#  Jennifer Chudy, Wellesley College 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **September 6, 2019** 

 12:00PM - 01:30PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **CGIS S354**  



 

 



 

Abstract: Reversing course from a long tradition of studying racial antipathy, I argue that racial sympathy, defined as white distress over black misfortune, shapes public opinion among a nontrivial subset of white Americans. Using an original measure – the racial sympathy index – I find that sympathy motivates support for policies perceived to benefit, as well as opposition to policies to perceived to harm, African Americans. Racial sympathy is distinct from a more general sympathy, as it does not shape opinion related to other groups. The concept is foremost a racial attitude; as evidence of this, I find that sympathy is activated when a policy draws attention to its black beneficiaries. In probing this effect, I find that even exposure to negative stereotypes of blacks does not extinguish the influence of sympathy. The consistent results across multiple national studies suggest that racial sympathy represents a distinct dimension of American racial attitudes.

 

 



 

 

 Share on:- [     Facebook ](#)
- [     Twitter ](#)
- [     Linkedin ](#)
 


 Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://polpsych.hsites.harvard.edu/node/1454516/event-feed.ics)  Copy link link