Black Americans and Activism: Exploring the Impact on Psychological Well-Being

Experiences with racial discrimination are chronic stressors that occur within the lives of Black Americans. These racist experiences may result in issues with self-esteem, racial identity confusion, complicated interpersonal relationships, and feelings of guilt/shame. Consequently, many Black Americans are also more likely to report experiencing negative psychological well-being and internalized racism, both of which may result in feelings of sadness, worthlessness, hopelessness, and fatigue. One way that the impact of these experiences can be reduced is through experiencing Black identity pride and becoming engaged in racial justice activism. Results indicated a positive correlation between conventional activism, Black identity pride, and psychological well-being. Conversely, there was a negative correlation between high-risk activism, internalized racism, and psychological well-being. Black identity pride and conventional activism were both positive predictors of psychological well-being, while internalized racism and high-risk activism were negative predictors of psychological well-being. Conventional activism fully mediated the positive relationship between Black identity pride and psychological well-being. Black racial justice activism moderated the relationship between Black identity pride and psychological well-being. However, Black racial justice activism did not moderate the relationship between internalized racism and psychological well-being. Limitations, clinical, and social implications are further discussed