COVID, COMPASSION, AND ALTRUISTIC MOBILIZATION: EXPLAINING NONBLACK PARTICIPATION IN THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT OF 2020^* Available to Purchase

What explains the massive increase in non-Black participation in the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, compared to previous years? Combining insights from the social psychology of compassion with arguments about framing from the social movement literature, we argue that the suffering brought about by the COVID pandemic prepared the ground for a more empathic emotional reaction to the killing of George Floyd compared to similar cases of police violence before the pandemic. Empathy led to protest participation if combined with frames such as systemic racism, triggering emotions of guilt or outrage, which in turn led to justiceseeking behavior. We support this argument with observational data at both the county and individual levels. We rule out a series of alternative explanations, including that individuals joined the protests because they had no other opportunities to socialize or to protest the first Trump administration.