White Americans’ Belief in Systemic Racial Injustice and In-Group Identification Affect Reactions to (Peaceful vs. Destructive) “Black Lives Matter” Protest

Objective: To examine how White Americans’ in-group identification and belief in systemic racial injustice affects reactions to (peaceful vs. destructive) Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest. Method: In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in summer 2020, White Americans (N = 399) were randomly assigned to view pictures of either peaceful (marches, sit-ins) or destructive (of property) BLM protests. Ethnic in-group identification and belief in systemic racial injustice were examined as important individual differences that should moderate views of protest (controlling for political orientation). Results: Among Whites lower in belief in systemic racial injustice, there was little support for BLM protest or racial redress, regardless of other factors. In contrast, support among those with greater belief in systemic racial injustice varied as a function of in-group identification and the form of protest. Lower identified Whites endorsed peaceful and destructive Black protest about equally, whereas higher identified Whites supported peaceful Black protest more than destructive protest. This pattern of results did not extend to support for systemic efforts at racial redress. Conclusions: Findings suggest (a) that belief in systemic racial injustice is a prerequisite for White support of BLM protest; (b) but that such support is undermined among highly identified Whites if the Black protest is destructive; (c) and that reactions to protest do not necessarily extend beyond views of protest to views regarding systemic efforts at racial redress, including reform of the police.