Incivility is Good for Democracy: Incivility in the Pursuit of Racial Justice

• In Event: Racial Justice

Abstract

Incivility is often argued to be deleterious to democracy. Certainly, incivility causes numerous negative outcomes that should be curtailed. But broad calls for civility in all aspects of American politics miss an important fact: disruptive, and sometimes rude, acts of political voice are necessary in an unequal democracy. Black Americans have relied on uncivil protest to gain political capital in America. I argue that Black Americans have a different set of social norms that emphasize racial justice over civility. To test this, I conduct a survey experiment on a national sample of Black and white Americans (n = 2,784) where I randomize assignment to a political text that primes respondents to consider the history of Black protest. I find that Black Americans, when primed in this manner, are less likely to perceive disruptive protest activities as uncivil and more likely to want to participate in such activities.

Author

• Sam Gubitz, Kent Denver School