Nationwide surveys have consistently demonstrated a group-level gap between Black and White Americans in their interpretations of race-related events. This interpretive gap is often attributed to dissimilar attitudes, values, and beliefs, stemming from variant personal and historical experiences. The current paper suggests that while distinct histories and attitudes are present and relevant, continued focus on difference in the discussion of divergent interpretations of race-related events overlooks the fact that a more common process is afoot: namely, that these divergent views – at least in part – emerge following defensive, worldview-protective responses to existential threat and anxiety. To this point, we connect social-cognitive theory with Terror Management Theory (TMT), a framework to understand how the human awareness of mortality, existential threat posed in the form of mortality salience (MS) and alternate worldviews, and subsequent psychological coping mechanisms (i.e., the enactment of and steadfast adherence to a worldview), affect interpretations of race-related events and may limit one’s ability to interpret them from an alternative perspective. Applications for an existential perspective to understand the divergent interpretations between Blacks and Whites in response to Michael Brown’s death are discussed.