#  Marco Aviña (APRW) 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **October 7, 2025** 

 12:00PM - 02:00PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **CGIS Knafel room K354**  



 

 [ Join via Zoom arrow\_circle\_right ](https://harvard.zoom.us/j/99320596113) 

 



 

### Speaker & Title

Marco Aviña, "On the ‘Great Awokening’"

### Abstract

Recent scholarship hails rising racial liberalism among white Democrats as a racial reckoning and even a “Great Awokening.” Yet it overlooks crucial variation within this group. In this paper, I show affluent Americans have driven these changes, which I argue has major implications for the politics of racial and economic inequality in the US. I first document a class gap in racial liberalism going back 50 years. I then leverage George Floyd’s murder and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests as a natural experiment. Using regression-discontinuity, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variable approaches, I find that previously reported shifts in public opinion and political behavior were strongest among affluent white Democrats. Moreover, high-income Americans were most likely to become Democrats as a result of the protests, and the protests’ impact on the 2020 presidential election was greatest in high-income counties. To probe mechanisms, I leverage data on local context and individual issue priorities. I adjudicate between competing theoretical accounts and provide evidence in support of opportunity hoarding and virtue signaling. These findings underscore class tensions deep within the Democratic coalition---how can a party increasingly reliant on affluent voters focused on identity politics also champion economic redistribution to the working class?



 

The American Politics Research Workshop (Gov 3004) meets all academic year, Tuesdays, 12:00–2:00 PM, in CGIS K354. This workshop presents an opportunity for graduate students and Harvard faculty to present and receive feedback on their current research. The workshop highlights key theoretical and empirical findings from Harvard affiliates on topics related to American politics.

All interested Harvard affiliates are invited to attend. Lunch will be provided.



 

 



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