Josefina Bañales

This study examined thematic patterns of parents’ engaged coping messages in response to their adolescents’ negative race‐based experiences. Ten focus groups were conducted with 73 Black parents from a Southeastern city (73% female). Using modified grounded theory, narratives that supported adolescent engaged coping were coded for three ethnic‐racial socialization messages, the perpetrator, and the setting, followed by inductive (open) coding. The majority of experiences were school‐related. Themes were informed by parents’ critical engagement, ethnic‐racial socialization, and engaged racial coping. Findings revealed that parents advised a repertoire of engaged coping strategies, from actively confronting interpersonal perpetrators (e.g., peers), to critically engaging with institutional perpetrators. Strategies to develop adolescents’ critical reflection and anti‐racism actions to dismantle racism across contexts are discussed.