Challenging the Dominant Story: The Impact of Counter-Narratives of Racial History on Black and White Americans

The dominant narrative of race relations and racial history in the U.S. highlights the steady progress of Black Americans, while minimizing or overlooking persistent racial injustices. Belief in this progressive narrative has been associated with lower support for social change. The Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice organizations have advocated for a different narrative of racial struggle for civil rights, which deviates from the dominate narrative and highlights resistance and resilience in the face of ongoing oppression. Social psychologists Rezarta Bilali and Michelle Twali will examine the impact of counternarratives of race relations in the U.S. on willingness to engage in civic and collective action. They will conduct survey experiments for their study.