I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World

by Wright, Marguerite

• ISBN13: 9780787952341
• ISBN10: 0787952346
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-22
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

This superb, rational, and highly readable volume answers a deeply felt need. Parents and educators alike have long struggled to understand what meanings race might have for the very young, and for ways to insure that every child grows up with a healthy sense of self. Marguerite Wright handles sensitive issues with consummate clarity, practicality, and hope. Here we have an indispensable guide that will doubtless prove a classic. --Edward Zigler, sterling professor of psychology and director, Yale Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy A child's concept of race is quite different from that of an adult. Young children perceive skin color as magical--even changeable--and unlike adults, are incapable of understanding adult predjudices surrounding race and racism. Just as children learn to walk and talk, they likewise come to understand race in a series of predictable stages. Based on Marguerite A. Wright's research and clinical experience, I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla teaches us that the color-blindness of early childhood can, and must, be taken advantage of in order to guide the positive development of a child's self-esteem. Wright answers some fundamental questions about children and race including: * What do children know and understand about the color of their skin? * When do children understand the concept of race? * Are there warning signs that a child is being adversely affected by racial prejudice? * How can adults avoid instilling in children their own negative perceptions and prejudices? * What can parents do to prepare their children to overcome the racism they are likely to encounter? * How can schools lessen the impact of racism? With wisdom and compassion, I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla spells out how to educate black and biracial children about race, while preserving their innate resilience and optimism--the birthright of all children.

Author Biography

MARGUERITE WRIGHT is the senior clinical and research psychologist for the Center for the Vulnerable Child at Children's Hospital in Oakland, California. Wright lives with her husband and four children in Berkeley, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(10)
Part One: That Magical Place: Race Awareness in the Preschool Years	11	(80)
Chocolate and Vanilla: How Preschoolers See Color and Race	13	(23)
How Preschoolers Begin to Learn Racial Attitudes	36	(23)
When to Be Concerned That Race Is a Problem for Preschoolers	59	(14)
Raising the Racially Healthy Preschooler	73	(18)
Part Two: The Waning of Racial Innocence: The Early School Years	91	(82)
Shades of Brown and Black: How Early Grade-Schoolers See Color and Race	93	(30)
Black Children's Self-Esteem: The Real Deal	123	(24)
How School Influences Children's Awareness of Color and Race	147	(26)
Part Three: Reality Bites: Race Awareness in Middle Childhood and Adolescence	173	(88)
Fading to Black and White: How Children in the Middle Years See Race	175	(22)
How School Influences Older Children's Ideas About Race	197	(21)
Preparing for Adolescence: The Lines Are Drawn	218	(21)
A Healthy High School Experience: You Can Make a Difference	239	(22)
Epilogue	261	(4)
Appendix: Stages of Race Awareness	265	(4)
Notes	269	(12)
About the Author	281	(2)
Index	283