African American Activism: The Predictive Role of Race Related Stress, Racial Identity, and Social Justice Beliefs

Abstract

Historically, African American activism has played a pivotal role in advancing social change in the United States. As such, there is an interest in examining possible factors that may engender activism among African Americans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to extend research by Szymanski and Lewis (2015), which explored potential predictors of activism among African Americans. With a sample of 458 African American undergraduates, race-related stress, racial identity dimensions, and social justice variables were examined. A four-stage, multiple linear hierarchical regression model and two multiple mediation bootstrap analyses were employed. Race-related stress and racial identity attitudes significantly and uniquely predicted involvement in African American activism, complementing existing literature. Beyond that, social justice beliefs predicted African American activism over and above racial identity and race-related stress. More specifically, social justice subjective norms (i.e., social influence) was the most important predictor of activism for African American undergraduates. Implications for social justice development within institutions of higher education are discussed.

Perceptions of Mental Health and Exploring the Role of Social Activism Among African Americans Exposed to Media Coverage of Police Brutality and Protests

“…To understand findings within the context of the aftermath of George Floyd's death, between May 26 and August 30 of 2020, over 7750 protests occurred across the USA [4], and there were several other incidents of African Americans being injured or killed by police officers that received national attention during that time, such as the death of Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob Blake. Some African Americans may have been deeply affected by these events perhaps because they emphasized or identified with the victims of police brutality and/or demonstrators fighting for important issues in their community [32,42]. However, even though they were deeply affected by these events, some African Americans may have chosen not to engage in social activism, which may have contributed to worse perceptions of mental health.…”

“…For example, many African Americans who have experienced police victimization become socially engaged and influential advocates for reform [31]. However, these same individuals may be more sensitive to progress within the social movement than those who lack a personal connection [32]. Therefore, when a social movement fails to achieve its mission, the people who strongly identify with the movement may suffer from poor mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, because they begin to feel hopelessness or despair in the face of perceived injustice [33].…”