Kids’ Misuse Of The Term ‘Racist’ Is Dangerous —So Let’s Disrupt It
An adult who is reluctant to clearly and effectively correct such careless and damaging behavior by children is complicit.
I f you regularly spend time with kids and adolescents in the upper and middle grades, there’s a good chance you’ve recently heard them use this phrase: “That’s so racist!”
As a parent, I’ve overheard kids using the phrase at my child’s school and during her extracurricular activities. The claim takes a variety of forms, including, but not limited to: intentional misuse as a joke (Child A: “Go stand by the white door.” Child B: “That’s so racist!”); intentional misuse as a joke that reinforces a negative connotation of the word “black” (Child A: “Let’s not play on the blacktop.” Child B: “That’s so racist!”); and accidental misuse that shows misunderstanding of the concept of racism (Teacher: “What do you notice about the kids in this photo?” Student A: “They are all white.” Student B: “That’s so racist!”).
I reached out to several other parent allies who I thought might share my concern, and over half of them had either directly heard children using the retort, or had learned about it from their child.
