Race is always a charged issue, with very strong views that make it difficult to go beyond the obvious. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

This video is interesting because it shows that perceptions about race are internalized at a very early age. What is more telling is that they know they look like the black doll but refer to the white doll as the nicest and prettiest. This fact is troubling because it suggests that their self-image is low due of the way they perceive themselves.

What I think is more important is how little these perceptions about race have changed among African-Americans since the 1940’s. In the intervening years, American society did away with segregation, placed more people of color as positive role models, and we have seen a large increase in a black middle class. This is not to say that racism is dead, just stating that great strides have been made in the right direction.

And yet, children’s perceptions on race seem to have remained static since the 40’s. This leads me to the conclusion that the main cause for this kids’ warped self-image is not American society as whole (which has evolved somewhat, while their perceptions have not). I think that racial prejudices inherent in black households are far more pervasive. This makes sense since the major socialization influence of children is their own families, so that we end up adopting our own family’s attitudes as our own.

In conclusion, no matter how far society as a whole go in terms of race equality, as long as African-American adults continue favoring lighter skin, straight hair, and other traits of white people, their children will continue to have a low self-image and perpetuate the cycle with their own children.