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RESEARCH

My research centers on the politics of race, ethnicity, and identity in the U.S. context. I focus on the way that racism operates at the structural and individual level to shape attitudes, behavior, and political outcomes. Scroll down for more information about my work.

BOOK

WHO'S TRIGGERED? EXPLICIT RACIAL RHETORIC AND THE DESIRE TO MAINTAIN WHITE DOMINANCE IN U.S. POLITICS

In recent years, the United States has witnessed a resurgence in the use of overt references to race and identity by politicians. This increase is surprising since previous studies in political communication and racial priming suggest that citizens reject explicit negative references to race, as they are recognized as racist and in violation of egalitarian norms. This book manuscript examines why this change has occurred. I propose and find that when white people feel as though their dominance is under threat, their prejudice activates, and they are more tolerant of negative, explicit racial appeals. Concerningly, I find that this link exists across partisan and attitudinal groups --- for both Democrats and Republicans --- speaking broadly to the nature of whiteness as an identity. This book manuscript uses survey experiments, observational survey data, and analyses of political media to demonstrate this link. 

Under Review. 

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JOURNAL ARTICLES

IDENTITY, RACIAL ATTITUDES, AND WHITENESS

  • ​American Dream versus American Reality: How Encountering Information about Structural Racism Can Prompt Support for Race-Based Policies (with Nathan Kelly and Jana Morgan)
           ​Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Forthcoming

  • White Privilege, White Grievance, and the Limitations of White Antiracism (with Lucy Britt)
           Politics, Groups, and Identities. [LINK]

  • When Are Explicit Racial Appeals Accepted? Examining the Role of Racial Status Threat
           Political Behavior. [LINK]

  • Masks and Racial Stereotypes in a Pandemic: The Case for Surgical Masks (with Christopher J. Clark, Steven Greene, Marc J. Hetherington, and Emily Wager)
           Journal     of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. [LINK]
           Coverage: WRAL, FiveThirtyEight, ABC11, The Monkey Cage (Washington Post)

  • Are You Talking to Me? How Ideological and Gender Characteristics Moderate the Effect of Legitimizing Rhetoric on SCOTUS Legitimacy (with Ryan Williams)
           Law and Social Inquiry. [LINK]

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RACE AND POLICING

  • ​Can Light Contact with the Police Motivate Political Participation? Evidence from Traffic Stops (with Kelsey Shoub)
           Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. [LINK]

  • Context Matters: The Conditional Effect of Black Police Chiefs on Policing Outcomes (with Kelsey Shoub)
           Urban Affairs Review. [LINK]

  • Better for Everyone: Black Descriptive Representation and Police Traffic Stops (with Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp, Kevin Roach, and Kelsey Shoub)
           Politics, Groups, and Identities. [LINK]

  • At the Intersection: Race, Gender, and Discretion in Police Traffic Stops (with Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp, Kevin Roach, and Kelsey Shoub)
           J    ournal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. [LINK]

  • Race, Place, and Context: The Persistence of Race Effects in Traffic Stop Outcomes in the Face of Situational, Demographic, and Political Control (with Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp, Kevin Roach, and Kelsey Shoub)
           Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. [LINK]

  • Fines, Fees, Forfeitures, and Disparities: A Link Between Municipal Reliance on Fines and Racial Disparities in Policing (with Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp, Kevin Roach, and Kelsey Shoub)
           Policy Studies Journal. [LINK]

  • Intersectional Stereotyping in Policing: An Analysis of Traffic Stop Outcomes
               Politics, Groups, and Identities. [LINK]
               Anthologized: The Politics of Protest: Readings on the Black Lives Matter Movement. [LINK]

  • Racial Disparities in Traffic Stop Outcomes. (with Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp, Kevin Roach, and Kelsey Shoub)
          Duke Forum for Law and Social Change. [LINK] 
           Coverage: InjusticeWatch.org, The Daily Northwestern
           ​Cited: In Oregon State v. Arreola-Botello: 365 OR 695 (2019)

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