Addressing the Unspeakable: Evaluating College and University Statements on Racial Incidents

Abstract

Social pressures influence how institutions of higher education respond to racial incidents. Analyzing language patterns in college and university statements on the death of George Floyd sheds some light on this phenomenon. According to previous studies, college communities have historically avoided discussing race, and college officials prefer not to acknowledge racial incidents. However, recent institutional responses to the death of George Floyd contradict this trend, which warrants further investigation into institutional motivations. Educational institutions’ may choose to address race-related issues due to impression management and the moral and instrumental benefits of diversity. Likewise, our analysis suggests that the principles of the Stereotype Content Model help predict the specific impression management strategies that high and low-status institutions used when responding to George Floyd’s death. However, research has not yet explored how these strategies may influence the potential audience of these statements. To address this question, we ran two studies to determine how statements on racial incidents affect readers’ perceptions. We found that several factors influence readers’ beliefs about institutions’ warmth, competence, and support for various racial groups. These factors include readers’ own racial identities, institutions’ racial demographics, and the extent to which statements emphasize warmth or competence.