This study employs Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) to examine the experiences, motivations, and praxis of grassroots activists in Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), a national U.S.-based organization that organizes predominantly White communities in support of racial justice. In-depth interviews with 14 SURJ activists, conducted in the aftermath of the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations, yielded eight core domains reflecting key emotional, relational, and ideological processes. Guided by Critical Whiteness Studies, White Supremacy Culture, and spatial justice theory, the analysis illustrates how participants enacted spatial justice praxis by creating counter-spaces that challenged dominant White cultural norms and fostered development of their antiracist consciousness. Participants described confronting shame, guilt, and emotional discomfort; navigating the racialized “backstage” and “frontstage” of White spaces; cultivating community within and beyond SURJ; grappling with intersectionality and accountability to BIPOC leadership; and resisting performative and neoliberal models of allyship. These findings contribute to deeper psychological understanding of White culture, identity development, moral motivation, and affective labor in antiracist work. Results offer insight into how SURJ activists negotiate their roles within multiracial movements and carry implications for antiracist organizing, training, and future research on identity formation and sociopolitical change.

Authors:
Tina Rosa Lee, TL Psychological Services, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Tina Rosa Lee is a licensed clinical psychologist and independent scholar focused on the intersection of culture, ethnoracial identity development, and sociopolitical change. Dr. Lee received her doctoral degree at Columbia University.

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