Performative Activism Is the New ‘Color-Blind’ Band-Aid for White Fragility
White people embracing hashtags won’t help us destroy anti-Black racism. Here’s why.
A week ago, thousands of people uploaded a black square onto their social media accounts to observe, mourn, and advocate for policy change in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Celebrities, sports teams, and large corporations all joined in solidarity. Yet, the movement still missed the mark, and some participants received harsh criticism. Others then accused elements of #BlackoutTuesday of being performative. And in many ways, it was. Performative activism is problematic at best and dangerous at worst. It’s similar to color-blindness in that it’s illusionary and reinforces White supremacy by romanticizing the notion of activism, but in reality this diverts attention from social justice issues to coddle White fragility.
Word of Blackout Tuesday spread like wildfire, and yes, I even drank the Kool-Aid. But my optimism was short-lived after reading posts and tweets from activists who criticized the movement for maintaining White supremacy and made the astute observation that a black box will not eradicate anti-Black racism.
“Y’all really boggle my mind with the performance. Black people write detailed ass books of our pain…
