Antiracist Agency–Family Responses to Everyday and Structural Racism

ABSTRACT Objective This paper introduces the concept of antiracist agency to examine how racially minoritized families actively navigate, resist, and challenge racism in everyday life. Background Although families play a central role in ethno‐racial socialization and identity formation of their children, less attention has been paid to how they respond to and contest racism in raising them. Examining these practices contributes to understanding how families negotiate racism and shape children's experiences of belonging and resistance. Method In‐depth interviews were conducted with 25 families in Germany identifying as Black , Muslim , or Eastern and Central European and reporting experiences of racism. Interviews explored experiences of racism, family responses, and contextual conditions shaping antiracist agency. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and ideal‐type construction. Results Families employed a diverse repertoire of antiracist agency, including ethno‐racial socialization, preparation for bias, emotional boundary work, institutional advocacy, community‐building, and political engagement. Four ideal‐typical orientations emerged: Fighters, Pragmatists, Protectors, and In‐Process Explorers. Variation was shaped by socio‐economic position, family and partner alignment, local context, and ethno‐racial identity and sense of belonging. Antiracist agency cuts across groups and is shaped by relational and structural conditions. Conclusion Antiracist agency captures the diverse, relational, and contextually situated ways families resist racism, prepare children to navigate racism, engage institutions, build supportive communities, and seek to transform unequal social environments. Implications Families should be recognized as active agents in responding to racism, while institutions should strengthen structural responses rather than relying on families to compensate for systemic shortcomings.