White Parents, Mixed Race Children: The Entangled Effects Of Love, Racism, And Parenting

Love and racism can exist together, especially when white parents lack the ability to discuss race with their Mixed Race child(ren). This study explores the racial relationship between white parents and their Mixed Race children. Eight college age Mixed Race students participated in this qualitative study that interrogated how race was discussed (or not discussed) as a part of their upbringing. Grounded in a conceptual framework revealing the linkage between white supremacy and the social construction of racial categories, this work examines the entanglement of how good-intentioned, loving, white parents can ignore or reject the racial identity of their Mixed Race child(ren) and the impacts this has on reifying colorblind ideologies and whiteness writ large. Findings indicate that an absence of conversations about race significantly impact Mixed Race children’s identity and belongingness, that love and racism is a complex coexistence, and that parents’ inability to discuss race further perpetuates inequities caused by white supremacy. Recommendations for educators (at all levels) and parents of Mixed Race children are explored with the intention of disrupting the traditional, race-neutral or race-negative ways we discuss race with children, even within the precious relationship of parent and child.