Anti-racist messages educate people about structural racism and argue that indifference and inaction are the foundational building-blocks of race-based inequities. But these messages generate backlash, with several American states banning education about structural racism. We hypothesized that White Americans experience White identity threat and resist anti-racist messages most when they interpret these messages to equalize a lack of anti-racist action (i.e., indifference and silence), treating it as though it were the same as blatant racism. In contrast, we predicted that interpreting anti-racist messages to position silence as a foundational “building-block” for blatant racism would not evoke backlash. In Study 1 (N = 428) ~55% of White respondents in a representative American sample interpreted anti-racist messages as equating indifference with violence, and an equalizing interpretation predicted White identity threat and message resistance. In Study 2 (N = 492) we found that experimentally manipulating anti-racist messages to evoke high vs. low levels of equalizing interpretation led White Americans to feel more White identity threat and in turn be more resistant to both the anti-racist message and anti-racist action in general. In Study 3 (N = 1337) seeing anti-racist messages (vs. no-message) had little effect on White Americans in general, but evoked identity threat and denial of racism among White Americans high in equalizing interpretation who did not interpret the messages as conveying inaction to be a building-block for structural racism. In Study 4a and 4b (N = 789), we reveal a successful nudge for making anti-racist messages less threatening and more motivating for White Americans by using language less likely to evoke an equalizing interpretation.

反种族主义信息教育人们了解结构性种族主义，并认为冷漠和不作为是基于种族的不平等的基本组成部分。但这些信息引起了强烈反对，美国几个州禁止对结构性种族主义进行教育。我们假设美国白人在解释这些信息以平衡缺乏反种族主义行动（即冷漠和沉默）时，最常经历白人身份威胁并抵制反种族主义信息，将其视为与公然种族主义相同。相比之下，我们预测，将反种族主义信息解释为将沉默定位为公然种族主义的基本“基石”不会引起强烈反对。在研究 1 ( N = 428) 在具有代表性的美国样本中，约 55% 的白人受访者将反种族主义信息解释为将冷漠等同于暴力，而均衡的解释预测了白人身份威胁和信息抵制。在研究 2 ( N  = 492) 中，我们发现通过实验操纵反种族主义信息以唤起高水平和低水平的平等解释，导致美国白人感受到更多的白人身份威胁，进而对反种族主义信息和一般的反种族主义行动。在研究 3 ( N = 1337）看到反种族主义信息（与无信息相比）对一般美国白人影响不大，但在美国白人中引起了身份威胁和对种族主义的否认，他们没有将信息解释为传达不作为结构性种族主义的基石。在研究 4a 和 4b ( N  = 789) 中，我们揭示了通过使用不太可能引起平等解释的语言，成功地推动了反种族主义信息对美国白人的威胁和激励。