Study: White and black children biased toward lighter skin

[cali]

May 14, 2010 4:24 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- A white child looks at a picture of a black child and says she's bad because she's black. A black child says a white child is ugly because he's white. A white child says a black child is dumb because she has dark skin.

This isn't a schoolyard fight that takes a racial turn, not a vestige of the "Jim Crow" South; these are American schoolchildren in 2010.

Nearly 60 years after American schools were desegregated by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, and more than a year after the election of the country's first black president, white children have an overwhelming white bias, and black children also have a bias toward white, according to a new study commissioned by CNN.

Renowned child psychologist and University of Chicago professor Margaret Beale Spencer, a leading researcher in the field of child development, led the study. She designed the pilot study and led a team of three psychologists: two testers to execute the study and a statistician to help analyze the results.

Her team tested 133 children from schools that met very specific economic and demographic requirements. In total, eight schools participated: four in the greater New York City area and four in Georgia.

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http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/13/doll.study/index.html?hpt=C2

how sad.

[marmar]

1. Centuries of "white is right" indoctrination.....

nt

[customerserviceguy]

4. Centuries?

Look at advertising that kids are exposed to now, lighter skin is "preferred" in most of it. It's not just something our grandparents' generation (and before) are doing.

[marmar]

5. When I said centuries, I didn't mean it had come to an end, n'est-ce pas?

[seabeyond]

2. a study where little black girls preferred white barbies. inherent white privilege

this is where white people have to have the understanding simply being white has its advantages yet.... i see such a refusal by whites to own this advantage as they live the advantages.

understanding, knowledge is important

[ensho]

3. Tyra Banks proved that on one of her TV shows

I think she has had more then one show on the subject.

she does good work.

[Mari333]

6. is anyone even teaching these children that all humans evolved from Africa?

that the origins of the human race are African? or is it just our godamned mass media touting youth and whiteness as beauty..

sad as hell to see this.

[cali]

7. I think that is being taught.

My son was certainly taught that in elementary school and that was over a decade ago, but it's not nearly enough to counter the other crap.

[Gaedel]

8. Most societies have a bias toward lighter skin.

Even before they encountered European whites, African and Asian societies always preferred lighter skin. Asian women were told to keep out of the sun so that they wouldn't get dark.

[political_Dem]

9. Not surprised by this.

When one dominant culture and race supercedes all others through privilege and supremacy while dismissing others within its midst, this is the type of phenomena that happens.

It is very sad that while "otherness" is muted by the dominant culture, some people are forced into believing that their culture and race is not as important or relevant especially through the repetition of "catchphrases" ("not seeing race", "racism doesn't exist", "colorblindism", etc.) and behaviors ("the dominant culture not seeing racism or race, so it doesn't exist").

It is no wonder that children of color (and most specifically Black children) don't value their own race.

That is why in a multicultural society, it must be taught that all cultures and races are valuable through their histories and contributions to the world at large.

Or else, we have situations like the one in Arizona.