White power on trial: Perceptions of antiracism organizations focusing on power versus discrimination

Abstract

The present research integrates lay theories of activism and inequity-framing literatures to investigate how Black and White Americans perceive antiracism organizations with different expressed goals (i.e., tackling White power/privilege, tackling discrimination, or increasing people of color’s strengths). White Americans perceived a power-focused (vs. discrimination-focused and strength-focused) organization as less valuable, expressed less interest in engaging the organization in their local community, and perceived the organization as less effective at responding to people of color’s needs and reducing discrimination (Studies 1–2; N = 799). In contrast, Black Americans perceived nonsignificant or significantly smaller differences across organizational goals. When Black Americans’ perceptions were communicated to White Americans, White people’s perceptions of a power-focused organization were significantly improved (Study 3; N = 471). Findings highlight a need and a novel strategy to educate White people toward dismantling White power and privilege.