MSU Sociology Faculty’s research broadly recognized for spotlighting racial inequality
by Sam Kealhofer, Intern on the A&S Research Support Team
Mississippi State University Department of Sociology Associate Professor Margaret Hagerman’s 2018 award-winning book, “White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America” (NYU Press) garnered national and international attention this summer in response to widespread protests regarding racial inequality and police violence. From national television programs to parenting magazines to popular podcasts, Hagerman’s sociological expertise on how white children develop ideas about racism was in high demand this past summer. Recently, the New York Times added Hagerman’s book to its suggested reading list for a new Serial Productions podcast, Nice White Parents.
Hagerman was interviewed this June by civil rights activist and award-winning journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault as part of a PBS News Hour prime time segment about racism in America. In addition to discussing Hagerman’s research regarding race, their conversation also included the protests in response to the murder of George Floyd and the disproportionate number of Black and Latino Americans being infected with and dying from COVID-19. That same week, Hagerman also appeared on Good Morning America and on a live public affairs program on NBC 10 in Philadelphia, PA. Her work was also mentioned on a Boston, MA, television broadcast.
In addition to these televised appearances, Hagerman’s research was widely cited throughout the summer. She was interviewed for articles in outlets including Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Popsugar, Motherly and in European newspapers like The Independent and The Irish Times. Her book was also included on a number of reading lists, including a Black Lives Matter list featured on the L.A. Laker’s NBA website.
Hagerman was interviewed for several popular podcasts including What is Black hosted by pediatrician Dr. Jacqueline Douge, co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on the impact of racism on children’s health. And Hagerman appeared on Katie’s Crib, a podcast hosted by Katie Lowes—from the popular television show Scandal—which is produced by Shondaland, a company founded by Shonda Rhimes.
Hagerman was also invited to write an essay for the literary arts journal, the San Antonio Review. Her essay, “The Question White Parents Should Be Asking,” is available online now but will appear in print this fall.
Hagerman’s book, “White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America” (NYU Press), focuses on how white children learn about racism in their everyday lives and how white parents contribute to ongoing patterns of racial inequality. Her book presents the results of a two-year ethnographic study conducted with thirty-six children and their families. The study seeks to understand how these families discuss and think about race, and how children develop their understandings by interpreting patterns they observe in their neighborhoods, communities, schools and peer groups. Although all the families in the study are white, live in the same area, and are upper-middle class, Hagerman’s study suggests the ways they address racism in their homes does differ.
Hagerman’s research revealed that all parents in the study actively do not want to raise a racist child but that they all unintentionally reproduce, in some way, the very patterns they otherwise say they reject. As a result, the study not only reveals the nuanced ways white, privileged families acquiesce to their privilege and reinstitute systemic racism, but also presents possibility for the crucial role they could and sometimes do play in dismantling racism, especially by instilling good citizenship in their children and aligning their behaviors with their values.
Hagerman also has an article, “The Sociology of Race & Racism: Key Concepts, Contributions & Debates,” recently published in Equity & Excellence in Education with co-authors Amanda Lewis and Tyrone Forman which integrates sociological insights about race and racism into an educational research framework to bolster understandings about racial dynamics in school settings and the roles schools play in society at large.
Hagerman’s other research on children, families, education, race and racial socialization have appeared in academic outlets like Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Sociology Compass, Journal of Marriage of Family and Sociological Studies of Children and Youth.
Hagerman’s work sheds light on the constant, and sometimes unrecognized, reproduction of white privilege and systemic racism in the country, as well as ideas about how to interrupt this process. Hagerman’s new research explores the question of the future of racism in the U.S. and examines how young children are talking about and making sense of explicit forms of racism in America today.
In an effort to contribute insight and solutions to the various challenges facing the nation, the College of Arts & Sciences will continue to highlight faculty research in our “Research in the Headlines” series each Monday and Wednesday. For more research in the headlines, visit https://www.cas.msstate.edu/research/researchintheheadlines/; and for information about the College of Arts & Sciences or the Department of Sociology visit https://www.cas.msstate.edu/ or https://www.sociology.msstate.edu/.