BLACK CANADIAN MOTHERS' Soclallzatlon of CHILDREN to RESPOND to SITUATIONS INVOLVING RACIAL PREJUDICE and DISCRIMINATION

BLACK CANADIAN MOTHERS' SOClALlZATlON OF CHILDREN TO RESPOND TO SITUATIONS INVOLVING RACIAL PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION DONNA J. WOOLVERTON A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Programme in Social Psychology York University Toronto, Ontario January 1999 National Library Bibliothèque nationale I*m of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Ottawa ON K1 A ON4 Canada Canada Your fik Votre ni(erencs Our fi& Noire reiBrmu, The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Libraty of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sel1 reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fih, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Black Canadian pubthers' Çocialization of Children to Espond to Situations bvo1ving Raciaï Prejudice and Discriminatian 1 a thesis submitted to the Faculiy of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirernents for the degfee of Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK UNIVERSITY to lend or seIl copies of this thesis, to the NATIONAL LiBRARY OF CANADA 10 microfilm this thesis and to fend or sel1 copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. iv Abstract This study examines how black Canadian mothers socialize their children to respond to situations involving racism, and seeks to fiIl a gap in existing social psychology research literature on this subject. Most Canadian studies have focused on ethnic identity and prejudice development in children, or on studying prejudice from the perpetrator's, rather than the victim's, viewpoint. The present study used the grounded theory method to analyze data collected in individual interviews conducted with seven wornen who identified themselves as black, mothers, and Canadian. This study provides evidence that mothers' strategies for teaching responses to racism form a complex and inter- related pattern of approaches. A theoretical mode1 is presented to account for these strategies. Four main categories of data were found to provide the foundation for the hierarchical structuring of the theoretical model. The first main category coded data pertaining to the respondents' own negative racial experiences; these appear to form the basis of their personal philosophies and how they explain racism to themselves. The second category reflects participants' reports that strategy selection depends on the context of the child's social situation; that is, whether the situation occurs within the child's institutional domain (e.g., school) or within herlhis private dornain (e-g., in the neighbourhood). Data in the third category represents respondents' attempts to mediate the effects of racism on the child by making consistent and sustained efforts to build and protect the child's self-esteem. Mothers reported approaching this task through the use of such strategies as emphasizing the child's cultural or ethnic heritage, teaching respect for other cultures, and stressing the value of education in self development. In addition, al1 respondents sought to de-emphasize the importance of skin colour. Finally, data in the fourth main category reveal respondents' awareness of the structure and contents of the black stereotype. It was found that the stereotype of black males is an important factor in mothers' assessments of their sonsJfuture opportunities, as well as for their potential safety risks. Respondents did not express the same level of concern for daughters' safety, but reported that the stereotype is likely to negatively affect young black women's careers and advancement opportunities. Thus, in advocating strategies to deal with racism, an individual mother's assessrnent of social factors related to the black stereotype is likely to cause her to counsel different courses of action for sons than for daughters. Acknowledgements I owe a great deal of gratitude to the women who participated in this research project, for their tirne and willingness to discuss some of their own, and their children's personal experiences with racism. They brought insight, dignity and even humor to the discussion of a troubling subject; this type of research could not be done without them. I am both grateful and indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Richard Lalonde, who provided constant and valuable guidance, direction and support in the research reported in this Thesis. He always made himself available to help me, always gave me wise counsel and feedback and, perhaps best of all, was aIways a pleasure to work with. I also extend my sincere appreciation to both Dr. Erin C. Hewitt and Dr. Anne-Marie Ambert, who served on my Supervisory Cornmittee. They generously provided helpful advice on qualitative research design and methodology, and helped me to develop more effective interviewing techniques. My deepest personal thanks are owed to rny family, who have provided constant encouragement while I pursue rny academic goals: my husband J.J., who has washed more dirty dishes in the last few years than he did during his entire bachelorhood, and my children Michael and Katie, who delight me. I am also profoundly grateful to my mother, Mrs. Alice Ray, for her integrity and personal strength; she is my mainstay. I am fortunate to be surrounded in my vii personal life by outstanding female role models: rny rnother, Alice Ray; Kathryn Stephens; Marge Ray; Jeanine Brannigan; Doretta Haubrich; Wendy Tryhorn; Karen Vanyi; and my favorite Aunt, Jean Green, who is always an inspiration to our family. Many thanks to al1 of you. viii Table of Contents Abstract ........... Acknowledgrnents ........... List of Tables ........... Introduction ........... Research on Children and Racism ..... Mothers' Parenting Roles ....... Overview of the Present Study ...... Race of Interviewer Effects ...... Theoretical Perspective ....... Terms Used in the Present Study ...... Method ........... Procedure ........... Research Participants ......... Data Collection ........... Memos ........... Results of Prelirninary Study ........ Data Analysis ........... Overview of Grounded Theory Technique ... Units of Analysis and Method ...... Core Category: Mothers' Strategies and Theoretical Mode1 Emergent Data and Unexpected Findings ....... Main Category: Mothers' Persona1 Philosophy .... Mothers' Personal Experiences with Racisrn ... Mothers' Explanations of Racism ...... Surnmary ............ Main Category: Mothers' Actions ........ The Child's "Institutional" Domain ...... The Child's "Private" Domain ....... What Mothers Tell the Child to Do ...... Surnrnary ............. Main Category: Building the Child's Self-Esteem ... Positive Aspects of Race ........ Add ressing the C hild's Self-Esteem ..... The Value of Education ......... Emphasizing Ethnic Diversity ....... Addressing Colour Issues ....... Summary ........... Main Category: RaceIGender Stereotypes ..... The Family's Values ......... Respondents' Perceptions of Black Fernafe Stereotype Respondents' Perceptions of Black Male Stereotype Summary ........... Discussion ............. Conclusions ............. References ............. Appendix A - Consent To Participate in Research Form . Appendix 6: Interview Questionnaire ....... Appendix C: Personal Information Sheet ..... Appendix D: Sample of Transcription Format .... Appendix E: Fact Sheet for NUD*IST@Software ... List of Tables Table 1: Participants' Demographic Information ... 25 Table 2: Number of Text Units Per Interview ... 27 Table 3: The Research Model Core Category: Mothers' Strategies . 38 Table 4: Main Category: Mothers' Personal Philosophy . 44 Table 5: Main Category: Mothers' Actions ..... 67 Table 6: Main Category: Building Child's Self-Esteem . 81 Table 7: Main Category: Race/Gender Stereotypes . 95 Introduction The decades since the 1960s have produced much social research on various topics related to racism, including such themes as the formation and maintenance of stereotypes and the attitudes hypothesized to be involved in racial prejudice and discrimination. This study examines how individuals from one socially disadvantaged group Say they respond to situations of perceived racism. The focus of this study is black Canadian mothers' self reports regarding what they teach their children about responding to situations involving racial prejudice andlor discrimination. Most research in psychology and sociology has centred on studying prejudice from the point of view of the perpetrators, rather than victims, with relatively little ernpirical research focussing on the victims' resulting reactions or behaviours. Sociologists have generally

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