Three generations of racism: Black middle-class children and schooling

This paper draws on qualitative data exploring the experiences of first-generation middle-class Black Caribbean-heritage parents, their own parents, and their children. We focus on the different ways in which race and class intersect in shaping attitudes towards education and subsequent educational practices. We argue that the nature of racism has changed, but it still remains, mainly in more subtle, insidious forms. We conclude that race cannot be simply ‘added on’ to class. Race changes how class works, how it is experienced, and the subjectivites available to individuals. The paper illustrates how the two intersect, in complex ways, in different historical ‘moments’.

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