Examining the relationship between racial identity, racial socialization, and political participation among African-American women

Historically, African-American women have played central roles in political movements ranging from women's suffrage to the Civil Rights Movement and the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement (Garza, 2014; Glasrud & Pitre, 2013; Brown, 2014). Despite present-day increased voting rates in the United States, Black women's political voices have historically been marginalized due to institutional and economic factors (Plutzer, 1998; Brown, 2014). Furthermore, electoral underrepresentation and intersectionality theory play a role in barriers that hinder African-American women's political involvement, notions that researchers have neglected to study in-depth when assessing political participation (Simien, 2007). The present study examined the relationship between racial identity and racial socialization among African-American women's political participation. Both group and racial identity and racial socialization have been found to influence political participation (Chong & Rogers, 2005; Diemer & Li, 2011; Huddy, 2003). Ninety-four African-American woman participants from a Historically Black University in the Southeast were sampled. Results indicated a positive relationship between racial identity and political participation, and racial identity and racial socialization. However, no relationship was found between racial socialization and political participation. The inferences of this study will provide a better understanding of the factors that contribute to African-American women's political involvement, and suggest solutions for community outreach to increase community-based policy advocacy and representation in government.