How Black Is Biracial? Black People's Empathy Toward Black/White Biracial People Following Racial Discrimination in the United States

Objectives: Two studies investigate how Black people's empathy toward Black/White Biracial people experiencing racial discrimination relates to Black/White Biracial people's identification in the United States. Method: Study 1 (N = 151, M-age = 36.3 years, SD = 11.1, 57% female) examines how Black people's perceptions of whether Black/White Biracial people identify as Black at a group level are related to empathy toward them through correlational methods. In Study 2 (N = 590; M-age = 32.3 years, SD = 11.4, 71% women), we experimentally manipulate Black/White Biracial people's racial identity through vignettes and assess Black participants' perceived similarity, racial identification of the Black/White Biracial target as Black, linked fate, and empathy. We tested Black participants' empathy toward a Black/White Biracial target who self-identified as Black, self-identified as White, or self-identified as Biracial, consistent with common identification patterns among Biracial people. Results: Black participants empathized least with Black/White Biracial people who were perceived as identifying as White, or who explicitly self-identified as White. This association was mediated by perceptions that Black/White Biracial and Black people's fates are linked. Overall, Black people were most likely to empathize with Black/White Biracial people identifying as Black. Conclusions: For liminal group members, identification confers information regarding similarity, shared identity, and linked fate that relate to procuring empathy.Public Significance StatementBlack/White Biracial people in the United States are often considered to be on the boundaries of Black and White monoracial groups and can racially identify as Black, White, or Biracial. Two studies tested how Black participants' empathy toward Black/White Biracial people who experience discrimination differs based on Biracial people's identity. The results show Black participants empathized least with Black/White Biracial people who were perceived as identifying as White, or who explicitly self-identified as White.