Antiracists and Conservative Christians

To understand how a theory of identity politics can operate, it is helpful to examine organizations trafficking in identity politics. Examination of these organizations does not prove the theory, but it does provide a grounded theory methodology by which we can envision how identity politics can manifest itself in the United States. If this research had been conducted 15 years ago, focusing only on progressive identity political organizations would have been sufficient. However, the coming of President Trump activated notions of identity politics within key sectors of the religious and political conservatives. To gain a more holistic understanding of the implementation of identity politics, it is valuable to assess how it manifests itself within both progressive and conservative organizations. Focusing on organizations with distinct political values and differing perceptions of marginalized groups can provide more evidence of the potential universality of this theory of identity politics. The two examples of identity politics I will examine are groups of antiracism and conservative Christians. In this chapter, I provide a brief history of the development of identity politics in both groups, as well as an examination of the nature of political activism that has emerged among antiracists and conservative Christians. I will discuss the political objectives of these groups and their vision for our society.