Monuments Honoring Present and Past Victims of Racial Injustice: Examining Performativity, Racial Progress, Policy Support, and Affective Reactions

Emerging empirical research has begun to examine factors that influence perceptions of performativity among members of advantaged and disadvantaged groups. However, limited attention has been paid to how dispositional and situational factors interact in real world contexts. The present research (N = 1,941) investigated how race, racial identification, and monument type shape perceptions of performativity, beliefs about racial progress, policies to advance the Black community, and related attitudinal outcomes. A pilot study validated a newly developed measure of perceived performativity. Study 1a found that Black participants, particularly those with higher racial identification, generally did not perceive monuments addressing either past or present racial injustice as performative. They responded positively to a monument highlighting past injustice and, while a monument focused on present injustice evoked anger rather than hope, it was still regarded as important and meaningful. In contrast, Study 1b revealed that White participants—especially those high in racial identification—viewed a monument addressing present racial injustice as more performative than a monument focused on the past. These participants also reported lower positive affect and greater anger in response to a monument highlighting present-day injustice. Study 2 used more comparable experimental conditions to further demonstrate divergent responses between Black and White participants across outcome measures. Practically, these findings underscore the symbolic and emotional importance of monuments honoring victims of racial injustice for disadvantaged group members. Theoretically, the research illustrates how race and racial identification interact to shape distinct responses to racial injustice monuments, with implications for understanding group-based differences in beliefs about progress, support for racial equity initiatives, and relevant attitudinal measures.