It's not the rotten apples! Why family scholars should adopt a structural perspective on racism

Abstract

In this article, I urge family scholars to anchor their race work on the structural racism perspective. First, I provide some limitations of the prejudice problematic used by most family scholars. Second, I discuss the basic components of my structural theory, which I call the racialized social system approach. Third, I bolster my original theorization with a new conceptual map to make the structure intelligible—to account for why actors, for the most part, behave in ways that reproduce the racial order. In this discussion, I highlight the importance of the “white habitus” in shaping the lives and behaviors of White people. Lastly, I conclude by summarizing my claims and asking family scholars to continue deepening their work on structural racism and families, as well as on fighting how it shapes their own fields and lives.