Racial–Ethnic Socialization and Youth Ideological Formations in an Era of Diversity and Inclusion

Abstract

This article introduces a special issue of Humanity & Society which aims to expand approaches to the development of racial and ethnic minority youths’ beliefs regarding the role of race and racism in shaping U.S. society. In this introduction, I highlight the increasingly contradictory nature of our public discourse on race as signaling a unique moment in which taking stock of how racial and ethnic minority youth learn race must be linked more directly to their ideological development. I suggest that at the core of these contradictions is the ethos of individualism which is both a key principle of our national identity and a pillar that sustains the racialized character of our social system. A brief review of two parallel lines of inquiry—the micro-oriented field of race and ethnic socialization and macro-sociological perspectives on the determinants of ideological formations among American Blacks—is offered in support of a call to wed insights from these fields.