Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Research has consistently demonstrated that racial socialization is a salient aspect of rearing black children. Black parents transmit messages to their children regarding their unique cultural heritage, racial pride, and how to cope with the structural barriers and psychological experiences that result from being a member of a low status racial group (Neblett at al., 2006; Stevenson et al., 2002; Stevenson, 1994; Demo & Hughes, 1990). Increasingly, racial socialization for black adolescents is considered especially important as a protective function, mediating the effect of racial discrimination on various outcomes such as racial identity (Thompson at al., 2000; Marshall, 1995; Phinney & Chavira, 1995) and psychological wellbeing (Fischer & Shaw, 1999). Given that a relationship between racial discrimination and academic outcomes has been clearly demonstrated in other research, we examine the degree to which parents differentially socialize black boys and girls and the role this plays in the achievement gap.