For this assignment, you may submit a paper or a video presentation. All the criteria below apply for both, but word counts are for the paper only. If you choose a presentation, they should be between

A. Introduction and Rationale

In recent years, there has been a robust racial justice movement in the U.S. that has

pursued power with the goal of promoting wellness and liberating racially and historically

oppressed communities. Racial oppression continues to motivate activists to critique and take

action to challenge both psychological and societal powers of oppression. For many white

people , widely publicized killings of young black men by police have sparked a conscientization

process, which has moved them to ally themselves with the racial justice movement. In fact,

black leaders have explicitly called on white people to organize their own communities to resist

racial oppression. Recently for example, leaders of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) move ment

called for white folks to “get their own house in order” 1 and challenged white people to directly

confront white supremacy through direct action 2. Historically, white organizations such as the

weather underground have allied with powerful black libera tion movements such as the black

panthers to fight for the political liberation of oppressed communities .3

A significant threat to racial equality are the racist attitudes of whites. Shifts in racist

attitudes among whites have gone from being grounded in biological assumptions to cultural and

motivational explanations for racial inferiority .4, 5 These shifts in attitudes mirror the discourse in

social policy (e.g. The War on Drugs) that has adopted race -neutral language over time yet

produces racially disp roportionate outcomes . 6 This “colorblind” racism allows white people to

be largely ignorant of and unaccountable for historic and systemic manifestations o f racism. This

form of racism is underscored when powerful white people argue that they could not po ssibly be

racist because “my nieces and nephews are people of color” 7, but continue remaining unaware of

the unequal racial impacts of their decisions. One’s racially privileged position in an ostensibly

non -racist society relates to one’s knowledge practices, which for whites means not questioning

racial injustice. Not asking questions leads to a misunderstanding of the world that makes even

non -racist wh ite people complicit in the maintenance of systemic and institutionalized racism. 8, 9,

10

Central to the issue of race and racism necessarily includes a critical understanding of

whiteness and white racial identity. According to the white racial identity d evelopment (WRID)

model, white people move through six stages, from an unexamined racial identity marked by

colorblind thinking to an “autonomous” stage marked by an acknowledgement of the systemic

nature of r acism that requires a proactive anti -racist res ponse. 11 However, the embeddedness of

white people in racialized power hierarchies makes whiteness elusive for even white anti -racists

who fail to remain vigilant. 12, 13, 14 However, recent research indicates that through critical

analysis about the histo ry of racism, white people can begin understanding their own roles in

racial hierarchies . Research has show n that stronger white racial identity predicted greater racism

denial, but that learning the critical history of racism in the U.S. could boost white participants’

abilities to perceive systemic racism. 15 Sustaining the cognitive dissonance associated with

learning about systemic racism may be fruitful in promoting a proactive, anti -racist stance among

white participants. 16 Reminders of privilege and an anti -racist praxis can be threatening to white

identity and a belief in a meritocratic society. 17 Such thr eats can be managed by denying white

privilege, distancing oneself from whiteness, and/ or working to dismantle systems of privilege :

i.e. an anti -racist praxis .18

To develop an anti -racist praxis , leaders of the racial justice movement have employed a

strategy of training white folks to organize their own communities to support the “undoing” of

systemic racism. Organizations such as the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, Showing

Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) , and European Dissent provide educati onal trainings to white eGC1 number : A14399 1

identified persons to understand historic manifestations of racial oppression. These organizations

provide various workshops, trainings, and opportunities to engage in campaign work to address

issues of systemic racism. In addition, they explicitly activate white people into the racial justice

movement to resist racism within their own personal, social, pol itical, and professional lives. The

purpose of the white anti -racist movement is to “educate, organize, and mobilize white people to

show up powerfully for racial justice and collective liberation”. 19

M uch of the research to date in community and social psychology on anti -racist and

liberatory praxes have focused primarily on individuals from racially oppressed communities.

Langhout, Collins, and Ellison (2014) for example, examined relational empowerment processes

among low -income youth of color (primarily Latinx identified) in an after school program. 20

Watts and colleagues examined sociopolitical development with African -American youth. 21 In

addition, much of this work has utilized qualitative and/or case study approaches, which limits

generalizability. Watts et al. (2003) called for an examination of anti -racist and liberatory praxes

among those with privileged and /or domi nant identities. 22 Thus, the purpose of this proposal is to

advance psychological research on anti -racist and liberatory praxes by examining the anti -racist

praxis of white activists allied with the racial justice movement and the relationship between

those praxes and white identity . Funding from this grant will assist with : 1) developing a white

anti -racist praxis scale that is reliable, valid, and generalizable , 2) examining the processes of

white anti -racist activists to identify stages of development , and 3) modeling the relationship

between anti -racist praxes and adoption of various whiteness ideologies (e.g. colorblind racism,

white fear, etc.). This research will build on the preliminary research currently undertaken with

white anti -racist activists.

Preliminary Research

From Autumn of 2016 to Winter of 201 8 I conducted 15 interviews with self -identified

white anti -racist activists with in the racial justice movement to examine their anti -racist praxes .

Using a thematic analysis strategy, which “is a method for identifying, analysing, and reporting

patterns (themes) within data” 23, I constructed a codebook and applied codes to interviews with

the assistance of student researchers and two faculty collabora tors at California State University,

Long Beach and Chico, respectively . These results are i llustrated in two papers currently under

review .24, 25 In these papers, my co -authors and I found that anti -racist activists engage in a

variety of strategies to pu rsue psychological and political liberation. In particular , we found that

activists pursued six strategies for psychological liberation and two for political liberation . For

psychological liberation, activists’ strategies included: a systemic analysis of oppression, root -

cause etiology, exploration of self -identity, exploration of politically oppressed identities, theory

of liberation, and critical self -reflection. For political liberation, activists’ strategies included:

opportunities f or growth and criti cal action.

Within psychological liberatory strategies, a systemic analysis of oppression is the

theoretical framework(s) activists adopt to explain the underlying systemic (as opposed to

individual) causes of racism and oppression . These are activists’ understandings of the historical,

political, social, and economic conditions that create oppression. Root -cause etiology includes

the ways in which activists come to understand systems of oppression and the racialized othering

of people of color. Activists with historically oppressed identities typically experienced direct

encounters of oppression through interpersonal transgressions (e.g. microaggressions) whereas

others tended to learn about systemic oppression indirectly through their social relationships

and/or through media or educational activities. An exploration of self -identity is t he process of eGC1 number : A14399 1

critique between self and society to understand activists’ own identit ies in relation to larger

sociopolitical contexts. An exploration of politically oppressed identities is the process of

examining the social, historical, and/or political factors that contribute to racial power

differences . A theory of liberation is the anti -racist framework(s) that guide activists’ praxis .

Finally, critical self -reflection refers to reflection on activists’ own participation in the

movement . This is the reflexive relationship between reflection and action. To do this, activists

engage d an iterative process of action, reflection, and reconstruction of their anti -racist praxis .

Within politically liberatory strategies, opportunities for growth are the opportunities

activists accept to engage in anti -racist efforts that are integral to th eir development as activists .

These include opportunities to enhance their human, social, and relational capital through

avenues such as organizer trainings, organizational meetings, and/or protest events, for example.

Critical actions are the activities, behaviors, and actions by which activists enact their theory of

liberation. These include the direct and indirect activities conducted by activists with the goal of

creating racial equity on behalf of the racial justice movement. Activists tended to take a few

different paths toward critical action. These included educational activities to raise critical

awareness of racial issues, building powerful organizations that can take collective actions, and

working within systems of oppr ession to shift them from the inside.

Preliminary Research to Measurement and Quantitative Analysis

Although the results outlined above provide an indication of the psychological and

political praxes of anti -racist activists, they do not provide a clear indication of the

developmental process es nor do they offer an understanding of the relationship between

these strategies and other important psycho -social factors . The results presented above give

some in sights into whites ’ perceptions of whiteness and the ways in which their privilege shows

up in the work (e.g. exploration of self -identity), but it does not allow an understanding of the

relationship between anti -racist praxis and whiteness ideologies. To achieve these goals, it is

necessary to conduct a large -scale quantitative survey study among white anti -racist activists.

Two components of such as a study are necessary – psychometric scale development and

inferential data analysis. To do this I will conduct four steps in producing psychometric

measures: 1) clearly defining the construct(s) of interest , what they intend to measure , and the

sample population to which they are applied; 2) creation of survey items including the item

formats and generation of an item pool; 3) collection of initial survey data from a sample of the

target population; and 4) evaluation of the psychometric properties of scales via reliability and

validity analyses. 26 Once constructs are defined, items developed, and data are co llected,

examination of the reliability and validity of measures is necessary in the development of

accurate and consistent scales. Reliability analyses will evaluate the dimensionality of items

through exploratory factor analyses and internal consistency will be evaluated via item -level

analyses (e.g. inter -item correlations, Cronbach’s alpha, etc.). To evaluate validity (specifically

construct validity) I will examine the relationships between newly constructed anti -racist praxis

measures and the theoreti cal network of related constructs. For example, I will examine the anti -

racist praxis scale against other scales that have been found to be related to participation in

activism such as the social justice scale . Once reliability and validity of measures are established

I will conduct inferential statistical tests of relationships between new scales and other social -

psychological variables of interest. I have experience conducting these analyses in published

papers such as Collins and Guidry (2018), Collins, Neal, and Neal (2014), Collins, Neal, and

Neal (2013), and Foster -Fishman, Collins, and Pierce (2013). eGC1 number : A14399 1

B. Objectives

To examine the whites’ anti -racist praxes , I propose to create a large sample survey study that

includes measurement development of the constructs above. To achieve this goal, I seek to

conduct a multi -phase study among white anti -racist activists within the U.S. that mimics the

steps outlined above. These include: 1) construction of a survey with new measures developed

from preliminary interview results, 2) collection of a sub -sample of survey data from white anti -

racist activists, 3) evaluation of the reliability and validity of new scales, 4) edit and adjust new

measures based on validity and reliability results, and 5) collection of data among a large sample

of white anti -racist activists in the U.S. These simultaneous processes will allow me to answer

the following research questions:

1. Is a quantitative anti -racist praxis scale a valid and reliable way to measure the ways in which

anti -racists engage in their liberation work ?

2. If so, are there “stages” of anti -racist praxis development?

a. Is the process linear?

b. Is there a relationship between anti -racist praxis stages and experience in the racial

justice movement?

3. Is there a relationship between anti -racist praxis and whiteness ideologies (e.g. colorblind

racism) ?

C. Procedure

Participants, Sampling, & Recruitment

My sampling frame includes members from one of the largest national white anti -racist

organizations in the country – Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). As an organization, SURJ

has more than 175 organizations in the U.S. representing 46 stat es and Washington, D.C. SURJ

affiliates build anti -racist praxes among white allies through educational, organizing, direct

action, and other programs. Unlike online collective action movements, SURJ affiliates provide

“a space to build relationships, skil ls and political analysis to act for change.” 27 Membership

within SURJ typically includes three levels – base supporters, members, and leaders wherein

increased organ izational responsibility grows as individuals move toward leadership.

I will utilize similar recruitment methods to those used in the study outlined above.

Specifically, I email ed 43 SURJ organizations asking to interview organization leaders. Of the

43, nine responded positively and agreed to an interview, resulting in a 20.9% response ra te.

Only one declined an interview and the remainder (n=33) did not respond. I should note that all

organizations were contacted only once. Follow -up emails or phone calls were not conducted.

Follow -up emails and phone calls significantly increase particip ant participation in community -

based research.

Initial recruitment will occu r via internet se arches focusing on affiliated SURJ

organizations. Identified organizations will be placed into a database and randomly selected to be

con tacted for study participation. Those that are selected will receive an email detailing the

purpose of the study and inviting organization members to participate. If organization leaders

agree, I will ask them to send an email with the survey hyperlinked t o their membership lists and

ask them to include members across the participation spectrum (i.e. supporters, members, and

leaders) . If organizations decline participation they will be replaced by another randomly

selected organization. All non -responsive o rganizations will receive three follow -up emails eGC1 number : A14399 1

and/or phone calls, at which point they will be marked as “decline to participate” if follow -ups

do not succeed. All d ata are collected utilizing the online Qualtrics survey tool.

Quantitative Measures

I wi ll test the anti -racist praxis scale and related sub -scales developed for the purposes of

this study against the network of existing scales on activism and similar constructs. These scales

include critical consciousness, empowerment, sense of community, an d social justice ideation.

Each of these scales (and related sub -scales) have been found to predict greater participation in

activism and other community change efforts. 28, 29, 30, 31 I describe each scale below.

Scale and item construction for the Anti -Racist Praxis Scale is ongoing. Scales will

mirror the codes found in the preliminary study and are intended to measure the psychological

and political strategies of anti -racist praxis . Sub -scales include:

1. Systemic Analysis of Oppression measures th e extent to which anti -racists have

conceptualized an underlying systemic cause of racism. Items include, “I believe that racism

is deeply embedded into the structure of the American political system.”

2. Root -Cause Etiology measures the ways in which activis ts’ have come to understand racism

and oppression . Items include, “ I read about the history of racism .”

3. Exploration of Self -Identity measures the extent to which individuals understand their own

positionality in relationship to a larger socio -political context. Items include, “I am a member

of a marginalized group.”

4. Exploration of Politically Oppressed Identities measures the extent to which activists

examine the social factors that contribute to racial power differences. Items include, “ I

believe people of color are adequately represented in film and other media (reverse).”

5. Theory of Liberation measures the extent to which activists ha ve developed a guiding

framework regarding their anti -racist praxis. Items include, “I have personal guidelines about

how anti -racist work should be done.”

6. Critical Self -Reflection measures whether individuals have thought about and evolved their

anti -racism praxis. Items include, “I think about how I can better influence systems of

racism.”

7. Opportunities for Growth measures the extent to which activists are presented with and

accep t opportunities to engage in social change efforts. Items include, “I frequently engage in

learning about social issues.”

8. Critical Actions measures the individual actions activists take to address racism. Items

include, “I utilize teaching as a way to addr ess racism.”

In addition to the scales above, social and racial justice measures will be collected to examine

construct validity. These include:

1. Critical consciousness is a 14 -item scale consisting of three subscales (critical analysis,

critical motivation , and critical action). 32 Items include phrases such as, “Marginalized

groups have fewe r opportunities to get ahead.”

2. Empowerment is a 10 -item scale consisting of four subscales (perceived leadership

competence, political functioning, and power developed through relationships, and shaping

ideology). 33 Items include statements such as, “I am often the lea der in groups.”

3. The Brief Sense of Community (BSOC) scale is an 8 -item measure consisting of four

subscales (emotional connection, group membership, needs fulfillment, and influence). 34

Items include statements such as, “I feel connected to the racial justice movement. ” eGC1 number : A14399 1

4. Social Justice Ideation is a 21 -item scale consisting of four subscales (social justice attitudes,

perceived behavioral control, social justice behavioral intentions, and social justice subjective

norms). 35 Items include statements such as, “I believe that it is important to act for social

justice.”

To examine the third research question, “ Is there a relationship between anti -racist praxis and

whiteness ideologies (e.g. colorblind racism)?” I will collect additional scales on whiteness

ideology. These include:

1. Race Literacy Quiz is a 20 -item multiple choice quiz designed to measure participants ’

knowledge of historic and systemic racism. Items include, “Members of a race can be

identified by their:” (response options: blood group, skin color, ancestry, genes, none of the

above, all of the above). 36

2. White Privilege Attitudes Scale is a four -facto r 28 -item scale that measures willingness to

confront white privilege (F1), anticipated costs of addressing white privilege (F2), white

privilege awareness (F3), and white privilege remorse. Items include, “I intend to work

toward dismantling white privile ge. 37

3. Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites (PCRW) is a three -factor 36 -item that measures

white empathetic reactions toward racism (F1), white guilt (F2), and white fear of others

(F3). Items include, “I never feel ashamed about being white.” 38

D. Time Schedule

I will administer this project in two phases – a measurement study utilizing a sub -sample of

white anti -racist activists and an inferential study with a larger sample of activists.

1. Phase 1: Measurement Study

a. July 1st 201 9 – July 31 st 2019 : Participant Recruitment

b. August 1st 2019 – August 31 st 2019: Online Data Collection

c. September 1st 2019 – November 31 st 2019: Data Analysis and Survey Editing

2. Phase 2: Inferential Study

a. December 1st 2019 – December 31 st 2019: Participant Recruitment

b. January 1st 2020 – January 31 st 2020 : Online Data Collection

c. February 1 st 2020 – March 31 st 2020 : Data processing and analysis

d. April 1st 2020 – June 15 th 2020 : Writing

E. Need for RRF Support

No other efforts to date have been made to find additional support for this project. However, to

support this project and my larger research agenda I will use the results of this study to apply for

the NSF CAREER award. Additionally, I will utilize the results of this study to apply for related

funding at various foundat ions such as the Spencer and Kellogg Foundations.

This research will address the three purposes of the RRF. First, as a community psychologist, my

opportunities for external funding are generally limited to foundations. Second, as a junior

faculty member, this will advance my scholarship and enable me to support a new research

project as I advance toward tenure. And third, this work will build on my current research

trajectory by investigating social change processes among social and racial justice activis ts. In

addition, it will build on my research investigating the ways in which individuals participate in

their communities and how participation can lead to community change (see reference page).