Speaker A
We're continuing our 360 special report, Kids on Race, The Hidden Picture.
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Speaker A
Its aim is to study children's attitudes on race and understand how and why they formed their opinions.
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We teamed up with renowned child psychologist, Dr. Melanie Killen, to try to design this study.
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Now, take a look at this: Killen and her team showed 13-year-old children this picture.
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and asked them to describe what was happening, questions like, what's happening here, are these children friends, and would their parents want them to be friends?
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Now, the picture is designed to be ambiguous, what's happening is in the eye of the beholder.
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Then they showed them this picture and asked the same questions.
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Now, the only difference between the two pictures, the race of the kids was flipped.
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Both white and African-American children were tested, and the psychologist showed a similar set of pictures to six-year-olds.
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At our request, they also asked kids open-ended questions about race to understand how it plays into their own lives.
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And as you'll see, the responses were raw.
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Some of the experiences they describe are shocking.
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In our first report, we told you that when testing six-year-olds, the research showed an overwhelming majority of white kids were negative about interracial friendships.
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The majority of black children, on the other hand, were positive.
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But we discovered a lot changes from childhood to adolescence.
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Take a look.
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The study found when six-year-old African-American children were asked about interracial friendships, the majority responded like this.
Speaker B
Carrie was trying to help her.
Speaker C
And how much would they like it if the two were friends?
Speaker D
Um, really like it.
Speaker A
But watch how they respond by age 13.
Speaker E
Carrie, she's a bully, so she pushed Abby.
Speaker C
Do you think that Chris and Alex are friends?
Speaker F
No, not really.
Speaker A
The optimism we heard from young black children fades with age.
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At age six, 59% of black children think the two kids in the picture are friends.
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By 13, a total flip, 63% do not think they're friends.
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Which matches white teens' attitudes.
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Our expert says experiences like 13-year-old Jimmy's of rejection begin to explain the disappointing trend.
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He says a white friend's mom forbade her son to be friends with him.
Speaker G
They end up to say because it's because you're black, so you can't hang out.
Speaker G
Her and her son.
Speaker C
Oh, so she kind of very openly said that the reason why her son could not hang out with you and your family was because you guys are black.
Speaker G
Yeah.
Speaker H
Because of their skin.
Speaker A
Dante was bullied so badly because of his race, he had to change schools.
Speaker I
I've been bullied for like the way I looked and the way of my skin at my previous school that I went to.
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And they just kept on bullying me and I didn't like it.
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I just asked them to stop like over and over again.
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And then I tried to like, I tried not to break.
Speaker H
Mhm.
Speaker I
But I couldn't like hold on anymore.
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So I asked my mom, can I leave?
Speaker J
Peer interactions are way to understand.
Speaker A
Our expert, Dr. Killen, says the decline happens because they've been given a sobering reality check on race.
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They're getting a lot of negative feedback through elementary school and adolescence.
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And I think if you get that, have that kind of experience and you have it repeatedly over a number of years, your optimism is going to decline.
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Because you've been told, you know, you really don't belong here, you're really not part of us.
Speaker A
Dr. Killen also says anxiety about interracial dating from both black and white parents can have a profound effect on how their kids view friendships.
Speaker J
Parents of young children do often send messages about, we can all be friends, be friends with everybody.
Speaker J
Um, you know, they do send a positive messages.
Speaker J
But by adolescence, they start getting more nervous about this and they start thinking, well, you should be friends with people like you or like us.
Speaker K
How are you?
Speaker L
I'm so glad.
Speaker A
Soldad O'Brien asked some kids about the issue after it came up during their tests.
Speaker L
Do you think your parents would be fine if you decided to start dating a black girl?
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Brought her home?
Speaker M
Um, honestly, my parents probably wouldn't be too happy because if I was to marry a black girl.
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You're connected to their family now and.
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Who knows what her family is really like.
Speaker L
So they probably wouldn't be that excited about it.
Speaker M
Probably not.
Speaker A
Shante admitted anxiety and a double standard for interracial dating in her family.
Speaker N
If I were to date a white guy, a lot of people wouldn't really have a problem with that.
Speaker N
But if my brother were to bring home a white girl, you know, there's, there's definitely going to be some, you know, some, um, some controversy.
Speaker L
From whom, your parents or you?
Speaker N
From me.
Speaker N
From, from me.
Speaker N
Really because I think it's more of a problem for people when a black man brings home a white woman because it's been like that for years.
Speaker L
So it would matter to you.
Speaker N
I think, I think it would, you know, unless, of course, she were not to act, I guess, so, quote unquote, white.
Speaker L
What does that mean?
Speaker N
You know, flip my hair, oh my God, you know, that's so ghetto.
Speaker N
No.
Speaker N
No.
Speaker A
There was some good news in our results as well.
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The racial balance of a school can make a major positive difference on how white kids view race.
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The study tested kids from majority white, majority black, and racially mixed schools.
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The difference was remarkable.
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Students in majority white schools were the most pessimistic about race.
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Only 47% think their parents would approve of kids from different races being friends.
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In racially diverse and majority black schools, 71% are positive about it.
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The reason, according to Dr. Killen, is friendships.
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There's almost nothing as powerful as having a friend of a different racial ethnic background to reduce prejudice.
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You have that experience that enables you to challenge stereotypes.
Speaker C
So you feel like you're just.
Speaker A
Samantha attends a majority black middle school.
Speaker O
My grandparents have a lot of, um, like they're very racist against African-Americans.
Speaker O
And like other races.
Speaker O
But it's 2012, so they have to.
Speaker O
Like push that aside.
Speaker O
And they'll be like, no, that that's wrong to be.
Speaker O
You you want to stick with your own race.
Speaker O
And I'm like, no, I'm friends with everyone.
Speaker A
Anderson Cooper, CNN.
