UCLA

Because racial and ethnic minorities each have recent histories of continuous acts of subordination and discrimination in the United States, members of these groups may be more aware of and sympathetic to other types of discrimination. In this dissertation, I address the question: do perceptions of marginalization within one disadvantaged group increase support for policies favoring another marginalized group? Using two multi-racial, nationally representative surveys, I examine the role of perceived marginality on support for a variety of policies. For racial minorities, I find that perceptions of discrimination against one’s racial ingroup and linked fate with the ingroup predict support for of policies favoring other marginalized groups. As racial minorities perceive a more open society with opportunities for social mobility, the more likely they are to favor the status quo and oppose policy interventions.