An Examination of Collective Consciousness and Solidarity between Black and Asian Americans in Chicago

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Collective Identity and Solidarity

Abstract

While studies of intergroup relations remain central to the sociological inquiry, the literature typically focuses on conflictual race relations and White groups’ view and treatment of the racialized other. Departing from such sociological tendencies, this project examines how racial solidarity emerges between Black and Asian Americans. Drawing on interview data from sixty Black and Asian American activists, community leaders, and residents, the paper explores the formation of collective consciousness and solidarities between minority groups presumed to be in conflict. By bridging the subfields of race and ethnicity, religion, and political theory, the project investigates how Black and Asian Americans see their fates as linked through common racial struggles and in some underexplored cases—religious faith.

Author

• Isaiah Jeong, University of Illinois-Chicago