Beyond a Monoracial Paradigm: Parents Practicing Racial Humility in the Racial Socialization of Mixed-Race Children

Interracial parents face unique challenges in racially socializing their mixed-race children, but this socialization is imperative to their overall well-being and self-esteem. Using critical multiracial theory, the author argues that the interracial parents included in this study overwhelmingly understand the harm of promoting a monoracial paradigm of race when raising their children. They demonstrate this by implementing racial humility in their socialization practices to support and encourage the formation of a positive racial identity in their children. Drawing upon in-depth, semistructured interviews with 19 sets of interracial parents in the United States, the author identifies four themes related to how parents practice racial humility: (1) allowing their children to explore their mixed-race backgrounds by not forcing them to “pick a side,” (2) using specific language to identify children’s unique racial background, (3) encouraging ethnic and cultural engagement through bilingualism, and (4) exposing children to toys and media that feature mixed-race characters and a spectrum of skin tones. This study contributes to literature examining racial socialization practices of multiracial families and expands the concept of “racial humility” to sociology.