Why do White Children Whisper “Black People”

Ssh! Shut up! Don't say that!

Image by Alexander Dummer via Pexels

(Disclaimer: Yes, every child is socialized into the system of white supremacy and is influenced by racism and anti-Blackness. However, this article will only focus on white children’s socialization and inherent privilege).

Since white supremacy is the default of our U.S. American society and racism a by-product, it is no surprise that white children grow up into adulthood with (often) unchallenged racial biases. One way the racial prejudice of white children manifests is by perniciously whispering "Black people" in conversation. One implication is that Blackness is something that we need to be quiet about because it's inherently bad—like we learn at a young age to not say ‘bad words,’ like b**ch, sh*t, or the ‘F’ word.

Blackness is not a problem, nor is it bad and something to be afraid of, though. The global issue is white supremacy, and the problem on the individual level lies with white people who don't teach their white children, nieces, and cousins about race and racism constructively.

I visited some extended family members who had moved before the pandemic caught us by surprise last year. We decided to take a family walk around the neighborhood during my visit to walk off our huge delicious lunch—we were accompanied by two younger cousins in their pre-teen years. We talked about mundane stuff, like the beautiful sunny day, the lush landscape, what we had for lunch the day before; however, we also talked about the neighborhood's demographics.

The city and area they're in have a significant Asian community and white population. As we continued to talk about the racial demographics, one of the pre-teens chimed in and said, "Oh yeah, and there aren't many," he then whispers, "Black people." In all honesty, the conversation carried on, and the problematic comment was not acknowledged nor corrected. And although he isn’t my child, I realize my complicity with my younger cousin’s racial bias and anti-Blackness at that moment.

 So why do white children learn to whisper ‘Black’ and ‘Black people?’

For more on this piece please visit medium.com/@joeypierre