The past shaping the present: The role of national identification and historical narratives of the civil rights movement on support for collective action.

OBJECTIVES: National identification can shape historical narratives of past social movements, which in turn may influence support for contemporary collective action. Focusing on the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), two studies involving Black and White Americans examined how the strength of national identification influences their construals of the CRM and subsequent support for collective action for racial justice. METHOD: Survey 1 was a survey study, whereas Study 2 experimentally manipulated national identity salience. RESULTS: In Study 1, higher national identification was associated with perceiving the CRM as more successful in achieving racial justice and with attributing this success to national institutions and CRM leaders. Study 2 experimentally manipulated the strength of national identification. High national identity salience lowered the perceived role of national actors in hindering the success of the CRM. Across both studies, these construals (i.e., higher attributions to national actors for CRM's failure to achieve racial justice and elevating the role of national actors and prominent Movement leaders over everyday Black Americans) were, in turn, linked to lower support for contemporary collective action for racial justice. Notably, the results revealed the same patterns of associations across Black and White American samples. CONCLUSION: These findings underscore the role of national identification in shaping construals of past social movements and support for present-day collective action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).