Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Effects of Racial Climate and Institutional Support on Black Americans' Perceptions of Anti-Racism Task Forces

Advancing the literature on diversity initiatives, the present research investigated Black Americans’ perceptions of an organization's anti-racism task force. Across two studies (N = 1182), when the organization's climate was racially hostile, compared with safe (Studies 1–2) and control (Study 1) climates, Black Americans perceived the organization as less genuinely motivated to combat racism, centering people of color's needs less, and centering White people's needs more. Furthermore, hostile climates resulted in less anticipated autonomy for a person of color who directs the task force, and less interest in selecting a person of color (Study 1) or themself for the director position (Study 2). Such differences also emerged for an organization that had a high (compared with moderate) level of racial hostility (Study 2). The harmful effects of hostile climates were buffered by institutional support for the task force, though more effectively so when the hostility was moderate versus high (Study 2). These findings provide applications for diversity initiatives and anti-racism efforts.