A Safe Town? Ostensible State or County Racial Climate Impacts Perceptions of Town-Level Racial Identity-Safety Cues

Identity-safety cues (ISCs) are environmental signals that indicate one’s marginalized identity is valued. ISC contextual information may impact town evaluations. Over three experiments ( N = 1,107), we examine how single or multiple ISCs posted across storefronts (i.e., Black lives matter flag, Study 1–3) and the racial climate surrounding a hypothetical town (Study 2–3) impact attributions of ISC motives and town evaluations. Racial minorities and Black Americans perceived greater external diversity motives (e.g., social pressure) of a storefront with an ISC when all other storefronts had an ISC compared to when no other storefronts had an ISC (Study 1–3). Ostensible state- and county-level racially egalitarian climates elicited greater expectations of internal diversity motives and positive town evaluations (e.g., greater progressive policies, quality of life, Black residents) compared to prejudicial racial climates and towns with a single ISC (Study 2–3). Findings demonstrate the need to consider multiple levels of ISCs.