Democratic but Still White: The Impact of Racial Identity Threats on White Democrats’ Support for Racial Justice Protests

Abstract In recent years, observers have noted an apparent increase in racially progressive attitudes among White Democrats. Among journalists, this “great awokening” of White Democrats is practically taken as a political fact. However, what this consensus about the racial liberalism of White Democrats often overlooks is that while White Democrats have in many ways moved in line with the Democratic Party’s position on race and racial inequality, their White identity makes them vulnerable to racial identity threats. In this study, I test this potential for racial identity-driven backlash among White Democrats in the context of racial justice protest movements. To do this, I conduct a survey experiment in which respondents are exposed to an image from a racial justice protest, and I vary the messaging on the signs in the image as well as the race of the protesters. I find that when protesters use messaging that is critical of Whites and Whiteness, White Democrats’ support for the movement and the protesters declines. Additionally, such messaging causes respondents to distance themselves from the views of the protesters and raises concerns about violence erupting at the protests. These results underscore how racial identity threats can erode White Democrats’ support for political messages and political movements that their increasingly liberal racial attitudes should make them amenable to.