Forgivingness, discrimination, and activism among Black adults.

Given the history of racialized transgressions towards Black adults in the United States and the legacy of forgiveness towards White people despite these transgressions, the current studies examined whether forgivingness is implicated within Black adults’ tendency to engage in activism as a response to discrimination. Study 1 (<italic>n</italic> = 250) demonstrated that Black adults who reported greater everyday experiences of discrimination were more likely to engage in activism. However, this association was moderated by forgivingness, as it was stronger for those higher on forgivingness. Study 2 (<italic>n</italic> = 223) asked participants to imagine a potentially racially-charged transgression (a police stop), and then assessed their reactions to the event. Again, forgivingness played a moderating role, insofar that for Black adults higher on forgivingness, the association between perceived discrimination and activist identity was stronger. This research suggests that forgivingness plays a nuanced role in the promotion of activism among marginalized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]