Highlights• We investigate institutional and cultural racial discrimination and Black youth activism orientation.• Racial identity that emphasizes the importance of Blackness relates to low-risk activism orientation.• Nationalist racial ideology promotes high-and low-risk Black community activism orientation.• Relationship between racial discrimination and activism orientation varies by public regard.• Teens and young adults need opportunities to process racism to support low-and high-risk activism.Abstract The current study examines how experiences of institutional and cultural racial discrimination relate to orientations toward activism in the Black community among Black adolescents and emerging adults. Furthermore, we investigate the role of racial identity (centrality, public regard, nationalism) as moderators of those relations. In a national sample of 888 Black adolescents and emerging adults, we found that experiences of cultural racial discrimination, racial centrality, and nationalism ideology were related to a greater orientation toward low-risk Black community activism. For high-risk activism, nationalism was associated with a greater likelihood to participate in future social action in the Black community. The relation between experiences of institutional racial discrimination and high-risk activism orientation was moderated by public regard. For Black adolescents and emerging adults who believe others view Black people negatively, more experiences of institutional racial discrimination were related to a greater high-risk activism orientation. Findings highlight the importance of investigating racial discrimination as a multidimensional construct that extends beyond individual interactions and microaggressions. Furthermore, these findings underscore how phenomenological variation in experiences of racial discrimination and racial identity differentially influence adolescent and emerging adult orientations toward social action in and for the Black community.

In this article, we describe the development and validation of a measure of orientation toward activism in and for the Black community—the Black Community Activism Orientation Scale (BCAOS)—in a sample of Black adolescents and emerging adults. An exploratory factor analysis ( n = 446) was conducted and the results were a 26-item measure with scores of three internally consistent factors: high-risk, low-risk, and formal political activism orientation. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted ( n = 447) and strong model fit estimates confirmed the factor structure of the exploratory factor analysis. Convergent validity was established through bivariate correlations of the BCAOS factors with social responsibility beliefs and nationalist ideology. In light of increased participation in sociopolitical movements in support of Black lives, the BCAOS can contribute to investigations of the psychology of adolescent and emerging adult activism in and for the Black community. We recommend additional scale development research to further contribute to this growing field.

Linked fate, or connection to the Black community, may be a pathway to engagement in social justice action for Black liberation. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of racial identity on Black queer youths’ orientation toward Black activism. We used hierarchical linear regression to examine relationships between dimensions of racial identity and Black activism orientation among 142 queer‐identified youth. We found that racial centrality and racial ideologies predicted high‐risk activism orientation. Additionally, assimilationist ideology moderated the relationship between racial centrality and high‐risk activism orientation. The degree to which Black queer youth feel race is central to their self‐concept relates with their intent to engage in Black activism. These findings demonstrate that racial ideologies matter distinctively to activism orientation and offer that perception of risk nuances linked fate as a pathway to activism for Black queer youth.

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