As reports concerning the murders of Black individuals in the U.S. continue to rise, interracial solidarity in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM) is ever more important. Although Asian American interracial solidarity is often not known, Asians in America have fought alongside minoritized groups throughout history to achieve equality (Maeda, 2009). However, stereotypes like the model minority myth (MMM) continue to pit Asians against Black and Brown communities, making it difficult to achieve racial unity (Kim, 1999). Despite this, Asian Americans who are critically reflective, or who recognize how systemic inequality acts in maintaining the oppression of minoritized groups, may be more likely to support movements like BLM. Thus, this study seeks to examine the moderating role of critical reflection in the relationship between internalization of the MMM (MMM-Achievement and MMM-Mobility) and support for BLM (BLM-Black Liberation and BLM-Diversity Values) among diverse Asian American college students. We surveyed 272 Asian American college students (M age = 21.75) from a large, public university in the Southwest. Findings suggest that critical reflection was related to Asian Americans' support of BLM, although internalization of the MMM was not related to support of BLM. The expected attenuating role of critical reflection in the link between internalizing the MMM and support of BLM seemed to depend on the type of MMM internalized. Our study illustrates important ways in which Asian Americans can challenge the MMM and engage in important cross-racial solidarity work including support of the BLM movement. What is the public significance of this article?The present study illustrates the ways in which Asian Americans can challenge racial stereotypes such as the model minority myth and engage in movements for interracial solidarity like the Black Lives Matter movement.

Psychological research and theory focused on distinct racialization and racial identity experiences of Asian Americans are limited. Our article proposes a new measure of ideological values related to Asian American racial identity that draws on Asian Critical Race Theory and Asian Americanist perspectives that emphasize the unique history of oppression, resilience, and resistance among Asians in America. Across three studies with a combined sample of 860 Asian American college students, we created and confirmed the bifactor structure and fit of the 13-item measure of Asian American Racial Identity Ideological Values (AARIIV), with three subscales. Asian American Unity is a cultural response to the discourse on who is included in the category "Asian American" across intersections of social positionalities. Interracial Solidarity is a cultural response to the shared experiences of discrimination and exploitation among all racial minority groups. Transnational Critical Consciousness is a cultural response to Asians in the United States and Asians abroad who share overlapping racialization and discrimination experiences due to white supremacy and imperialism. The three-subscale structure of the AARIIV was supported by a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Evidence of convergent validity was supported as it positively correlated with awareness of racism, critical reflection, critical action, racial centrality, ethnic pride, and ethnic engagement; and negatively correlated with internalization of the model minority myth and colorblind racial attitudes. Evidence of incremental validity was supported as AARIIV predicted colorblind racial attitudes and critical consciousness above and beyond broad-ranging measures of racial identity and ethnic identity. What is the public significance of this article?The present study develops a new measure of Asian American Racial Identity Ideological Values that draws on the unique racial history of oppression and resilience of Asians in America.

Throughout U.S. history, Asian Americans engaged in various forms of collective action to challenge systems of oppression. Despite this, few studies challenge the stereotype that Asian Americans are apolitical and uninterested in collective action and focus on psychological correlates of Asian Americans' collective action. Collective action may be motivated by critical reflection on racism and inequality, which may induce shifts in racial identity ideological values that lead Asian Americans to align with minoritized groups. The current study examines whether Asian American racial identity ideological values—specifically, Asian American Unity, Interracial Solidarity, and Transnational Critical Consciousness—help explain why critical reflection is linked to collective action among Asian Americans. Multiple mediation analyses suggested that, among Asian American college students in the Southwest United States (N = 272), beliefs about Interracial Solidarity and Asian American Unity mediated the relationship between critical reflection (i.e., Critical Reflection on Racism and Perceived Inequality) and collective action (i.e., Support for Black Lives Matter and Sociopolitical Participation). Transnational Critical Consciousness did not mediate the relationship between critical reflection and collective action. This study highlights how Asian American unity and interracial solidarity beliefs underlie Asian Americans' critical reflection and collective action.