Black Moral Activists: A Typology

• In Event: Social Movements and Race in the US

Abstract

In recent years there have been high profile examples of efforts among African Americans to mobilize in support of both socially conservative policies (e.g., opposition to same sex marriage) as well as progressive policies (e.g., police reform or voting rights) through the use of moral framing. Given the effective use of moral frames toward both conservative and progressive ends, we set out to learn about the activists who participate in these seemingly contradictory efforts. Our examination of efforts to mobilize African Americans to support policy positions through the use of moral frames consisted of interviews with a wide range of activists, textual analyses, a survey of activists, as well as observations of meetings, protests and other events. We found four types of Black moral activists participating in these efforts, three of which operate within moral frames shaped by religious beliefs (usually Christian) beliefs and a fourth which were overtly secular.

The four types are: “Religious Conservatives”, who were active in support of social conservative agendas (e.g., opposition to same sex marriage), and unlikely to support progressive policies; “Religious Progressives,” who were active in support of progressive agenda issues like police reform or voting rights - understood through a lens of morality, and were also supportive of issues like LGBT rights and abortion rights; “Religious Dualists,” who held both socially conservative views and progressive views; and “Secular Progressives,” who shared the same stances as the religious progressives but had a moral justification for their activism that was not based in a particular set of religious beliefs.
Particularly interesting among the four types of activists are the religious dualists, the most numerous of the four. While these religious dualists could be found engaged in efforts aimed at both social conservative and progressive objectives, they were more likely to participate in actions on behalf of progressive causes.

Lastly, the typology seems to correspond to the array of attitudes among the broader population of African Americans. We analyzed ANES data and found that among religious African Americans (those with strong religious identification and moderate to high levels of religiosity), there are detectable sub groups that align with the three types of religious moral activists we found. Furthermore, those African Americans who claimed low levels of religious belief were much more likely to support progressive policies and reject socially conservative positions.

Authors

• Donn C. Worgs, Towson University

• Tamelyn Tucker-Worgs, Hood College