About

Megan R. Underhill is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina Asheville where she teaches courses on race and racism, social inequality, and social and cultural theory.

Megan's research examines how white parents make sense of racial and class inequality and how they communicate these ideas to their children. Her research provides insight into a significant but overlooked empirical question—how do racial majority parents teach their children about race and racism?

In two of her published articles, "Parenting During Ferguson" (2017) and "Parents of the White Awokening" (2022), she examines white parents' explicit racial socialization practices, investigating what parents say to their children about race, racism, and whiteness in the face of growing racial violence and protest in the United States. Her published work also examines the implicit, non-verbal messages white parents convey to their children about race and class, interrogating how parents' everyday acts of inclusion and exclusion support and undermine their stated racial beliefs.

Megan is currently working on a book manuscript entitled White Parents: Learning and Unlearning Whiteness in the Time of Black Lives Matter that draws upon 107 interviews conducted with white parents in 2014, 2019, and 2023.

When not teaching, researching, or writing, Megan enjoys spending time with her family, exploring the mountains, and reading for pleasure.