Black Americans' perspectives on ally confrontations of racial prejudice

Our research centers the underexamined perspective of Black Americans regarding allyship behaviors and investigates their perceptions and experience of a White ally who confronts a White perpetrator of prejudice. In two experimental studies (N = 1176), we found that Black participants reported higher levels of self-esteem after a White ally confronted a White perpetrator of racial prejudice compared to no confrontation. Additionally, we found that White ally confrontations that signaled intrinsic motivations (i.e., driven by personal values) were perceived as less suspicious in motive than those that signaled extrinsic motivations (i.e., driven by image concerns), which related to more target self-esteem. We discuss implications for research on allyship and confrontation as well as practical considerations. Our results strongly suggest that advantaged group members cannot allow overt prejudice to stand unchecked and should consider the motivations they convey in their actions.