The STOREY (STOrying Racism to Empower Youth) intervention: Testing a digital storytelling intervention to promote anti-racism advocacy against anti-Black racism
Anti-Black racism is a deeply ingrained historical issue in the U.S., and countless murders of Black individuals through hate crimes and police brutality continue to reflect this ongoing tragedy. Brian TaeHyuk Keum, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Public Health, at the University of California, Berkeley, using an MRI Grant, addressed this issue by harnessing the power of the digital storytelling medium and critical group dialogue intervention to guide the exploration and promotion of cross-racial solidarity and anti-racism interests.
The overarching research question was: What is the impact of a storytelling-based group dialogue (STOREY) as an educational tool to promote racial/ethnic identity exploration, cross-racial solidarity, anti-racism interests, and advocacy against anti-Black racism?
Aim 1. Examine whether participants increase their anti-racist solidarity after participating in the dialogue.
Aim 2. Explore the themes that represent the barriers and motivators of anti-racism solidarity.
Dr. Keum and his colleagues recruited 50 Asian American college students and employed the STOREY intervention in 5 groups (10 students per group). Using a convergent mixed-methods design, qualitative data from the focus group were collected, and pre-post quantitative data were also collected on students' empathic reactions to anti-Black racism and anti-racist solidarity. They employed inductive thematic analysis to examine the qualitative data, complemented by analysis of changes in pre post scores of the quantitative data.
The following themes emerged from their qualitative analysis: (a) lack of race conversations growing up, (b) lack of interaction with Black peers, (c) anti-Blackness within family and community, (d) lack of knowledge and feelings of guilt about racism, (e) feeling supported in exploring anti-Black socialization experiences, (d) collective solidarity in the intervention group, (e) empowerment, (f) greater willingness to engage in anti-racism advocacy and difficult dialogues around anti-Black racism. Examination of pre-post score changes suggested that there was a significant increase in empathic reactions to anti-Black racism and anti-racist solidarity after participating in the STOREY intervention.
The findings suggest potential for the STOREY video-based critical dialogue to help Asian individuals critically reflect on their anti-Black attitudes and behaviors, engage in critical group dialogue to work toward a collective anti-racist identity, and support their willingness to engage in anti-racist solidarity and actions. The addition of the group-based dialogue further augments the role of the STOREY intervention. The qualitative findings indicate that there are barriers, such as lack of knowledge, silo, and feelings of guilt that can deter Asian individuals from participating in anti-racist solidarity while motivators, such as empowerment, socialization, collective solidarity, can promote their participation.