Implicit Black identification among White non-Hispanic respondents and support for Black reparations.

This article examines the political feasibility of Black reparations in the United States through the lens of "relational identity theory," which integrates economic utility theory and psychological self-expansion theory to explain how individuals can include outgroups within their self-concept. Contrary to dominant Western theories of self-interest and ingroup-favouritism—which predict limited support for reparations given African Americans’ minority status—empirical data from reaction-time experiments (n=1,594 White non-Hispanic respondents) reveal that implicit identification with African Americans strongly predicts support for reparations among White non-Hispanics. This implicit Black identification is associated with feelings of closeness, warmth, and empathic concern, and those identified as significant implicit identifiers hold race-related political opinions between Black and other White respondents. The findings suggest that outgroup solidarity, as conceptualized by relational identity theory, may enable political support for minority rights like reparations despite majority rule, with implications for understanding intergroup relations and conflict resolution beyond the U.S. context.