On February 5, 2013, I thought about Trayvon Martin. After all, it would have been his 18th birthday, so it was only appropriate. But it was not just a day to consider his life; rather, his death and its impact on families.
As a researcher in a cultural and family studies laboratory, I think about the “Trayvons” of our society constantly. It was his untimely death that led my colleague, Saida Hussain, and me to consider the effects of discrimination on processes within low-income Black families. After developing a theory based on existing research, we found using a statistical model that discrimination reported by parents has a direct and indirect effect on children.