CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND CIVIL ORGANIZATION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing interest in political activism, especially regarding racial injustices exemplified by the murder of George Floyd. Young adult college students who have become critically aware of their political environment have become mobilized to participate in social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and #StopAsianHate. This study involves 21 semi-structured interviews with current or recently graduated college students participating in social justice movements. These interviews include questions regarding political activism, experiences with discrimination, and questions about solidarity. An analysis using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of interviews (11 Asian American and 10 Latinx American) suggests that Latinx activists may view BLM through the lens of intra-minority solidarity, both minority groups sharing a common goal. In contrast, Asian American Activists view BLM through inter-minority support, both groups having distinct but important motivations. These preliminary findings may provide insight into the processes influencing college students to critically reflect and mobilize in solidarity with an outgroup.