Growing Up in America ─ The Power of Race in the Lives of Teens

"A wonderfully written, powerful book that enlightens as it engages. We cannot understand the meaning of race without understanding its formation in youth. And this is the very best book written on that subject."

---Michael O. Emerson, Rice University

"Growing Up in America masterfully shines an incisive light on how experiences in the four most influential contexts of adolescence---family, peers, school, and religion---can vary immensely based on one's racial or ethnic background. A must-read for anyone interested in the sources of inequality in the U.S. or how race truly matters in the lives of American youth."---Lisa D. Pearce, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

People's experiences of racial inequality in adulthood are well documented, but less attention is given to the racial inequalities that children and adolescents face. Growing Up in America provides a rich, first-hand account of the different social worlds that teens of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds experience. In their own words, these American teens describe conflicts with parents, pressures from other teens, school experiences, and religious beliefs that drive their various understandings of the world.

As the book reveals, teens' unequal experiences have a significant impact on their adult lives and their potential for social mobility. Directly confronting the constellation of advantages and disadvantages white, black, Hispanic, and Asian teens face today, this work provides a framework for understanding the relationship between socialization in adolescence and social inequality in adulthood. By uncovering the role racial and ethnic differences play early on, we can better understand the sources of inequality in American life.

Brad Christerson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Biola University. Korie L. Edwards is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Ohio State University. Richard Flory is Associate Research Professor of Sociology and Senior Research Associate in the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.