive self-attitude,” or emphasizing “Black pride” as the most useful message. We conclude race socialization is commonplace among Black adolescents because racism necessitates it.

Keywords

adolescents Comprehensive Race Socialization Inventory intergenerational communication National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement race socialization

The process by which specific verbal and nonverbal messages (e.g., modeling of behavior and exposure to different contexts and objects) [are] transmitted to younger generations for the development of values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs regarding the meaning and significance of race and racial stratification, intergroup and intragroup interactions, and personal and group identity. (p. 403)

Race socialization is most often studied within Black families living in the United States (T. N. Brown et al., 2007; Burton et al., 2010; Lesane-Brown, 2006; Winkler, 2012). When considering those families, scholars assert race socialization is how Black adolescents learn what it means to be Black. It involves transmission and receipt of messages that can shape identity, foster racial pride, undermine optimism about success in life, and prepare Blacks for discriminatory experiences (D. L. Brown, 2008; T. N. Brown & Lesane-Brown, 2006; Coard & Sellers, 2005; Davis & Stevenson, 2006; Evans et al., 2012; McHale et al., 2006; Neblett et al., 2008, 2009; Stevenson & Arrington, 2009). Consequently, it includes information that may prove protective or harmful. For example, T. N. Brown et al. (2009) found young Black children’s academic performance suffered when their parents talked too frequently about race. Furthermore, some studies note that messages emphasizing preparation for discrimination may undermine mental health among Black youth and young adults (Barr & Neville, 2008, 2014; T. L. Brown & Krishnakumar, 2007; Davis & Stevenson, 2006; Jones & Greene, 2016).

Overall, however, race socialization appears protective for Black adolescents. For instance, race socialization weakens the association between experiencing racial discrimination and criminal offending among Black adolescents (Burt et al., 2012; Burt & Simons, 2015; Hughes et al., 2009). It associates negatively with substance use among Black adolescents (Neblett et al., 2010). Finally, it cultivates resilience among Black adolescents (D. L. Brown, 2008; D. L. Brown & Tylka, 2011; Evans et al., 2012; Jeynes, 2015).

Despite the field’s heavy focus on Black families, race socialization occurs within all families (see T. N. Brown et al., 2007; Burton et al., 2010; Hagerman, 2014; Lesane-Brown et al., 2010). Furthermore, it occurs across the life course (T. N. Brown & Lesane-Brown, 2006; Lesane-Brown et al., 2005), meaning children, adolescents, and adults can experience race socialization. It depends upon sources such as parents, relatives, friends, and teachers. In addition, it requires the recipient’s recognition and encoding of transmitted messages (Jeynes, 2010).

To capture race socialization, Lesane-Brown and colleagues (2005) introduced the Comprehensive Race Socialization Inventory (CRSI) about 15 years ago. They encouraged scholars to use it to investigate complexity in the race socialization process. Yet, many contemporary studies still oversimplify the race socialization process. This oversimplification is more than a measurement issue (Yasui, 2015). For example, studies continue to examine parental influence exclusively (Banerjee et al., 2011; Barr & Neville, 2008; T. L. Brown et al., 2010; T. L. Brown & Krishnakumar, 2007; Butler-Sweet, 2014; Cooper et al., 2015; Davis & Stevenson, 2006; Goldberg & Smith, 2016; Harris-Britt et al., 2007; Lesane-Brown et al., 2010; Neblett et al., 2009; Stevenson & Arrington, 2009; White-Johnson et al., 2010), ignore frequency of message transmission (Banerjee et al., 2011; Thomas & King, 2007), focus narrowly on content (Banerjee et al., 2011; T. L. Brown et al., 2010; Cooper et al., 2015; Goldberg & Smith, 2016; Harris-Britt et al., 2007; Hughes et al., 2006; McHale et al., 2006; Neblett et al., 2009), neglect anticipatory race socialization and the most useful message received (Banerjee et al., 2011; Barr & Neville, 2008; T. N. Brown et al., 2007, 2009; T. L. Brown et al., 2010; Butler-Sweet, 2014; Goldberg & Smith, 2016; Harris-Britt et al., 2007; Hughes et al., 2009; Lesane-Brown et al., 2010; Neblett et al., 2009; Stevenson & Arrington, 2009), and disregard that race socialization can involve harmful messages (Barr & Neville, 2008; D. L. Brown, 2008; Evans et al., 2012).

In response to these ongoing oversights, the present study describes sources, frequency, and content of race socialization messages, along with prevalence of the most useful message using data from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A). The NSAL-A is a nationally representative survey of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years. Using the CRSI (Lesane-Brown et al., 2005), we describe patterns according to demographic variables, including sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region. Our findings confirm that 90% of respondents report someone talked with them about what being Black means. Moreover, most respondents report receiving messages from all four sources specified in the CRSI (i.e., parents, relatives, friends, and other adults). We find little evidence to suggest sex, age, ethnicity, or U.S. region predict sources of race socialization messages. Finally, over 60% of Black adolescents report content supporting “Race equality,” maintaining a “Positive self-attitude,” or emphasizing “Black pride” as the most useful message they received. This study increments the literature by describing complexity in the race socialization process, using nationally representative data and the most comprehensive measure of race socialization available.

Method

Data

The 2001–2004 NSAL-A was a cross-sectional survey that investigated prevalence of disorders, as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), among 1,170 African American (n = 810) and Caribbean Black (n = 360) adolescents (ages 13–17 years) living in the United States (see Jackson et al., 2004). The American Association of Public Opinion Research response rates were 80.5% for African American adolescents and 83.5% for Caribbean Black adolescents. Nativity status was not asked of individuals in either group. The NSAL-A investigated lifetime and current prevalence, age-of-onset, course, and comorbidity of DSM-IV disorders, along with risk and protective factors.

The NSAL-A was nested in the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life (NSAL), a cross-sectional survey of the African American, Caribbean Black, and non-Hispanic White adult populations in the United States. The NSAL was based on a stratified, multistage area probability sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian population in the 48 contiguous states (Jackson et al., 2004). It focused on DSM-IV disorders, and stressors, and risk and protective factors (Jackson et al., 2004). The NSAL earned funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), as a part of the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) series. To access the publicly available NSAL-A data or to examine the questionnaire, visit the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/RCMD/studies/36380/publications).

Measures

We used the CRSI (Lesane-Brown et al., 2005) to measure the race socialization process among Black adolescents. This inventory captures sources, frequency, content of messages, and prevalence of the most useful message, among other components (e.g., onset and recency, anticipatory socialization, and socializing behaviors). Results using the CRSI have never been reported with nationally representative data. In fact, the NSAL-A is the only nationally representative survey to include the CRSI.

Sources, frequency, and prevalence

A series of questions captured (a) sources, (b) frequency, and (c) prevalence. The CRSI starts with this prompt:

The next few questions are about messages you might have received to help you know what it means to be Black and to help you deal with people outside your race. We are interested in how often the following people talk with you about race and racism.

Following the lead-in prompt, respondents were asked how often they received race socialization messages from parents, relatives, friends, and other adults: (a) “How often do your parents or the people who raised you talk with you about race or racism?” (b) “Not including your parents or the people who raised you, how often do other close relatives such as your brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents talk with you about race or racism?” (c) “How about your friends?” and (d) “How about other adults such as church members, your teachers or neighbors?” Response options were 1 = very often, 2 = fairly often, 3 = sometimes, 4 = rarely, and 5 = never. We coded “Don’t Know” as missing. There were 10 respondents who said “Don’t Know” or were missing on the source variables.

To operationalize number of sources, we counted affirmative responses (i.e., 0 = never vs. 1 = very often, fairly often, sometimes, or rarely) across the four source variables. The count ranged from 0 (never received messages from parents, relatives, friends, or other adults) to 4 (received messages from parents, relatives, friends, and other adults). To measure frequency, we left the four source variables as ordinal. To measure prevalence, we separately coded affirmative responses to each of the source variables as dichotomies: 0 = never versus 1 = very often, fairly often, sometimes, or rarely.

Content

The following 12 questions captured the content of race socialization messages: “Think about the messages you have received about race and racism. Do you remember being told any of the following things?”: (a) “Race doesn’t matter,” (b) “With hard work you can achieve anything, regardless of your race,” (c) “You should ‘keep it real,’” (d) “You should not trust White people,” (e) “You should be proud to be Black,” (f) “You should not trust Asian people,” (g) “Hispanics and Blacks have a lot in common,” (h) “Whites think they are better than Blacks,” (i) “Sometimes you have to act White to get ahead,” (j) “You will experience discrimination,” (k) “Did you receive any messages that I did not mention?” and, (l) “What were the messages I did not mention? (Record the First Response).” Response options were 0 = no and 1 = yes for Questions (a) to (k). The last question (i.e., [l]) was open-ended.

Most useful message

The following open-ended question from the CRSI captured the most useful race socialization message: “What do you think was the most useful message about race or racism that you have received?”. Respondents’ qualitative answers were content coded by NSAL-A investigators into the following 20 mutually exclusive categories: (a) “Blacks need to work harder,” (b) “White supremacy,” (c) “White mistrust,” (d) “Maintain separate associations/relationships,” (e) “Expect discrimination/racism,” (f) “Ignore racism,” (g) “Acceptance of Whites,” (h) “Race equality,” (i) “Love and respect everyone,” (j) “Education,” (k) “Positive self-attitude,” (l) “Race is not an issue,” (m) “Stand up for yourself,” (n) “Black pride,” (o) “Black history,” (p) “None,” (q) “All useful,” (r) “Other,” (s) “Refused,” or (t) “Don’t Know.” There were 33 respondents who said “Don’t Know” or were missing on the content questions and the most useful message.

Demographic variables

We examined sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region. We coded sex dichotomously, where 0 = male and 1 = female. Studies (T. L. Brown et al., 2009; T. L. Brown et al., 2010; Burt & Simons, 2015 ; Cooper et al., 2015; Thomas et al., 2012; Thomas & King, 2007) found that the content of race socialization messages varied by sex of the recipient. Age was self-reported and ranged from 13 to 17 years. We coded it dichotomously, where 0 = 13 to 15 years old and 1 = 16 to 17 years old. Age matters because frequency of race socialization increases and message content varies with the recipient’s age (T. L. Brown et al., 2010; Cooper et al., 2015; Rivas-Drake et al., 2009; Tran & Lee, 2010). A dichotomous variable already present in the NSAL-A data assessed whether respondents were identified as African American or Caribbean Black adolescents. Studies (Caughy & Owen, 2015; Rivas-Drake et al., 2009; Telzer & Vazquez Garcia, 2009) found significant variation in the race socialization process among same-race ethnic groups. Finally, we coded U.S. region dichotomously, where 0 = not south and 1 = south. We did not find studies that systematically examined regional differences in the race socialization process.

Analytic Strategies

The NSAL-A was nested in the NSAL. Specifically, NSAL-A respondents resided in homes of NSAL respondents. Using Stata 15.1, we adjusted for the NSAL-A’s complex survey design to produce descriptive statistics in the “Results” section. The available sample size was 1,170. We excluded 10 respondents who said “Don’t Know” or who were missing on the sources and frequency components of the CRSI. Thus, there were 1,160 respondents in Figures 1 and 3. There were six additional missing cases on U.S. region; therefore, the estimation sample for Figures 2 and 4 was 1,154. There were 100 respondents whose parents, relatives, friends, or other adults never discussed with them what being Black means. These respondents were not asked the content questions. Nor were they asked about the most useful message. Thus, there were 1,060 respondents in Figure 5 and Table 1. In addition, there were 33 respondents who said “Don’t Know” or who were missing on the content questions or the most useful message. Therefore, the estimation sample size for Figure 6 was 1,037. Again, our primary aim is to describe complexity in the race socialization process.

Table 1.

Prevalence of The Most Useful Message Among Black Adolescents in the 2001–2004 National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A).

Content of message	Most useful message (Proportion)
Blacks need to work harder	.02
White supremacy	.02
White mistrust	.01
Maintain separate associations/relationships	.01
Expect discrimination/racism	.04
Ignore racism	.01
Acceptance of Whites	.01
Race equality	.27
Love and respect everyone	.07
Education	.01
Positive self-attitude	.22
Race is not an issue	.00
Stand up for yourself	.01
Black pride	.12
Black history	.01
None	.02
All useful	.00
Other	.03
Refused	.01
Don’t know	.10

Note. Proportions weighted for the probability of selection, nonresponse, and noncoverage. Estimation sample size equaled 1,060.

Results

Figure 1 shows the sources and frequency of race socialization among Black adolescents participating in the 2001–2004 NSAL-A. Figure 1 includes four panels. Each panel corresponds to a source who reportedly transmitted race socialization messages to respondents.

Figure 1.

Sources and frequency of race socialization among Black adolescents (n = 1,160).

Considering parents, 15% of respondents reported receiving messages very often, and 27% of respondents reported receiving messages sometimes. Roughly, one fifth reported never receiving messages about what it means to be Black from their parents. In terms of relatives, one in 10 respondents received messages very often. About 25% of respondents reported receiving messages sometimes from relatives. Considering friends, about 10% of respondents reported receiving messages very often and 25% reported receiving messages sometimes. Approximately, 31% of respondents reported never receiving messages about what it means to be Black from their friends. Considering other adults, 9% of respondents reported receiving race socialization messages very often, whereas one third reported never receiving messages from other adults. Overall, parents most frequently socialized respondents to race and racism, followed by relatives, then friends, and finally other adults.

Figure 2 shows prevalence of race socialization among Black adolescents by sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region. We found sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region showed little influence on reports of race socialization. Evaluating Figures 1 and 2 together, race socialization was quite commonplace.

Figure 2.

Sources and prevalence of race socialization among Black adolescents by sex, age, ethnicity, and region (n = 1,154).

Figure 3 shows the number of sources from which Black adolescents received race socialization messages. For example, 55% of respondents received messages from all four sources specified in the CRSI (i.e., parents, relatives, friends, and other adults). About 15% of Black adolescents received messages from three sources. Nearly 10% received messages from two sources or one source. Figure 4 shows number of sources from which Black adolescents received race socialization messages by sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region. Demographic variables did not appear to influence number of sources reportedly transmitting race socialization messages, with one exception. Caribbean Black respondents were underrepresented in the zero sources category and overrepresented in the two and three sources categories. Again, most respondents reported that all four sources specified in the CRSI transmitted messages to them.

Figure 3.

Number of race socialization sources among Black adolescents (n = 1,160).

Figure 4.

Number of race socialization sources among Black adolescents by sex, age, ethnicity, and region (n = 1,154).

Figure 5 shows the configuration of sources from which Black adolescents received race socialization messages. Excluding those who received no messages, 61% of respondents reported that all four sources specified in the CRSI transmitted race socialization messages. Close to 16% of respondents received messages from three different sources. About 6% of respondents stated their parents and relatives were the only sources of race socialization messages. Less than 5% received messages from their parents exclusively.

Figure 5.

Configuration of race socialization sources among Black adolescents (n = 1,060).

Figure 6 shows content of race socialization messages received by Black adolescents. About 80% of respondents received the message “Race doesn’t matter.” Almost 95% of respondents received the message “With hard work you can achieve anything, regardless of your race,” and 90% received the message “You should ‘keep it real.’” Virtually all Black adolescents received the message “You should be proud to be Black.” About 20% of respondents received the message “You should not trust White people.” About 10% of Black adolescents received the message “You should not trust Asian people.” Almost 40% received the message “Hispanics and Blacks have a lot in common,” and 64% received the message “You will experience discrimination.” A nontrivial number of Black adolescents received potentially harmful messages indicating that “Whites think they are better than Blacks,” and “Sometimes you have to act White to get ahead.”

Figure 6.

Content and prevalence of race socialization messages among Black adolescents (n = 1,037).

Table 1 shows prevalence of the most useful message. Again, the question capturing the most useful message was open-ended and respondents’ answers were content coded by NSAL-A investigators into 20 mutually exclusive categories. About 27% of Black adolescents suggested content in the category “Race equality” represented the most useful message they received. Approximately 22% of Black adolescents said content about maintaining a “Positive self-attitude” captured the most useful message they received. Only 12% of Black adolescents found messages emphasizing “Black pride” were most useful, which was intriguing, given how often such messages are transmitted. About 7% of respondents reported content recommending “Love and respect everyone” was most useful. Only 4% of Black adolescents said content falling in the category of “Expect discrimination/racism” was most useful, whereas 2% of respondents found messages about the ubiquity of “White supremacy” to represent the most useful message. Few respondents reported content indicating that “Race is not an issue” as the most useful message. About 2% of respondents reported that “None” of the messages received were most useful. In addition, 3% of respondents reported “Other” messages of unknown content were most useful. Approximately, 1% “Refused” to report the most useful message. Finally, 10% of respondents said they “Don’t Know” which message was most useful, implying potential utility of multiple messages, presumably based upon time and context.

Discussion

Race socialization is the process whereby individuals learn about the meaning and significance of race and racism (T. N. Brown et al., 2007; T. N. Brown & Lesane-Brown, 2006; Lesane-Brown, 2006; Priest et al., 2014). This process is studied most often in Black families and among Black adolescents living in the United States. Race socialization in Black families is commonplace because of the continuing significance of racism. If the United States was an egalitarian society, then the utility of race socialization would decrease. For instance, messages such as “Whites think they are better than Blacks,” “Sometimes you have to act White to get ahead,” and “You will experience discrimination” would never be transmitted to Black adolescents if racism did not exist. However, ethnic socialization involving transmission of important cultural meanings and practices for African Americans or specific Caribbean Black groups (e.g., Jamaicans) would still occur.

With data from the 2001–2004 NSAL-A, we described sources, frequency, and content of race socialization messages, along with prevalence of the most useful message using the CRSI (Lesane-Brown et al., 2005). To date, the CRSI provides the most comprehensive measurement of the race socialization process. Present findings demonstrate how much we can learn by attending to race socialization’s complexity (e.g., considering sources other than parents, describing the frequency with which messages are transmitted, investigating harmful messages transmitted, and examining the most useful message).

Regarding frequency of race socialization, respondents reported parents and relatives talked with them most often (see Figure 1). We found sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region did not predict respondents’ reports of who transmitted messages to them (see Figure 2). Figures 1 and 2 demonstrate that race socialization is commonplace among Black adolescents in the United States. Regarding number of sources reportedly transmitting race socialization messages, most respondents (i.e., 55%) received messages from all four sources specified in the CRSI (i.e., parents, relatives, friends, and other adults; see Figure 3). We found Caribbean Black respondents were less likely than African American respondents to receive no messages (see Figures 2 and 4). Otherwise, sex, age, ethnicity, and U.S. region did not influence the number of sources from which Black adolescents received race socialization messages (see Figure 4). Regarding configuration of race socialization sources, few adolescents received messages from one source exclusively (see Figure 5). Despite the literature’s focus on Black parents, Figure 5 confirms that multiple sources routinely transmit race socialization messages to Black adolescents.

Regarding content of race socialization messages, large numbers of respondents received the following four messages: (a) “Race doesn’t matter,” (b) “With hard work you can achieve anything, regardless of your race,” (c) “You should ‘keep it real,’” and (d) “You should be proud to be Black” (see Figure 6). Thus, multiple messages were typically transmitted. Apparent contradictions among messages capture why race socialization is worth studying. The least prevalent message reportedly transmitted was “You should not trust Asian people.” This particular message may be prevalent in cities where Asian and Black populations are large and in recurring contact (e.g., Philadelphia, PA or Los Angeles, CA; see Jo, 1992, or Norman, 1994).

Regarding the most useful message (see Table 1), most Black adolescents said content supporting “Race equality” and about maintaining a “Positive self-attitude” was most useful. In addition, a sizable number of adolescents indicated that content affirming “Black pride” and the admonishment to “Love and respect everyone” was the most useful message. Overall, most respondents found messages valorizing Blackness useful. Relatively few respondents found content signaling ubiquity of “White supremacy” and that one should “Expect discrimination/racism” most useful. In addition, small numbers of respondents reported content indicating that “Race is not an issue” as the most useful message or all messages transmitted were equally useful. Finally, a nontrivial number of respondents reported they could not decide what message was the most useful (i.e., “Don’t Know”).

Using the CRSI, this study demonstrates complexity in how Black adolescents learn about the meaning and significance of race and racism. Consequently, we think scholars should attend to several issues in future studies to advance the field’s understanding of the race socialization process. First, we need more studies that examine the race socialization process within White families and among White adolescents (see, for example, Hagerman, 2014; Priest et al., 2014). Relatedly, there may be differences in how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied (LGBTQIA) + Black parents transmit race socialization messages (see Goldberg & Smith, 2016). Upon closer inspection, variation in families and family structure may influence the race socialization process and should be examined.

Second, we need more data on behavioral race socialization strategies (Jeynes, 2010; Lesane-Brown et al., 2005) and context-specific race socialization strategies (Caughy & Owen, 2015; Telzer & Vazquez Garcia, 2009; Winkler, 2012). For instance, if a Black adolescent lives in Atlanta, GA, then they would be exposed to several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and museums dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Basically, they would live in a Black spatial imaginary (Lipsitz, 2011) that promotes resistance and cultivates resilience. We imagine a Black adolescent’s experience would be different if they lived in Portland, OR, which does not have a sizable Black population or cultural connection to the civil rights movement.

Third, the CRSI asks about “other adults” but does not specify who those adults are. It could be important to ask what specific other adults transmit race socialization messages. For example, school administrators, teachers, coaches, and staff may act as race socialization agents (Mapp et al., 2008). Fourth, scholars should stop assuming the race socialization process ends at adolescence. We need data describing the race socialization process for adults approaching midlife and late life, for example. Fifth, we need comparative, cross-national studies of the race socialization process among Black adolescents throughout the Black diaspora. Scholars do not know how message content may differ by international context (e.g., Brazil, South Africa, France, and Haiti). Sixth, media (i.e., the internet, music, social networks, and television) should be considered a race socialization source. In fact, media could be easily added to the sources specified currently in the CRSI. Finally, the race socialization process is probably reciprocal. However, scholars often assume Black adolescents do not concurrently influence their parents’ or friends’ understanding of what it means to be Black. We need dyadic data that captures simultaneous perceptions of Black adolescents and perceptions of those socializing them (Lesane-Brown, 2006). Furthermore, we need information on characteristics (e.g., race, gender, age, sexual identity, and political orientation) of those individuals transmitting race socialization messages to Black adolescents.

To sum up, whether the race socialization process is protective or harmful for Black adolescents depends upon one’s philosophical and sociopolitical vantage point. On the one hand, some scholars assert race socialization prepares adolescents to experience discrimination perpetrated by Whites and promotes group identity among Blacks. Such preparation and promotion facilitates collective action by increasing racial pride, in theory, at least. On the other hand, some scholars claim routinized discussion of race and racism may damage social competence and exacerbate racial tension. Most individuals desire to live in a society without racism where people are unbiased and institutional arrangements are equitable. Until that desire becomes a reality though, race socialization must and will occur. As such, race socialization can be simultaneously protective and harmful for Black adolescents. For instance, in Figure 6, about eight in 10 respondents recall messages stating “Race doesn’t matter,” and virtually all respondents recall messages stating “You should be proud to be Black.” Apparent contradictions in messages arise from the fact that race socialization appears requisite for survival, but those individuals transmitting messages likely want Black adolescents to do more than survive. They want them to thrive. In the United States, which is a racialized social system (Bonilla-Silva, 1997), surviving and thriving may be at odds for Blacks generally and Black adolescents specifically.

This descriptive study characterizes the race socialization process as complex, lifelong, necessary, dynamic, contradictory, and commonplace. We hope future research in this area will use the CRSI to capture components still neglected in existing studies. We also hope scholars will theorize about the compulsory nature of race socialization and the double bind parents, relatives, friends, and other adults face trying to protect Black adolescents in a society built upon antiblackness. Specifically, racism necessitates race socialization, which, in turn, shapes how Black adolescents learn what being Black means. Racism forces those who care about and interact with Black adolescents to transmit messages that can unintentionally exacerbate racial tensions or promote internalized inferiority. In other words, racism necessitates conversations that prove problems of the color line remain.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors thank members of the Racism and Racial Experiences (RARE) Workgroup at Rice University for their critical feedback on an early manuscript draft and perpetual encouragement.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The National Survey of American Life–Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A) was generously funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Mental Health under the direction of James S. Jackson, Cleopatra H. Caldwell, and Toni C. Antonucci of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, and Daphna R. Oyserman of the University of Southern California’s Department of Psychology.

ORCID iD

Tony N. Brown

Author Biographies

Tony N. Brown is professor of sociology at Rice University in Houston, TX, where he directs the Racism and Racial Experiences (RARE) Workgroup (). His research addresses the sociological meaning and consequence of racism using critical race theory and various mainstream social psychological theories.

Julian Culver is a sociology doctoral student at Rice University in Houston, TX. His research interests include race and racism, religion, and mental health. He is currently investigating whether race moderates the association between youth’s interracial contact within religious institutions and their perceived closeness to God.

Kiana Wilkins is a sociology doctoral student at Rice University in Houston, TX. Her research considers the intersections of race, class, gender, indigeneity, and sexuality. She is currently examining health disparities for populations with intersecting identities, with an emphasis on Native American/Alaskan Native groups.

Quintin Gorman, Jr. is a sociology doctoral student at Rice University in Houston, TX. His research interests involve racism, identity, and the military. His master’s thesis will develop and field a new survey measure capturing Du Boisian double consciousness.

Asia Bento is a sociology doctoral student at Rice University in Houston, TX. Her research interests include race and racism, as well as economic and urban inequality. She is currently studying how residential racial segregation, government assistance, and racial capital correlate with self-employment outcomes for Black adults.

Aly M. Alvis is an undergraduate sociology and psychology student at Rice University in Houston, TX. Her research interests include race, racism, prejudice, and discrimination. She is currently writing a sociology honors thesis, which examines the association between popular music consumption and White college students’ racial attitudes.

Chase L. Lesane-Brown is a lecturer in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Director of Experiential Learning for the School of Social Sciences at Rice University in Houston, TX. Her research interests include race socialization, racial identity development, and the process of parent-child communication about health.

Cleopatra Howard Caldwell is a professor in and the chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, and Director of the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health (CRECH) at the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. She has published in a number of areas including the influence of social relationships and social identities on the health and well-being of Black adolescents, the role of paternal support, racial discrimination, and racial identity attitudes as risk or protective factors for adolescent risky behaviors and fatherhood as a context for understanding men’s health.

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