Cela, T., Demezier, D., Waldman, R., Clement, R., Dembo, R., Jean‐Gilles, M., ... & Marcelin, L. H. (2022). Juvenile justice–involved Haitian families' experiences of structural racism and socioethnic discrimination. Family Relations.

This article examines how Haitian families with youthinterfacing with the juvenile justice system cope with structural racism andsocioethnic discrimination (RSD). Background: Haitian families’ experiencesof discrimination based on their histories, immigrant status, andpositionality illustrates the need for more scientific scrutiny of theexperiences of RSD among Black immigrant groups. This National Institute onDrug Abuse (NIDA)–funded study details the narratives of and responses to RSDexperienced by Haitian families interfacing with the juvenile justice system.Method: Data are drawn from psychosocial assessment tools, therapeuticsessions, and ethnographic interviews conducted with Haitian familiesparticipating in a family‐based therapeutic intervention. Using critical racetheory, we foreground the voices of those negatively impacted and useBourdieu’s theory of practice to examine the intersectionality of race andethnicity in this population’s experiences of RSD. Results: The differentexperiences of and responses to RSD among youth and caregivers of Haitiandescent are both a variation of the complex continuum of structural racism inthe United States and unique to their immigrant experience of marginalizationand cultural invalidation by public institutions, community members, andpeers. Conclusion: Professionals working with this population must besensitive to the ways these experiences impact young people’s identitydevelopment processes, their health, and well‐being. Haitian caregiversshould be encouraged to protect their children by engaging in racial andsocioethnic socialization that validates their RSD experiences. Implications:Understanding the intergenerational experiences of RSD among Black, immigrantgroups and encouraging family dialogue and adolescent support will strengthenfamily cohesion during this period of racial reckoning.