Think Structurally, Act Individually?: Racial Sympathy and Political Behavior

Racial sympathy, defined as white distress over Black suffering, is an influential, but understudied, force in American politics. This paper considers the behavioral consequences of racial sympathy. How does racial sympathy manifest into political behavior? To answer this question, I conduct a series of in-depth interviews with racial justice activists; these white Americans are unusually, deeply, and genuinely invested in eradicating Black suffering. Many also recognize the role that institutions and politics play in perpetuating racial inequality. However, many activists propose individual-level solutions, such as tolerance classes, eliminating prejudice at home, and empathizing with individual Black people, eschewing the importance of electoral politics. I complement the qualitative interviews with results from a national study of white Americans. Ultimately, I argue that white Americans’ emphasis on personal activities may limit the political impact of racial sympathy.