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In 1928, University of Chicago professor Robert Park claimed racial consciousness was ‘an acquired trait… children do not have it’. However, children can develop racial bias by picking up attitudes around them.
According to trainer and consultant Anne O’Connor, ‘internalised oppression’ – i.e. believing that you are seen as inferior outside the safe space of home – has serious consequences for children’s self-identity; conversely, ‘internalised superiority’ can ultimately lead children to treat as inferior and ultimately dehumanise others who don’t look the same.
Social environments have a huge impact on how ingrained biases became. Research from York University last year found a group of non-black minority children living in a racially diverse part of Toronto, Canada showed an implicit pro-white bias from six years of age. But children in the same study aged nine showed less pro-white bias.
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