Reckoning with a racist past: Black and White Americans’ subjective temporal distance from past racism predicts denial of present-day racism.

Countries with histories of colonialism and slavery struggle to reckon with racism, past and present. Dominant racialized groups (e.g., White Americans, Dutch of Dutch descent) often acknowledge less present-day racism than subordinated racialized groups (e.g., Black Americans, Dutch people of Surinamese/Caribbean descent). We propose that this gap partly reflects group differences in subjective temporal distancing from historic racism (e.g., slavery, the Tulsa Massacre, Jim Crow). Across four studies (N = 834), dominant group members distanced more from historical racism than subordinated members, which explained their lower acknowledgement of present-day racism, less willingness to engage in antiracist action and less support for reparations. Longitudinal data (Study 3) tested whether a formal national apology for slavery reduced group differences in distancing and antiracist attitudes and behavioral intentions. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of subjective temporal distancing in shaping racial attitudes toward the past and present.