This study investigated differences in the use of authoritarian parenting (AP), a race socialization practice among high-risk African American parents and compared it to authoritative parenting (ATP) a style found efficacious for White adolescents. Data from the Rochester Youth Development Study are used inclusive of African American (n = 413) and White (n = 114) adolescents. Risk for delinquency is measured by six factors. ATP includes parental responsiveness and monitoring, and AP added restrictive parental control. Multivariate regression models were used to assess main and interaction effects of the parenting styles with cumulative risk. Findings indicated ATP is a racially and class invariant child rearing style that reduces delinquency.