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THE INVESTMENT IN BLACKNESS HYPOTHESIS

Toward Greater Understanding of Who Teaches What during Racial Socialization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2008

Jason E. Shelton
Jason E. Shelton*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and of Anthropology, University of Texas at Arlington
*
Professor Jason E. Shelton, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas at Arlington, 601 Nedderman Drive, Arlington, Texas 76019. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines the determinants and the substantive content of racial socialization strategies among African Americans. Existing studies have established that most Black parents socialize their children to race. However, studies have yet to determine whether assimilation trajectories and commitments to Black social heritage influence racial socialization outcomes. This article addresses this void within the context of a new, assimilation-based theory of adult Black identity—the investment in Blackness hypothesis. Findings from a national probability sample of African Americans suggest that there is a relationship between degree of assimilation into the mainstream and racial socialization strategies among parents. The implications of these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

Keywords

Racial SocializationAssimilationAfrican AmericansRace Relations
Type
STATE OF THE ART
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Fall 2008 , pp. 235 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2008

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