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Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

  • 1.  Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 13:37
    Edited by Staff SRCD 07-14-2020 15:25

    This thread includes the discussion from the recent debriefing session with Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White. This session is a continuation of the conversation from the 6/30 SRCD webinar, "Becoming an Antiracist Society: Setting a Developmental Research Agenda."

    If you missed the webinar, the recording is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_lGmFVkShw&feature=youtu.be

    We encourage all community members to respond to any answers in this thread to keep the discussion going!



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    SRCDStaff
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  • 2.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 13:52
    @Eleanor Seaton and I both wanted a chance to add to what @Margaret Caughy said in response to the question  ​"What should we do as Editors, Associate Editors, and reviewers to support the development of antiracism in our publications and publication processes?" @Margaret Caughy responded to this question here. ​​


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    Rebecca White
    Arizona State University
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  • 3.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:14
    Edited by Rebecca White 07-14-2020 14:26

    I wanted to tag-in on @Margaret Caughy's response to this question. I think @Margaret Caughy raised some critical points about increasing the diversity of editors, associate editors, and reviewers and I agree with all of this. It is critical! Further, @Margaret Caughy's recommendations are consistent with the research of @Steven Roberts, @Carmelle Bareket-Shavit, @Forrest A. Dolins, @Peter Goldie, and @Elizabeth Mortenson that can be found here. This research showed that when a journal has a White editor, there are fewer publications that highlight race. Further, when the Editor in Chief was a person of color, the proportion of publications that highlighted race tripled.  [Quick shout out to @Cynthia García Coll for her work as Editor of Child Development.]

    So, one question to our current journal editors, incluidng @Glenn Roisman, @Judi Smetana, @Lynn Liben, and @Ellen Wartella, and the SRCD publications committee, incluidng @Deborah Rivas-Drake, @Christine Ohannessian, @Nora Newcombe, @John Colombo,  @Tina Malti, @Martin Ruck, @Dawn Witherspoon, @Tiffany Yip, @Nicholas Alen, @Natasha Cabrera, @Lorah Dorn, @Steven Roberts, @Lynn Liben, @Judi Smetana, @Cynthia García Coll, @Ellen Wartella, @Laura Namy, is:    
    what can we do, structurally, to make sure, when we do have a White Editor, that race, ethnicity, and other aspects of social positionality are not being ignored and overlooked? Because, our very own research [ https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1745691620927709] tells us they will be.

    Next, I want to add to this conversation by extending an invitation to White editors and reviewers to consider their roles in the review process. First, I want to invite us to consider the roles of race and social positionality when we review research with samples that are heterogeneous on race and ethnicity. Often, this type of research employs a colorblind perspective. Maybe the heterogeneity is ignored. Or maybe the heterogeneity is addressed with (theoretically unexamined) covariates for race/ethnicity. What are White reviewers saying or not saying about such approaches? What implications does colorblindness have for the quality of the science and the scope of the contribution? @Justin Jager, @Diane Putnick, and @Marc Bornstein have demonstrated, here, that heterogeneous convenience samples (which describe the bulk of developmental samples) have unclear generalizability and offer biased estimates (both in terms of population effects and subpopulation differences). In contrast, homogeneous samples offer clearer generalizability and greater accuracy. So, as reviewers, should we be happy with colorblind research with heterogeneous samples? Is accuracy something we care about? Why are we silent when we review research with ethnically and racially heterogeneous samples that fail to consider race and ethnicity? I think White reviewers need to work on being reliable about calling these colorblind approaches out and raising serious questions about what these approaches do and do not address in the developmental sciences. Can we, at a minimum, work on saying in every review of a colorblind piece that researchers need to be responsible for addressing the limitations of employing a colorblind approach in reserach with samples that are diverse on ethnicity and race in their discussion of limitations? Start there, and then begin to really think about what colorblind approaches do and do not address in developmental research and build on it. 

    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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    Rebecca White
    Arizona State University
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  • 4.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:23
    Edited by Eleanor Seaton 07-14-2020 14:35
    @Rebecca White @Margaret Caughy gave great answers to this question! I don't want to belabor this point but representation matters! We need editors, associate editors and reviewers from underrepresented populations to ensure that our journals publish research grounded in antiracism and the full diversity of developmental science. All of us can play a role to ensure that our journals are antiracist by serving in either of those capacities when it comes to critically reviewing manuscripts. The current editors of Child Development, Child Development Perspectives and SRCD Monograph need to keep this in mind @Glenn Roisman @Judi Smetana @Ellen Wartella. The Publications Committee also needs to keep this in mind as we move forward @Deborah Rivas-Drake

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    Eleanor Seaton
    Tempe AZ
    480-727-4359
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  • 5.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 20:10
    Edited by Glenn Roisman 07-14-2020 20:12
    At the encouragement of Dr. Seaton, I am sharing here some initial thoughts about the important questions posed above, initially directed to Dr. Seaton and Dr. White via email earlier today. I want to apologize in advance for being unable to respond directly to everyone who posts in this forum, but I very much look forward to hearing from and continuing to work with members of the Society on these important issues related to diversity, inclusion, and equity at Child Development.

    Best regards,
    Glenn Roisman
    Incoming Editor-in-Chief, Child Development
     

    ---------- Forwarded message ---------
    From: Glenn Roisman <roism001@umn.edu>
    Date: Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 3:23 PM
    Subject: SRCD Commons discussion
    To: Rebecca M. B. White <rebecca.white@asu.edu>, Eleanor Seaton <Eleanor.Seaton@asu.edu>


    Dear Dr. Seaton and Dr. White, 

    I received the messages below through the SRCD Commons. I do not post professionally in that or other similar contexts, but I did want to reach out. 


    In short, I offer a full-throated endorsement of the observations you articulate below. Issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity have been reflected in my vision for Child Development even prior to having been asked to take on the post of Incoming Editor-in-Chief early last year--a vision informed in part by having served as a member of Dr. Garcia Coll's Editorial Board. 


    I am writing an Editorial to be published early next year (when I transition from Incoming Editor-in-Chief to Editor-in-Chief) that will (in part) address what we have already done and what we intend to do to continue to advance diversity, inclusion, and equity at Child Development. At the level of the journal, that includes a focus on representation with respect to AEs and CEs (working with input from the Tri-Caucuses), along with making the SRCD-wide Sociocultural policy even more robust at CD. Among other things, I have already required that meta-analyses provide data pertinent to race/ethnicity at the study level (something long advocated by Dr. Garcia Coll), and that quantitative reviews examine race/ethnicity in at least an exploratory fashion as potential moderators to address generalizability. Likewise, I have proposed to my own Editorial Board additional CD-specific enhancements to the Sociocultural Policy directly inspired by the proposals in Roberts et al. (2020) around sample description and justification. I have similarly focused on advancing Special Sections in my brief time as Incoming EIC, edited by diverse voices, on topics that will also support and enhance diversity at the journal (e.g., "Specificity and Commonality: Sociocultural Generalizability in Social-Emotional Development", edited by Dr. Malti and Dr. Cheah; "COVID-19 and Child Development Around the World", edited by Dr. Rao and Dr. Fisher, with a specific emphasis on "intersectionality between the pandemic's impact on child development and issues of structural inequality and racism..."). The Call for the COVID-19 Special Section should be out by the end of the month.


    I mention these initiatives to give you a flavor of what we are up to at Child Development, though I also welcome your input.  In addition, I have been engaged in similar discussion as an ex officio member of the SRCD Publications Committee (led by Dr. Rivas-Drake) for items that go beyond the scope of my authority at the journal. 


    Most importantly, I hope you and your loved ones are well in what has been an incredibly difficult time for so many.


    Best regards,
    Glenn

    ---------- Forwarded message ---------
    From: Rebecca White via SRCD Commons <Mail@connectedcommunity.org>
    Date: Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 1:13 PM
    Subject: Rebecca White mentioned you in a Discussion Post
    To: <roism001@umn.edu>


    You were mentioned in a Discussion Post : "RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White" by Rebecca White in Society for Research in Child Development.

    Further, when the Editor in Chief was a person of color, the proportion of publications that highlighted race tripled.  [Quick shout out to @Cynthia García Coll for her work as Editor of Child Development.] So, one question to our current journal editors, incluidng @Glenn Roisman, @Judith Smetana, @Lynn Liben, and @Ellen Wartella, and the SRCD publications committee, incluidng @Deborah Rivas-Drake, @Christine Ohannessian, @Nora Newcombe, @John Colombo,  @Tina Malti, @Martin Ruck, @Dawn Witherspoon, @Tiffany Yip, @Nicholas Alen, @Natasha Cabrera, @Lorah Dorn, @Steven Roberts, @Lynn Liben, @Judith Smetana, @Cynthia García Coll, @Ellen Wartella, @Laura Namy, is: what can we do, structurally, to make sure, when we do have a White Editor, that race, ethnicity, and other aspects of social positionality are not being ignored and overlooked? Because, our very own research [ https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1745691620927709] tells us it will be. Next, I want to add to this conversation by extending an invitation to White editors and reviewers to consider their roles in the review process. ...

    ---------- Forwarded message ---------
    From: Eleanor Seaton via SRCD Commons <Mail@connectedcommunity.org>
    Date: Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 1:22 PM
    Subject: Eleanor Seaton mentioned you in a Discussion Post
    To: <roism001@umn.edu>


    You were mentioned in a Discussion Post : "RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White" by Eleanor Seaton in Society for Research in Child Development.

    ...All of us can play a role to ensure that our journals are antiracist by serving in either of those capacities when it comes to critically reviewing manuscripts. The current editors of Child Development, Child Development Perspectives and SRCD Monograph needs to keep this in mind @Glenn Roisman @Judith Smetana @Ellen Wartella.


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    Glenn Roisman
    University of Minnesota
    Minneapolis MN

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  • 6.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 13:57
    Edited by Eleanor Seaton 07-14-2020 14:00

    I wanted to answer this question from last week. How can anti-racism be incorporated into our theoretical frameworks? Should Critical Race Theory (from sociology) be incorporated into our thinking? The thread is here - 

    https://commons.srcd.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?MessageKey=70f8b676-f8a4-4559-bc7a-537b8aef012e&CommunityKey=b098f303-d3eb-46cd-962d-1b05006fd6c5&tab=digestviewer#bm70f8b676-f8a4-4559-bc7a-537b8aef012e

    I think Gaby did an excellent job answering that question and posted excellent references to peruse. I want to add that we have two theoretical frameworks in developmental science that directly address racism and other systems of oppression, and how they impact the development of ethnic-racial minority youth: 1) the Integrative Model (Garcia Coll et al., 1996) and 2) PVEST (Spencer, 2006). Read those theories! Marinate on them and think about how they are describing the lived experiences and conditions that ethnic-racial minority children face. Cite and apply them to your research so that you begin to understand how ethnic-racial minority children develop in the context of racism and the other isms that structure our society.

    García Coll, C., Lamberty, G., Jenkins, R., McAdoo, H. P., Crnic, K., Wasik, B. H., & Garcia, H. (1996). An integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children. Child Development, 67, 1891-1914.

    Santos, C. E., & Toomey, R. B. (2018). Integrating an Intersectionality Lens in Theory and Research in Developmental Science. New directions for child and adolescent development, 10.1002/cad.20245. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20245

    Spencer, M. B. (2006). Phenomenology and Ecological Systems Theory: Development of diverse groups. In W. Damon, R. M. Lerner, & R. M. Lerner (Eds), Handbook of Child Psychology (pp. 829-893). John Wiley & Sons.

    Velez, G., & Spencer, M. B. (2018). Phenomenology and Intersectionality: Using PVEST as a Frame for Adolescent Identity Formation Amid Intersecting Ecological Systems of Inequality. New directions for child and adolescent development, 10.1002/cad.20247. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20247

    @Cynthia García Coll
    @Margaret Spencer
    @Carlos Santos
    @Gabriela Stein

    @Russell Toomey 

    ​​​​​​

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    Eleanor Seaton
    Tempe AZ
    480-727-4359
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  • 7.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:13
    Edited by Eleanor Seaton 07-14-2020 14:15

    This was a question from last week. What are standard measures of experienced racial discrimination for minority communities that we can include as standard research practice?

    I think @Margaret Caughy gave a great answer. However, I must admit that I dislike this question as a measurement person. I need my colleagues to get out of the mindset that you can "add a racial discrimination measure and stir". You are not making fudge brownies! What specifically are you interested in assessing related to racial discrimination? Which population of youth are you studying? Has previous literature addressed your question? How can your research build on existing literature?

    You also need to talk to an expert in racism and racial discrimination among your population of interest, and probably bring them on as a co-investigator. A lot of us are housed within the Black, Latinx and Asian caucuses of SRCD. If you are studying Asian youth, then I would recommend speaking with @Tiffany Yip @Richard Lee @Charissa Cheah @Rashmita Mistry @Virginia Huynh @Yoonsun Choi to name a few. If you are studying Black youth, I would recommend speaking with @Mia Smith-Bynum @Enrique Neblett @Enrique Neblett @Sharon Lambert @Riana Anderson and and Noni Gaylord-Hardn to name a few. If you are studying Latino youth, I would recommend speaking with @Adriana Umaña-Taylor @Carlos Santos @Deborah Rivas-Drake and Stephen Quintana to name a few. All racial discrimination measures are not equal and the one that is right for you will be related to your questions of interest, your research agenda, and your population of interest. You need to talk to someone who has pondered the issues that your specific population encounters in relation to racism or racial discrimination.

    If you are studying White youth, then consider contacting Lisa Spanierman, who created the Cost of Racism to White People for use with White college students. Consult with Lisa to see if her measure can be adapted for use in your research project in order to advance an antiracism research agenda.

    Spanierman, L. B., Todd, N. R., & Anderson, C. J. (2009). Psychosocial costs of racism to Whites: Understanding patterns among university students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015432

    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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    Eleanor Seaton
    Tempe AZ
    480-727-4359
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  • 8.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:18
    Q: How do we conduct research on white racial socialization without centering whiteness, including research funding and resources channeled toward white scholars who study white communities?

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    SRCDStaff
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  • 9.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:24
    Edited by Rebecca White 07-14-2020 16:06
    This is a question that we did not get to during the webinar and I wanted to address it. I am particularly interested in (and concerned about) the implications of the webinar funding recommendations for overall programs of funding. We discussed this in our preparations and we struggled with it. I have considerable trepidation about recommending that funders invest in anti-racist research because this could have the unintended consequence of drawing funding away from Black, Indigenous, and people of color researchers studying normative development among Black, Indigenous, and youth of color. If history is any guide, it will have this unintended consequence. This was a real fear for me relative to our conversation. I am, therefore, interested in ensuring that whatever mechanisms of funding we advance to support anti-racist research with White youth be structured in ways that tie those mechanisms to initiatives that increase funding for research by and with Black, Indigenous, and people of color. I am not an expert in finances or financial structures. When I have been brainstorming about this, my lay mind thinks, 'OK, how do we make sure investing in antiracist research does not have the unintended consequence of directing more resources to White researchers and White youth?' Well, maybe one way is to link such initiatives directly to initiatives to support Black, Indigenous, and people of color conducting research with Black, Indigenous, and people of color children and youth. Maybe it looks something like this: for every $1 invested in advancing an anti-racist research agenda with White youth, a funder commits $3 ($4, $20, $100?) to advancing developmental research by and for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. I welcome additional thoughts from folks with more advanced knowledge on funding and finance, like @Vivian Tseng, @Adam Gamoran, @Fabienne Doucet at the William T. Grant Foundation. ​​​​​​​​

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    Rebecca White
    Arizona State University
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  • 10.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:41
    Here is a potential big switch in our field's research --
    All those studies based on white samples and centered on white value systems and practices could report their findings as studies of a specific cultural/racial group
    instead of reporting them as if they are generic, human samples centered on generic, human value systems and practices. 

    Given that most people are rather unaware of their own culture's values and practices, the observations/research of people who have experience in more than one cultural system would be especially valuable for this approach.

    Of course, research funding and resources should not be diverted from the study of and by BIPOC peoples.  Such funding and resources are in dire need of being increased, given that half of US kids and much more than half of the world's kids are not white.  And so little research has focused on these communities from a nondeficit approach.

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    Barbara Rogoff
    Santa Cruz CA
    831-459-3763
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  • 11.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:58

    Agreed @Barbara Rogoff! What if, in service to journals in our field, we started requiring people to name White samples and name the value systems, and define the cultural contexts in which the population exists (sound familiar @Cynthia García Coll?)! What if we started, as reviewers, requiring people who conduct colorblind research with ethnically and racially heterogeneous samples to name colorblindness?! We might have a much better and explicit understanding of the scope of the contribution if these elements were named.

    ​​

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    Rebecca White
    Arizona State University
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  • 12.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:23
    Q: For the professors of color, where do you draw the line in terms of when you have the energy to call out White racist peers and when you don't?

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    SRCDStaff
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  • 13.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:32

    This is a great question! The first answer concerns the fact that everyone needs to define their professional and personal boundaries. When it comes to racism and antiracism work, where do you see yourself being the most effective? Once you know where you intend to be effective, that knowledge will help you draw boundaries to determine which battles you are going to fight. What battles are you going to let slide because you need to preserve your energy? How can you empower your White colleagues to do the calling in for you so you can preserve your energy, talent and time? Everyone has to decide these matters for themselves and enforce their personal and professional boundaries because there are no right and wrong answers. This is very subjective! I'm curious as to how some of my colleagues who study racism answer this question @Tiffany Yip @Richard Lee @Brandon Yoo @Adriana Umaña-Taylor @Mia Smith-Bynum @Enrique Neblett @Enrique Neblett @Sharon Lambert @Charissa Cheah @Rashmita Mistry @Riana Anderson and Noni Gaylord-Harden. 

    The second answer concerns self-care. If you are going to engage in racism related research and antiracism work, your self-care routine needs to be a regular habit. You cannot do work related to racism and not take care of yourself. Racism kills, steals and destroys individuals who are not White and that can be depressing, traumatizing, and debilitating. The effects of this work are real and not hypothetical! I have developed a self-care routine over the years so that this work doesn't overwhelm me and/or get too heavy at times. I work out six days a week because I know that I constantly need to take care of my physical body. I have been journaling since I was 14 and journaling is very cathartic for my mental, physical and emotional health. Baking relaxes me and I love to bake desserts of all kinds. I am a househead and listening to house music always elevates my mood regardless of the time of day. Craft a self-care routine and stick with it so you can take care of yourself while doing this work. I will end with a quote from the great Audrey Lorde who stated "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."

    ​​​​​​​​​​

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    Eleanor Seaton
    Tempe AZ
    480-727-4359
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  • 14.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:28
    Edited by Staff SRCD 07-14-2020 14:28
    Q: What's the distinction between anti-racist research and "simply" doing research on racism in white kids?

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    SRCDStaff
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  • 15.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:36
    This is a question from the webinar that we did not have an opportunity to address. I think this is a critical question and something we need to be vigilant about as we advance and anti-racist research agenda. More colorblind research with White youth is not going to address our call.

    For starters, I would lean on the definition @Eleanor Seaton advanced in the workshop on antiracism, which she compiled across work by @Andrea Ayvazian, @Eileen O'Brien, @Kathleen Kordesh, @Lisa Spanierman, @Helen Neville, @Karyn D. McKinney, and @Joe Feagin.

    @Eleanor Seaton defined antiracism as incluidng "a critical understanding of racism and White privilege, as well as intentional and consistent behaviors that challenge racism. White anti-racist behaviors involve interrupting racist jokes, writing letters to organizations, serving as allies to people of color, and teaching other White individuals about racism and White privilege."

    Based on that definition, I think doing research on how racism develops in White youth that includes a critical understanding of racism and White privilege and focuses on the kinds of behaviors that @Eleanor Seaton outlined in her definition (e.g., interrupting racist jokes, writing letters to organizations, serving as allies to people of color, and teaching other White individuals about racism and White privilege) would support an antiracist research agenda. Doing research on the development of bias in White children, however, would not address an antiracist research agenda unless it was somehow situated in "a critical understanding of racism and White privilege" (in which case, it probably needs to be reframed from "bias" to "racism"). ​​​​​​​​​​​​

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    Rebecca White
    Arizona State University
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  • 16.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:34
    Hello Dr. Seaton and Dr. White,

    Thank you so much for being available to answer questions and open dialogue in this space!

    I am a 5th year PhD student at the University of Minnesota that recently shifted my research. Dr. Seaton, you were a primary source of initial inspiration for this shift, after hearing you speak on a panel about racial discrimination research at the 2019 SRCD conference and pushing White researchers to be more actively being part of the solution. So thank you for that and for your continued inspiration! I was originally focused on the "basic research" of how stress shapes the physiological underpinnings of self-regulation. Now my dissertation is centered on better understanding how acute physiological stress responses may be undermining genuine engagement in critical race conversations and the development of critical consciousness in White, Liberal emerging adults (along the lines of Dr. DiAngelo's White Fragility concept and related to Resmaa Menakem's ideas of White Body Supremacy). 

    I have also been learning more about scholar-activist and community-engaged models of research and involvement in academia. My primary question is about how you see the functioning of these models and others like it that may be considered more "untraditional" in the field of Developmental Psychology? Do you see a place for them in our field? What advice do you have for graduate students that are passionate about these models? How can we best engage with people and departments that ascribe to more "traditional" approaches and also introduce some of the values of these others? Are there certain strategies for selecting post-docs and future faculty opportunities that are aligned with these other approaches?

    Apologies if that was too much in a question! Please let me know if I can clarify or shorten anything. And thank you!

    ------------------------------
    Keira Leneman
    Institute of Child Development
    Minneapolis MN
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  • 17.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:51

    Hi Keira and thanks for engaging with us! First, I want to say that I share your views of @Eleanor Seaton. Her work and engagement with the developmental community are inspiring!

    If I understand your question, you are thinking of being a scholar-activist as an untraditional way to engage with research and being a scholar who refrains from activism as being ​a traditional way to engage. If this is not you "model," please feel free to correct me. 

    Meanwhile - my general thinking on this is that the academy needs to open way up to the different ways in which its scholars can and should engage with communities and make structual changes to support a range of engagement. At Arizona State University, our thinking is that, as a large, public institution, engagement is an inherent part of our mission. I think that all universities need to take a broader look at this. Second, my underlying assumption is that our experiences in the world shape the very research questions we ask (not to mention the knowledge that we value and the tools that we use to advance it), so there is no "neutral" research. Thus, the extent to which institutions believe they are supporting neutral researchers needs to be re-evaluated. And, I do not think this critique is limited to the social sciences. Third, and moving beyond institutional support for scholars who want to engage in activism in service of their communities, I think mentors need to open up to having these conversations with mentees, instead of just shutting them down and telling them to worry about that stuff later. 



    ------------------------------
    Rebecca White
    Arizona State University
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  • 18.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 15:07
    Edited by Eleanor Seaton 07-14-2020 15:08
    Keira,
    Thank you for posting a question and your kind words. They are much appreciated! I am a big fan of @Rebecca White and I think she gave some great answers to your question. 

    My first answer is to redefine how you define activist. One of my pet peeves is the narrow definition of activism that people have. Maybe it is because I am the great-granddaughter, granddaughter and daughter of Civil Rights activists who fought for their rights in Mississippi. Through knowing them and learning about their stories, they illustrated that there are multiple ways to advance equity in society. What does activism look like for you? Who are the individuals you need to be in community and/or partnership with to advance this agenda? There is always a place for equity in our society so worry less about whether others see that place or not and do the work. You can best engage with people and departments who are more "traditional" by doing the work and educating your colleagues through your research, teaching and service. Make sure that you are doing the emotional labor to unpack White privilege and teaching other White individuals about White privilege. Your research, teaching and service activities will speak for themselves, and we need our White colleagues to join us on an antiracist journey to craft a better society for all. I am happy to talk further as well!



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    Eleanor Seaton
    Tempe AZ
    480-727-4359
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  • 19.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 16:30
    Thank you both @Rebecca White and @Eleanor Seaton​​​ for your thoughtful responses! This is very helpful. I look forward to learning, reflecting, and engaging more as I move forward in my career and to following and connecting with your work and engagement! I'm very happy to see these conversations become so much more prominent in the field (at least from my early-career perspective). Thanks again for your time and energy.

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    Keira Leneman
    Institute of Child Development
    Minneapolis MN
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  • 20.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:34
    Q: How do we call-in our White colleagues to join anti-racist work? How can we frame the importance of this work to them?

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    SRCDStaff
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  • 21.  RE: Debriefing with Experts on 7/14 from 2-3pm ET: Drs. Eleanor Seaton and Rebecca White

    Posted 07-14-2020 14:52

    Another great question! We need to let our White colleagues know that building an antiracist society is beneficial for everyone not just non-White individuals. Policies that are antiracist as well as policies that address sexism, homophobia, classism, ableism, and transphobia make the overall society better for everyone. Let me give a recent example. Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in 2008 because the majority of Black American, Asian American, Native American and Latinx individuals voted for him in addition to a minority of White voters (43%). One of President Obama's signature polices was the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which granted health insurance to millions of individuals (approximately 20 million) who had previously been unable to acquire health insurance. Yet, the ACA primarily benefited White people more than any other ethnic-racial group. We can have another conversation about the pros and cons of the ACA. The point is that the ACA benefited White Americans more than any other ethnic-racial group although the majority of Whites did not vote for President Obama. That is one example of a policy issue but when racial justice is advanced, everyone in society benefits. I will end with a quote from one of my sheros, Fannie Lou Hamer, who said "Nobody is free until everybody is free." We have to make our White colleagues understand this so that they will advance an antiracist agenda in developmental science and the broader society. 



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    Eleanor Seaton
    Tempe AZ
    480-727-4359
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