Healing Racial Trauma Through Black and Asian Collective Action

The rise of racialized violence and discrimination against Black and Asian communities in the United States has intensified mental health challenges, including race-based trauma. Although research has documented the harmful effects of racism and identified solidarity as a protective factor within racial groups, limited attention has been given to intraminority solidarity between Black and Asian communities. Intraminority solidarity, a shared sense of struggle across racialized groups, may foster collective action and support psychological well-being, yet little is known about how these communities perceive and experience solidarity with one another. This study examined intraminority solidarity between Black and Asian individuals by investigating linked fate (the belief that one’s future is tied to their racial group), minority-linked fate (a shared sense of fate across marginalized groups), racial-ethnic identity centrality, and perceived discrimination. Specifically, the study assessed how these factors influenced solidarity, activism, and psychological well-being. Using a cross-sectional design, self-report survey data were collected from 297 participants (158 Black and 139 Asian adults ages 18–40). Multiple linear and moderated regression analyses were conducted. Results showed that linked fate significantly predicted intraminority solidarity, but not activism. Minority-linked fate emerged as a stronger predictor, significantly predicting both solidarity and activism, even after controlling for demographics. In hierarchical models, minority-linked fate accounted for the largest proportion of variance in both outcomes, underscoring the importance of shared marginalized experiences in motivating solidarity and collective action. Although perceived discrimination was associated with poorer psychological well-being, neither solidarity, activism, linked fate, nor minority-linked fate moderated this relationship.