Black Identity in Action: Examining Ethnic and Racial Identity,Racial Discrimination,and Collective Action Among Black Individuals

Abstract

This paper examines the factors that contribute to Black participants’ use of collective action strategies (i.e., activism and active coping) to combat experiences of racial discrimination. Previously, researchers have examined racial discrimination, ethnic identity, and racial identity in separate models from one another. We propose that ethnic and racial identity both mediate the relationship between racial discrimination and collective action, such that both ethnic and racial identity explain Black individuals’ engagement in activism and active coping after discriminatory experiences. We surveyed 313 Black individuals about their experiences and conducted a parallel mediation analysis to test our hypotheses. The results indicate that, as predicted, ethnic and racial identity mediated the relationship between racial discrimination, activism, and active coping. Overall, the findings from this study have theoretical and practical implications for how ethnic and racial identity can be used to improve the well-being of individuals in the African diaspora.

Keywords

ethnic and racial identity racial discrimination activism active coping

In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, Black activists have shifted the narratives around traumatic racist experiences by encouraging Black individuals to be unapologetic in claiming their identities and challenging the systems that perpetuate Black harm. Despite systemic attempts to control the conversations around Black liberation, research has indicated that racial identity—how individuals view themselves based on their shared phenotypic characteristics, or socialized belonging to a racial group, and what connections they have with people in the same group (Helms, 1990; Helms & Parham, 1996; Hope et al., 2021; Sellers et al., 1998, 2003)—and activism have remained relevant in the lives of Black individuals (Cokley, 2007; Livingston et al., 2017; Ross et al., 2022). Research has also indicated that collective action (i.e., activism and active coping) in response to racial discrimination may increase adaptive well-being outcomes—not just the reduction of negative outcomes—for marginalized populations (Harper II, 2017; Ross et al., 2022). Building on this work, this study examines the role of ethnic and racial identity in Black participants’ use of activism and active coping to combat experiences of racial discrimination (Forsyth & Carter, 2014; Szymanski & Lewis, 2015).

Previous researchers have found that racial identity can impact the relationship between racial discrimination and activism (Hope et al., 2019; Szymanski & Lewis, 2015; Van Zomeren et al., 2008). Specifically, racial identity has been seen as a buffer/protective factor against racial discrimination (Greene, 2008; Loyd et al., 2024; Pieterse & Carter, 2010; Pieterse et al., 2010; Ross, 2020). However, when researchers have examined racial identity among Black participants, they often do not also consider the participants’ ethnic identities as a separate construct. Ethnic identity can be simply defined as how individuals identify and associate with those with whom they share a similar history, heritage, and culture (Lee & Ahn, 2013; Phinney, 1992). Examining ethnic and racial identity, not just racial identity, among Black individuals can provide a well-rounded view of how ethnic heritage and racialized experiences mutually contribute to behavior (Cokley, 2005; Delaney et al., 2022; Loyd et al., 2024; Neblett & Neal, 2022). We draw on the Encapsulated Model of Social Identity and Collective Action (EMSICA; Thomas et al., 2012) to examine ethnic and racial identities as predictors of collective action.

Literature Review

Theoretical Frameworks

When developing the hypotheses for the current study, we drew upon the Encapsulation Model of Social Identity in Collective Action (EMSICA; Thomas et al., 2012) to better understand how intersecting identities can contribute to adaptive behaviors. The EMSICA outlines how social identity (e.g., ethnic or racial identity) explains the relationship between injustice and collective action (e.g., activism and active coping). Specifically, EMSICA indicates that injustice is inherent in hierarchical societies and that individuals acknowledge their experiences of injustice in a way that informs their actions through connections with their group. In other words, experiences of injustice are captured by the context of a group membership (identity) which, in turn, predicts engagement in collective action (Thomas et al., 2009).

In line with the EMSICA framework, we define ethnic and racial identities as mediators rather than as moderators (Van Zomeren et al., 2008) in the relationship between experiences of injustice and collective action (Thomas et al., 2012). In this way, ethnic and racial identities are situated within the context of injustice and drive participation in collective action. Both mediation and moderation models have shown good fit for opinion-based identity groups (e.g., self-categorizations based on social justice beliefs; Thomas et al., 2009; 2012); however, there is limited research using EMSICA with ascribed social identity groups (i.e., race, ethnicity, and gender). We introduce ethnic identity and racial identity as parallel mediators in the current study because researchers have indicated that Black individuals’ increased awareness of their racial environment influences perceptions of who they are and may be responsible for the association between racial injustice and their commitment to act (i.e., collective action; Lozada et al., 2017; Sellers & Shelton, 2003).

Ethnic and Racial Identity

In general, psychological researchers have examined racial identity and ethnic identity separately—very few studies have examined participants’ racial and ethnic identities at the same time (Cokley, 2007; Lee & Ahn, 2013). This trend is concerning from an intersectional perspective, as both racial and ethnic identity influence people’s experiences (Loyd et al., 2024; Williams et al., 2012, 2020). Indeed, discussions of limitations for research that individually measure racial identity and ethnic identity often refer to the need for more intersectional perspectives and suggest measuring both identities in tandem (Cokley, 2007; Delaney et al., 2022; Williams et al., 2020). For example, studies on Latine populations that only measure ethnic identity often do not reflect the experiences of Afro-Latine individuals who are already under-represented in studies of this nature (Hope et al., 2016; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). In general, ethnic identity is typically used to study non-Black groups with transnational experiences and is rarely mentioned in studies of Black individuals. Similarly, racial identity is often thought of as the most salient identity among Black individuals. Yet, researchers who define Black identity as encompassing both ethnic and racial identity seem to find more consistent relationships between identity and adaptive outcomes like activism and well-being than either identity alone (Breiner et al., 2023; Dache et al., 2019; Giamo et al., 2012; Marks et al., 2020; Saunders, 2012; Weyland, 2009).

We would be remiss not to mention that there have been issues with ethnic and racial identities being conflated among Black Americans (Cokley, 2007; Trimble, 2007); however, there is evidence to suggest that ethnic and racial identities are related but distinct constructs that uniquely contribute to the lives of Black folks (Cokley, 2005; Delaney et al., 2022; Loyd et al., 2024). As such, it is important to evaluate both structures to better understand the intersectional experiences of people across the diaspora (e.g., Afro-Latine individuals). Specifically, ethnic identity exploration (EI-exploration) and racial identity centrality (RI-centrality) have both been related to positive mental health outcomes for individuals in the Black community despite broader inconsistencies in the measurement of ethnic and racial identity (Breiner et al., 2023; Loyd et al., 2024; Marks et al., 2020). In this study, ethnic and racial identity are encompassed by one’s commitment to exploring associations with people of similar cultural heritage (EI-exploration; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014) and the centrality of race to one’s sense of self (RI-centrality; Sellers et al., 1997).

Ethnic and Racial Identity and Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination generally describes the frequency and intensity of racial prejudice in an individual’s life. Discrimination among Black individuals has been associated with psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and psychiatric symptoms) and negative physical health outcomes (e.g., hypertension; Livingston et al., 2017; Ross & Livingston, 2019). As mentioned earlier, racial identity has been shown to be a potential buffer for combatting the detrimental effects of racial discrimination (Lee & Ahn, 2013; Loyd et al., 2024; Pieterse & Carter, 2010; Pieterse et al., 2010). In contrast, others have found that certain dimensions of racial identity increase awareness of racial discrimination occurrences, such that experiences of discrimination become more salient and distressing leading to negative impacts on Black individuals’ well-being (Hoggard et al., 2017; Sellers & Shelton, 2003).

When interpreting these findings, we must also consider the roles of ethnic and racial identities in association with racial discrimination. There are a myriad of scales across the literature that are used to measure ethnic identity and racial identity. Yet, the theoretical implications of utilizing certain measures are often overlooked and inconsistent findings between studies are then attributed to measurement differences (Cokley, 2007; Lee & Ahn, 2013). In this study, we define ethnic and racial identities using measures that acknowledge that Black identity development often occurs in contexts of systemic racism (Neblett & Neal, 2022; Sellers et al., 1998; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004). In doing so, we hope to reduce some of the variance in the associations between identity, discrimination, and psychological outcomes. Still, there is a need to clarify the differential outcomes that are associated with ethnic and racial identities and racial discrimination (Neblett, 2019).

Past research has typically focused on relationships between identity, discrimination, and maladaptive health outcomes. For example, much of the literature on discrimination has linked Black public regard—one’s internalization of negative racial messages—to depressive symptoms and inhibited health-seeking behaviors (Richman et al., 2007; Sellers & Shelton, 2003). However, public regard is an interactional dimension of racial identity that is more negatively framed compared to centrality, which highlights the importance of racial connections to one’s sense of self (Lewis, 2022; Vandiver et al., 2009). Thus, rather than perpetuating deficit models of Black identity, we focus on how the importance placed on Black identity can contribute to adaptive behaviors (e.g., collective action; Lee & Ahn, 2013; Ross & Livingston, 2019, Sellers & Shelton, 2003). We discuss two such behaviors—activism and active coping—below.

Activism and Active Coping

Activism is perhaps the most common form of collective action and refers to engagement in social, cultural, and political change to improve the lives of those in one’s community. Black activism is unique in that it includes racially contextualized behaviors such as resisting the norms created by systemic racial oppression and using varied methods to improve one’s community (Hope et al., 2019; Krueger et al., 2021; Ross & Livingston, 2019). Black activism also includes participating in social movements, voting in the interest of the Black community, staying informed about issues and resources concerning the community, and being involved in groups and activities with other Black folk. Engaging in activism has been linked to increases in sense of belonging, psychological empowerment, and mental health for Black individuals (Goodkind et al., 2020; Krueger et al., 2021; Ross et al., 2022). These associations tend to be stronger for low-risk activist behaviors, such as educating others and speaking up in casual conversations, than high-risk activist behaviors that can lead to physical harm or arrest (e.g., engaging in illegal acts while protesting; Hope et al., 2019).

Similar to activism, active coping has been measured among Black individuals because it represents the conscious and empowering actions one uses to respond to racial stressors. Active coping as a response to injustice has been found to be more effective than reactive or passive coping (i.e., substance use or social isolation; Jacob et al., 2023; Jaspal et al., 2020) towards reducing the negative impacts of racial discrimination (Forsyth & Carter, 2014; Hoggard et al., 2012; Jacob et al., 2023; Jaspal et al., 2020). Active coping has also been related to higher levels of psychological well-being (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004). In this paper, we focus on the adoption of adaptive behaviors such as activism and active coping rather than the decrease of maladaptive behaviors.

The Present Study

Overall, this paper examined ethnic and racial identities as parallel mediators for the relationship between racial discrimination, activism, and active coping. Given that the importance of race to one’s sense of self has been consistently associated with both racial discrimination and activism (Hope et al., 2019; Szymanski & Lewis, 2015; Van Zomeren et al., 2008), the aim of this study was to understand the intersecting impact of racial and ethnic identities in a model of collective action. Specifically, we evaluated the relationships between Black individuals’ ethnic identity (EI)- exploration and racial identity (RI)- centrality, racial discrimination, and collective action (i.e., activism and active coping). While previous researchers have investigated ethnic and racial identities as singular constructs, there is a need to understand how individuals’ ethnic and racial identities work together to predict collective action. Also, rather than focusing on one form of collective action, we examined ethnic and racial identities as predictors of activism and active coping to capture the adaptive behaviors that Black individuals participate in after experiences of racism.

In the present study, we used primary data collection with a cross-sectional, correlational survey design to examine whether participants’ engagement with their Blackness (i.e., ethnic and racial identities) mediates the relationship between frequent experiences of discrimination and consistent engagement with collective action (i.e., activism and active coping). We hypothesized that EI-exploration and RI-centrality would both mediate the relationship between two levels of activism (low-risk and high-risk). As such, ethnic identity, racial identity, and racial discrimination would be positively related to each other and to low-risk/high-risk activism, but the relationship between discrimination and low-risk/high-risk activism would not be significant when controlling for ethnic and racial identities. Given that Black individuals have consistently used active coping as a strategy to deal with racist experiences (Forsyth & Carter, 2014; Jacob et al., 2023; Jaspal et al., 2020), we also predicted that EI-exploration and RI-centrality would mediate the relationship between racial discrimination and two forms of active coping (empowered action and racially-conscious action). As such, ethnic and racial identities and racial discrimination would be positively related to each other and to empowered action/racially conscious coping, but the relationship between discrimination and empowered action/racially conscious action coping would not be significant when controlling for ethnic and racial identities.

Method

Participants

Past research on this topic has indicated an average effect size for this type of study as 0.2 with an alpha level of 0.05. As such, we conducted an a priori power analysis in the G*Power software using an effect size of 0.15 and an alpha of 0.05 for 80% power. Based on this, a sample of 119 participants was recommended. The total sample for this study was comprised of 313 participants (M = 34.77, SD = 11.96; ranging from 18 to 77) who were recruited using Prolific, a virtual participant recruitment service. We achieved adequate power based on the type of analyses and survey methodology. We only included participants who were at least 18 years of age and identified as Black. Table 1 shows full demographic information for the study sample. Participants represented a range of self-reported ethnicities with the majority African American (92%) and additional representation from Africa (5.1%), the Caribbean (7.1%), Central America (0.3%), Europe (3.2%), and Middle East/North Africa (0.3%). With a relatively even split in binary gender identification (F = 49.8%, M = 47.0%) there were also 1.9% of participants who identified as non-binary. Most of the participants achieved some level of college education (67.7%), yet over 60% of participants make less than $50,000 in income per year.

Table 1.

Demographic Characteristics of Participants.

Variable	Mean	SD	n	%
Age	34.77	11.96	313
Gender			309
Feminine			156	49.8
Masculine			147	47.0
Nonbinary			6	1.9
Ethnicity			313
African			16	5.1
African American			288	92.0
Caribbean			22	7.1
Central American			1	0.3
European			10	3.2
MENA			1	0.3
Mexican			7	2.2
Education level			307
Some high school			2	0.6
High school/GED			39	12.5
Some college			103	32.9
Undergraduate			109	34.8
Some graduate			11	3.5
Graduate			42	13.4
Post-graduate			5	1.6
Income			312
25,000 or less			98	31.3
25,000–49,000			91	29.1
50,000–74,000			64	20.4
75,000–99,000			31	9.9
100,000–124,000			12	3.8
125,000–149,000			8	2.6
150,000–174,000			1	0.3
175,000–199,000			4	1.3
200,000 or more			3	1.0
First-gen citizen			311
Yes			56	17.9
No			255	81.5

Note: N = 313.

Measures

Ethnic and Racial Identity

Ethnic Identity Scale-Exploration (EIS; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004)

The EIS Exploration subscale (7 items; 4-point Likert scale, 1 = does not describe me at all, to 4 = describes me very well) measures participation in activities and engagement with other individuals who share one’s ethnic background. We specifically focused on ethnic identity exploration as outlined by Umaña-Taylor et al. (2004) based on recent associations with racial discrimination and activism (Hope et al., 2016; Saunders, 2012). Per the authors’ protocol, items from the subscale such as “I have participated in activities that have exposed me to my ethnicity” (exploration) were summed (one item was reverse-scored) so that higher scores indicated higher engagement with cultural activities related to one’s ethnic background. Researchers have conducted Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) on the entire EIS and confirmed the original three-factor structure (i.e., exploration, affirmation, and resolution) as having good model fit across ethnic and racial groups and provided support for the use of the subscales (Douglass & Umaña-Taylor, 2015; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004; Yoon, 2011). Consistent with previous literature on ethnic identity, the EIS exploration subscale has demonstrated convergent validity with self-esteem and familial ethnic socialization, and high levels of exploration were related to the other dimensions of the EIS (i.e., affirmation and resolution) among marginalized groups, whereas this relationship was not seen among White samples (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004). The alpha coefficient for the EIS in the present study was .90.

Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Centrality (MIBI-C; Sellers et al., 1997)

The Centrality subscale of the MIBI (8-item; 7-point Likert-type scale, 1 = strongly disagree, to 7 = strongly agree) highlights the extent to which an individual views their race as a central part of their self-concept (e.g., “In general, being Black is an important part of my self-image”). A few items were reverse scored and then scores were computed as means where higher scores indicate higher levels of racial centrality. Vandiver et al. (2009) conducted a CFA of the entire MIBI scale and found that only 6 of the 8 Centrality items were of significance; still, we maintained the full 8-item subscale and re-evaluated the internal structure for the proposed population. The MIBI has consistently demonstrated convergent validity with the well-established Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; Sellers et al., 1997; Vandiver et al., 2002), and the Centrality subscale has consistently emerged as its own factor across multiple EFAs examining the MIBI’s validity (Lewis, 2022; Vandiver et al., , 2009). The alpha coefficient for the Centrality subscale was previously consistent between .71 and .83 (Helm, 2002; Sellers et al., 1997; Vandiver et al., 2009); for this study the Cronbach’s alpha was .91.

Racial Discrimination

Schedule of Racist Events (SRE; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996)

We used the Schedule of Racist Events (17 items on a 6-point Likert scale, 1 = never, to 6 = almost all of the time) to measure the frequency of discriminatory experiences in respondents’ lives. Respondents were asked about these experiences across various social contexts both in the past year and in their entire lives. The items (e.g., “How many times have you been treated unfairly by people that you thought were your friends because you are Black?”) were summed so that higher scores represented more frequent experiences of discrimination. Consistent with previous literature on discrimination, the SRE demonstrated concurrent validity with stress-related psychiatric symptoms (Landrine & Klonoff, 1996). Additionally, women and men do not tend to differ in their frequency of experiencing discrimination, such that scores of racial discrimination are relatively independent of gender identity (Landrine & Klonoff, 1996). This measure also demonstrated good internal reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of .95 and adequate fit in a CFA evaluation of the original unidimensional model (Greer, 2010; Klonoff & Landrine, 1999).

Activism

Black Community Activism Orientation Scale (BCAOS; Hope et al., 2019)

This scale asks about participation in Low-risk (11 items; 5-point Likert scale (1 = extremely unlikely, to 5 = extremely likely) and High-risk Activism (7 items; 5-point Likert scale (1 = extremely unlikely, to 5 = extremely likely) as two different types of activist behaviors. Low-risk Activism outlines individuals’ engagement with social action that is relatively safe, while High-risk Activism represents social action that may likely result in physical harm or arrest (Hope et al., 2019). The Low-risk subscale includes the likelihood of engaging with behaviors like: “Go[ing] out of your way to collect information on a social or political issue specific to the Black community” and the High-risk scale included items like: “Engag[ing] in a political activity specific to the Black community in which you feared that some of your possessions would be damaged,”. Scores were computed as means, such that higher scores represented higher engagement with Black activism. Both the Low-risk and High-risk subscales had good convergent validity with the Participatory Behavior subscale of the Multidimensional Measure of Black Activism (Thomas, 2001; r = .66 and r = .51, respectively). The Low-risk and High-risk subscales also demonstrated discriminant validity through low correlations with social responsibility (r = .19 and r = .06, respectively)—the positive attitudes and importance placed on being socially responsible—and private regard, or the positive or negative feelings one holds about being Black (r = .16 and r = .10, respectively; Hope et al., 2019). The BCAOS also showed good internal reliability with alpha coefficients of .93 and .94, respectively.

Active Coping

Race-Related Coping Scale (RRCS; Forsyth & Carter, 2014)

We included two of the RRCS subscales in this study: Racially Conscious Action (9 items), or the actions one takes to connect with their cultural heritage and the expressions of that connection after experiences of racism, and Empowered Action (9 items), or the use of institution/formal channels to address experiences of racism. Using a 4-point Likert scale (0 = did not use, to 3 = used a great deal), participants were asked to indicate how often they used each of the coping behaviors (e.g., “I surrounded myself with people who can relate to my experience” and “I made a formal complaint,” respectively). Scores for each subscale were summed, with higher scores indicating higher engagement with active coping behaviors. Across studies evaluating the validity of the RRCS, the Racially Conscious Action subscale demonstrated convergent validity with the Collective Coping Scale of the Africultural Coping Systems Inventory (.70; Utsey et al., 2000), while Empowered Action demonstrated convergent validity with the Immersion subscale of the Black Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (.22; Forsyth & Carter, 2014; Helms & Parham, 1996); both scales have been associated with decreased psychological symptoms (Forsyth & Carter, 2014). Interscale correlations also indicated that the RRCS scales were small to moderately correlated, suggesting distinctness between the strategies (Forsyth & Carter, 2014). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were .91 for Racially Conscious Coping and .90 for Empowered Action Coping in this study.

Procedure

We employed a cross-sectional, correlational survey design to examine our hypotheses. We designed a survey and after receiving IRB approval, we collected data via Prolific—a virtual recruitment service—to achieve a wide distribution of age, ethnicity, and gender. Participants received $10 for taking part in the survey. The participants read and signed the informed consent outlining confidentiality and voluntary participation in the study before responding to the survey. Participants who consented to the study completed a Qualtrics survey containing the scales described in the section above. We randomized the order of the scales such that some participants responded to the scales in one order, and some responded to the scales in the reverse order. An independent-sample t test found that there were no differences in scores between the two orders. We also randomized the items for MIBI-C and EIS to avoid bias (Sellers et al., 1997; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004). To test our main hypotheses, we used a parallel mediation model with ethnic and racial identity as parallel predictors of collective action. By testing ethnic and racial identity in the parallel mediation model, we sought to acknowledge the constructs as related but distinct and examine the unique roles ethnic and racial identities play in predicting each collective action variable (Kane & Ashbaugh, 2017).

Results

Preliminary Analyses

Data cleaning procedures were conducted to check for outliers and missing entries. The frequency analyses indicated that the following variables had a low percentage of data missing completely at random: Exploration (2.2%), Centrality (1.0%), SRE (3.8%), Low-risk activism (1.9%), High-Risk Activism (0.3%), Racially Conscious Coping (1.6%), and Empowered Action Coping (2.6%). For those missing data, we used multiple imputation using MICE in R to achieve normality for analysis. Then, we conducted descriptive analyses including skewness, kurtosis, and boxplots to ensure there were no significant outliers. Given that these results were within normal ranges, we safely assumed normality and heterogeneity of variance for the data.

Table 2.

Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study Variables.

Variable	M	SD	Min	Max	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1. Racial discrimination	43.49	16.83	18.00	94.00	-
2. RI-centrality	5.02	1.42	1.00	7.00	0.18**	-
3. EI-exploration	21.32	5.44	7.00	28.00	0.27***	0.60***	-
4. Low-risk activism	3.24	1.02	1.00	5.00	0.31***	0.56***	0.55***	-
5. High-risk activism	1.89	0.94	1.00	5.00	0.25***	0.28***	0.23***	0.51***	-
6. Empowered action coping	13.40	5.43	9.00	33.00	0.40***	0.18**	0.31***	0.38***	0.42***	-
7. Racially conscious coping	19.93	7.11	9.00	36.00	0.41***	0.47***	0.61***	0.70***	0.45***	0.56***	-

Note: N = 313.

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Pearson’s correlation analysis of our primary variables supported our expectations that discrimination, ethnic and racial identity, low/high-risk activism, and empowered action/racially-conscious action coping were all positively related to one another (See Table 2). The mean levels for RI-centrality and EI-exploration were within the expected ranges. The correlation between RI-centrality and low-risk activism was stronger than that for high-risk activism in the present sample. This was within our expectations given that engagement in low-risk activism is more common than high-risk activism. Still, the correlations between RI-centrality, low-risk activism, and high-risk activism were higher than expected based on previous literature (Hope et al., 2019).

Parallel Mediation

Activism

To evaluate our main hypotheses, we ran parallel mediation analyses using the PROCESS macro in R with bias-corrected confidence intervals (CI) with 10,000 bootstraps. The parallel mediation indicated partial mediation, in that racial discrimination is related to low-risk activism through its relationship with ethnic and racial identity. Figure 1 illustrates that racial discrimination was positively related to RI-centrality, a₁ = 0.01, p < .01, and EI-exploration, a₂ = 0.08, p < .001, and was subsequently related to low-risk activism, b₁ = 0.25, p < .001, b₂ = 0.06, p < .001. The indirect effects through RI-centrality, a₁b₁ = 0.003, and EI-exploration, a₂b₂ = 0.004, holding other mediators constant, were above zero (0.001–0.006, and 0.003 to 0.008, respectively; See Figure 1). Participants also reported greater low-risk activism when taking into account racial discrimination’s indirect effect through both dimensions of ethnic and racial identities, c’ = 0.009, p < .01.

The parallel mediation indicated another partial mediation where racial discrimination is also related to high-risk activism through its relationship with ethnic and racial identities. However, racial discrimination was only related to high-risk activism through RI-centrality, b₁ = 0.17, p < .001 (b₂ = 0.01, p = .65). Additionally, only the indirect effect of racial discrimination on high-risk activism through RI-centrality, a₁b₁ = 0.002, was above zero (0.001–0.005; See Figure 2); the indirect effect through EI-exploration was not different than zero (−.001, .000). Still, participants reported greater high-risk activism when considering racial discrimination’s indirect effect through both dimensions of ethnic and racial identities, c’ = 0.01, p < .05.

Active Coping

Figure 3 shows that racial discrimination is related to empowered action coping through its relationship with ethnic and racial identities. However, racial discrimination was only related to empowered action coping through EI-exploration, b₂ = 0.23, p < .001 (b₁ = −0.12, p = .62). Additionally, only the indirect effect of racial discrimination on empowered action coping through EI-exploration a₂b₂ = .02, was above zero (0.009–0.033; See Figure 3); the indirect effect through RI-centrality was not different than zero (−0.009, 0.033). Still, participants reported greater empowered action coping when taking into account racial discrimination’s indirect effect through both dimensions of ethnic and racial identities, c’ = 0.11, p < .001.

The relationship between racial discrimination and racially conscious coping was also partially mediated by racial and ethnic identities, b₁ = 0.81, p < .01, b₂ = 0.59, p < .001, respectively. The indirect effects through RI-centrality, a₁b₁ = 0.01, and EI-exploration, a₂b₂ = 0.05, holding other mediators constant, were above zero (0.002–0.022, and 0.028 to 0.073, respectively; See Figure 4). Participants also reported greater racially conscious coping when considering racial discrimination’s indirect effect through both dimensions of ethnic and racial identities, c’ = 0.11, p < .01.

Discussion

Taking an intersectional approach, we proposed that ethnic and racial identities are parallel mediators for the relationships between racial discrimination and collective action (i.e., activism and active coping) among Black individuals. Specifically, we found that, as expected, EI-exploration and RI-centrality (a) partially mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and low-risk and high-risk activism, and (b) partially mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and empowered action coping and racially conscious coping. We discuss each finding in more detail below.

First, we were able to provide support for the hypothesis that ethnic and racial identities partially mediated the relationship between discrimination and low-risk activism, such that participants’ experiences with discrimination were related to high ethnic identity and high racial identity which, in turn, were related to increased participation in low-risk activism behaviors (e.g., confronting prejudiced people, educating friends/family, etc.). These findings are consistent with the EMSICA framework, which posits that more frequent experiences of injustice predict higher salience of the discriminated identity, which then predicts higher levels of engagement with action (Thomas et al., 2012). Although previous research has shown that activism is a common response to racism (Goodkind et al., 2020; Janken, 2015; Krueger et al., 2021; Ross et al., 2022; Szymanski & Lewis, 2015), our findings highlight the mediating roles of ethnic and racial identities and differences in specific forms of activism. Importantly, we find that high ethnic and racial identities in response to discrimination better predict engagement with low-risk activism than racial identity or ethnic identity alone. In other words, both the exploration of an individual’s culture and the importance placed on their Blackness contributed significantly to the likelihood of their engagement with the low-risk, or everyday, forms of activism. This finding suggests that there is a need to further evaluate the role of ethnic and racial identities as intersecting protective factors that can help Black individuals advocate for themselves in everyday spaces (Delaney et al., 2022; Lee & Ahn, 2013; Loyd et al., 2024; Oyarvide Tuthill, 2021).

The relationship between racial discrimination and racially conscious coping was also significantly partially mediated by ethnic and racial identity for the Black individuals in our study. Participants’ experiences of racial discrimination were positively related to EI-exploration and RI-centrality, and both were positively related to participants’ engagement in racially conscious coping behaviors (e.g., seeking relationships with and supporting others in the Black community). While some studies have shown the relationship between discrimination and active coping as being a simple correlation/regression (Forsyth & Carter, 2014; Jaspal et al., 2020), we show that this relationship can be explained by both ethnic identity and racial identity. Our results are also consistent with other findings (Hope et al., 2016; Williams et al., 2012), where the more participants identified with their Blackness the more likely they were to seek out support from others in their community.

Next, ethnic and racial identity partially mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and high-risk activism. In this model, RI-centrality accounted for a large portion of the variance in the model, such that frequent experiences of discrimination were related to high RI-centrality (and EI-exploration) which in turn were related to increased participation in high-risk activism (e.g., physical confrontations during protests). While the mean level of high-risk activism participation was expectedly lower than low-risk activism (Hope et al., 2019), the significant relationship between RI-centrality and high-risk activism is a novel finding. While the overall model was significant, it is also important to note that EI-exploration did not have a significant direct path to high-risk activism. This was surprising because we expected both low-risk and high-risk activism to be mediated by ethnic identity and racial identity. It is possible that defining ethnic identity as exploration, or the process of learning one’s ethnic background, was not salient enough compared to one’s racial Blackness when trying to predict engagement in riskier actions. Nonetheless, it is significant that we were able to establish a connection between racial identity, discrimination, and high-risk activism through the EMSICA (Thomas et al., 2012). This finding suggests that future research is needed to better understand what intersectional factors relate to engagement with riskier activist behaviors.

Lastly, ethnic and racial identities significantly mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and empowered action coping, with a large portion of the variance coming from EI-exploration. In this model, the experiences of racism were positively related to EI-exploration (and RI-centrality) which then were related to increased participation in empowered action coping like taking legal action and reporting injustices to authority figures. While the path from EI-exploration predicted engagement in empowered action coping, the path from RI-centrality to empowered action coping was not significant. It is possible that this finding stems from the differences in identity salience and the type of action being used; EI-exploration characteristically involves more learning and outspokenness related to ethnic identity, while RI-centrality is an established deep connection to one’s racial group that fosters more communal actions rather than individual use of institutional/authority figures (Barlow, 2022; Sellers et al., 1997). Another explanation could be that people who have higher racial identity salience also tend to have higher scores of cultural mistrust, so using an institutionalized process of reporting harm may be less appealing than other strategies (Cuevas & O’Brien, 2019; Phelps et al., 2001; Townes et al., 2009; In fact, the use of legal action and reporting to authorities is not as common in the collective action literature compared to the other forms of action outlined above. Consequently, little is known about what drives individuals to engage in this more institutionalized type of race-related coping (Forsyth & Carter, 2014). Therefore, it may be interesting to further investigate when and how empowered action coping is employed using qualitative interviews.

Limitations

As indicated above, the mediations for this study were all partial, in that the path from racial discrimination to collective action remained significant across the models. This may be related to the need for another salient variable like efficacy which was indicated as a mediator in the conceptualization of the EMSICA. It is also possible that these results are restrained to our sample population. Despite our attempts to recruit ethnically diverse participants, most of the present sample consisted of individuals who self-identified as African American. Given this, we were not able to explore relevant differences in ethnic identity for the present sample. It is possible that the salience of ethnic identity may be strong for those who are not in such a racialized context as America. Still, it is interesting that ethnic identity remained a relevant and distinct construct from racial identity for the participants in our analyses. Online survey methods are also known to elicit younger samples, which was the case in the present study where the mean age of our participants was approximately 34 years old. Similarly, most of the participants in the present study were college-educated, which is not necessarily true for the entire African diaspora. The limitations discussed here indicate the need for future use of diverse sampling tools and methodologies for intersectional identities in the Black community.

Implications and Future Directions

Historically, Black identity models have focused on the development of one salient identity among adolescents; however, in the present study, we were able to provide preliminary support for both ethnic and racial identities as transformative for Black adults who combat experiences of racism with collective action using the EMSICA. Though previous literature using the EMSICA focused on opinion-based identities, the present researchers were able to support the use of the model for ascribed intersecting identities (Thomas et al., 2012). By focusing on ethnic and racial identities as parallel mediators between racial discrimination and collective action, we were able to provide novel insights that will allow future researchers to better understand what factors are relevant for Black individuals’ engagement with collective action. Given that ethnic and racial identities were also unique predictors in our model, our findings support the literature outlining the importance of measuring ethnic and racial identities as distinct but related constructs (Cokley, 2007; Delaney et al., 2022; Loyd et al., 2024; Williams et al., 2020). In this way, we justify measuring ethnic and racial identities together—while taking care not to conflate them—as essential for developing intersectional understandings of their contributions to adaptive outcomes. We encourage future researchers to also consider the unique roles ethnic and racial identities play in the lives of Black individuals, particularly regarding adaptive outcomes, rather than conjoin them as a singular construct.

Furthermore, the findings presented here further support the development of projects that highlight individual perceptions and values of Blackness across various contexts while also considering other salient identities (Oyarvide Tuthill, 2021). For example, gender and sexual identities need to be considered in future models of collective action. Black women—particularly, queer Black women—and other Black queer/gender-diverse individuals tend to participate in higher-risk activism behaviors during civil rights campaigns than their male and non-Black counterparts (Ross et al., 2022). Researchers have suggested that participating in activism presents more dangers for Black men than Black women (Jacob et al., 2023); yet there is little research on the experiences of the Black queer and gender-minoritized activists who have consistently been at the forefront of social justice movements (Pierre, 2022; Ross et al., 2022). Thus, while individual engagement with high-risk activism is typically lower among Black individuals than other forms of action, there is still a need to investigate the role of identity in collective action for those who are impacted by intersecting forms of oppression.

The present findings also have implications for mental health professionals who wish to better understand the strategies currently being used to deal with experiences of racism. Applying the findings around ethnic and racial identities as unique contributors to the use of racism-related coping strategies may be informative for the development of culturally informed interventions among those who struggle with frequent experiences of racism. Just as it has been important for psychological researchers to demonstrate the negative impacts of racism on Black health outcomes, we believe that it is equally important to understand the way that Black individuals’ community connections help them deal with these experiences. We urge future researchers to consider our findings when exploring how intersectional identities and models of resilience can broaden our understanding of how Black folks cultivate wellness in contexts of racism. There is still a need for future research aimed at connecting Black experiences across cultural contexts to relevant positive health outcomes. In fact, understanding how ethnic and racial identity and collective action contribute to well-being is one of the major concerns within Black social justice and sociopolitical contexts. Thus, we suggest that future researchers explore the associations between Black individual’s identities, engagement with collective action, and adaptive well-being outcomes beyond just survival. Ultimately, the present researchers hope that future scholars can use the insights from the present study to develop intersectional research that can help foster positive behavioral outcomes for Black individuals across the diaspora.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Brianna Z. Ross

Kevin Cokley

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