The role of collective identity in inhibiting mobilization: Solidarity andsuppression in Oak Ridge

On the basis of documents and in-depth interviews with 80 residents of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, we analyzed the lack of collective mobilization against d ocumented environmental problems. Collective identity is a central concept in new social movement theory and is seen as a major determinant of collect ive action. We borrowed the concept but examined the converse, individual a ctivism has consistently emerged in Oak Ridge without the development of th e collective processes that mark mobilization. We examined the establishmen t of a special collective identity for the community in Oak Ridge, then ana lyzed the role of collective identity in the suppression of health grievanc es through heightened saliency, consciousness, and opposition to activism.