The concept of emotional capital suggests that adults transfer emotion management skills to children in ways that are consequential
for the social reproduction of inequalities. Using ethnographic data from a popular after-school program, this study analyzes
the emotional capital transmitted to low-income black girls by staff. They passed on four aspects of emotional capital: stifling
attitude, being emotionally accountable for peers, sympathizing with adult authority figures, and emotional distancing from
cultural “dysfunction.” Staff intended to teach girls to manage their emotions as a way to counteract racism, but the socialization
largely promoted emotional deference, thereby reinforcing racialized, classed, and gendered ideologies.
Keywords Emotion management - Social reproduction - Inequality - African Americans - Children - Socialization