The Antipathy of Black Nationalism

Behavioral and Attitudinal Implications of an African American Ideology

Bibliographic Data

ID6230656
AuthorsDarren W Davis (0000-0001-6407-9430), Ronald E Brown
Year2002
Volume46
Issue2
Pages239
Publication date2002-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3088374
OpenAlexW2319484242
LanguageEN
Citations received42
References cited22

ideology. Controlling for the effects of age, demographic factors, social identity, and measurement artifacts, a strong black nationalist ideology is associated with greater disaffection toward whites, but not toward gays, black conservatives, lesbians, middle-class blacks, or feminists. A black nationalist belief system also correlates with intense perceptions of racism in society and less support for systemic means for combating per? ceived racial injustice. One of the striking themes in the scholarly literature on national ism is that nationalism is both a curse and a blessing. It promotes a sense of identity, acknowledges the legitimacy of different cul? tures and histories, brings awareness to injustice and oppression, is a psy? chological mechanism used to defend against such injustice, and it ex? presses a legitimation of common legal and human rights, obligations, and failings of existing institutions (Smith 1991). Yet, nationalism is a curse in that it breeds political and social intolerance and conflict (Brass 1991; Brown 1993; Dandeker 1998; Diamond and Plattner 1994; Lake and Rothchild 1996). As the level of group consciousness?political, cultural, economic, social, territorial, or religious?crystallizes into a desire for selfrealization or in reaction to exploitation, inequality, or injustice, support for basic human and democratic rights tends to disappear and is replaced by a more minacious view of outside groups, members of the dominant culture, and the political system. Previous research shows some support for the relationship between nationalism and intolerance. Marx (1967) found that black nationalists were almost twice as likely to express anti-Semitic, including anti-white, sentiments than any other civil rights group and they were the most intol? erant. Nationalists were also seen as less militant but also more reserved in acting on their beliefs. Gurin, Hatchett, and Jackson (1989) show that black nationalism is related to the rejection of whites, and it is the most important determinant of a black political voice. Recent research by Gibson and Gouws (2000), investigating the political consequences of so? cial identity, shows that a strong group or social identity leads to intoler? ance. Social identity does not lead to antipathy per se, but instead indi? viduals with a heightened group identity, such as that involved in the development of nationalism and national identity formation, develop atti? tudes that foster intolerance. Individuals who strongly believe in their

Antipathy · Ideology · Injustice · Legitimacy · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Racism · Sociology · Critical Race Theory in Education · Gender Studies · Law · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social and Intergroup Psychology

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