By Bridget Gibbs (she/they)
CW: racism; white privilege; white supremacy
Can we really give ourselves a pat on the back for posting a black square? (Illustration created by @savau 2020, concept by me).
I acknowledge that I am working, living, and benefitting from Meanjin land (occupied Brisbane). Sovereignty over this invaded land has never been ceded by the Yuggera and Turrbal people, whose rights and abilities to self-govern are yet to be acknowledged. I will be referring specifically to First Nations people (ie. Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander peoples); Black people (mainly referring to Black Americans); BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour); and to white people (ie. Anglo-Australians) in this piece. I am a white person so ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘ours’ will henceforth refer collectively to other white people and I.
Foreword: A call to action.
I want to be clear from the very start that my purpose in writing this piece was to better educate myself on becoming actively anti-racist, and to understand how I could best use my time to support others in doing the same. Rather than saying nothing, or only ‘saying something’ through re-posts on Instagram, I have tried to use the time, the space, and the platform I have to better understand how to hold myself and others accountable for inaction against racial justice. In many other moments in my life I have stayed silent for fear of speaking up, but I am more capable now in recognising the enormity of the multiple levels of white privilege that I have and continue to benefit from. This is not a ‘how-to’ piece or a manuscript on ways forward, but should be informative for anyone not regularly exposed to the activist space. I am learning as I go and many of these concepts are not my own (and have been included as references to check out), but it is long overdue that I start calling out myself, my friends, my family, and others in my circles. I expect to get things wrong, to take criticism, and to try again. Are you willing to do the same?
What is performative activism?
Also known as: trendivism/ slacktivism/ performative allyship/ performative wokeness/ momentary, fleeting, or selective activism.
Performative activism, for lack of a better definition, is a pejorative term used to describe acts of activism that are performed on a surface level, and for the benefit of the user. In this scenario, the performance aspect comes from Instagram users re-sharing trending quotes from people we have never heard of; posting photos of ourselves at protests; donation receipts; or things that are trending (ie. black squares). These actions are centred on the user maintaining their social standing and turning the spotlight back on themselves, as opposed to adding to the discussion about the root cause. Many of us are guilty of this. I am guilty of this. If you haven’t spotted it already, I have attached photo ‘proof’ that I was at the 6th June BLM/ Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance protests in this very article (below). I think the key here is to recognise when we are participating for the sake of participating, and when we are truly making an effort to think deeply, sit with our emotions, and act on them in meaningful ways. For more information, check out @luva_m’s ‘A guide on: selective and performative activism’ here, and Cindy Leonard’s diagram here for where slacktivism/ performative activism sits within the spectrum of activist activities.
Protests in Meanjin 6th June 2020. “Same Story Different Soil” / “Staying Silent in Times of Injustice is Privilege”.
Pressure to Perform? Blackout Tuesday and those troublesome black squares…
Participating in racial justice is a privilege that we choose to partake in. Choosing to participate for one day, for one trend, however, is damaging, as we are white people who have never, and will never, experience racism (as ‘reverse racism’ does not exist). Not dissimilar to changing your Facebook profile image to show support for illness, environmental justice, or LGBTIQA+ rights, the black squares appeared to mean something different to every person. A number of excellent Black people and other writers have already spoken on the issue (find my favourites from Azudi Onyejekwe here, Zoe Haylock here and Sumedha here). From what I can understand, many white people within my social circles made this post with the associated #BlackLivesMatter tag in an attempt to show solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA. The issue with this, however, is that this is a rapid-fix solution, or an easy way to ‘show’ support without backing this up with legitimate and concrete steps to assist the BLM movement (ie. signing petitions; giving reparation money regularly; protesting; performing our own research to improve our anti-racist knowledge). I will refer to Vogue writer, Yomi Adegoke here who says:
“Many people, white people, who have been largely mute on these issues until this point are now doing what they can to detract from their own previous apathy in the form of screenshotted donations and fervent threads, rushing to prove they’re not like those “other” silent white people, quickly writing captions decrying complicity that was theirs until last week. And since silence is complicity, the logic follows that loud self-flagellation is activism, even if it is in part to temporarily assuage white guilt and requires little actual action.” Adegoke 3rd June 2020, read it in full here.
In my experience, I witnessed around 30+ black square posts on the 2nd June (largely from the personal accounts of white people), and I saw evidence that 1 of those 30 people attending the protests on the 6th June. I am assuming here that those willing to showcase their support with the black square post would also show evidence of their support at the protests a few days later. Taking the easy route is possible for those who continue to benefit from white privilege. Reiterating Adegoke’s words here, it feels lazy to jump onto a trend in an attempt to loudly proclaim that we are in fact not racist, without first having done everything in our power to support the cause in other ways first. The laziness of not having done our research before jumping on a trend that did, in fact, disrupt the flow of important information, is harmful.
Collectively as white people, we thought it was the right time to publicly air our ‘solidarity’ for those we view as oppressed and for many of us it was our first step into the activist space, when we should have instead stopped to learn how to speak up and act in more meaningful ways. Turning the attention back on ourselves with the hijacking of Blackout Tuesday shows how quickly and easily our white privilege is reproduced and reinforced. This somewhat abrupt ‘act of solidarity’ seems even more confusing when we consider the severely lacking mass support for First Nations people and the ever-growing numbers of Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia (now standing at 437 people, resources here, donate here). On reflecting on how to be a suitable ally, I will quote Azudi Onyejekwe here who says:
“Being a true ally is more than mass posting when a highly publicized case of black suffering emerges…If you want to be an ally, I repeat, do not treat this as a trend. Don’t just rely on the easily visible instances of black suffering to make you a social justice warrior. Power operates at its most efficient, lethal, and optimal level when it is allowed to remain invisible. It is easier to speak truth to power in highly visible instances, versus the normal day to day epistemic acts of violence that benefit you. Speak the truth when the violence is invisible too.” Onyejekwe 3rd June 2020. Full piece here.
For some of us, I question whether the backlash against posting the black tiles will act as a deterrent from participating in racial justice ever again (or for some time at least). This is not good enough. We continue to prove that as a community of white people we are not willing to put in the work and are quick to become defensive when we don’t get things right the first time (see Sofie Hagen’s summary of this concept here). The excuse of ‘I wanted to quickly show my support and solidarity for the movement’ provides no justification, because this statement in itself is riddled with white privilege. Showing solidarity, without spending your time, your money, and your emotional energy on racial injustice reinforces the privilege that you and I have.
Who benefits from your post?
If the goal of your post was to broadcast to other people that you are one of ‘good ones’, or, you felt afraid that by not posting a black square would make you appear on the side of the racists, this may be a form of virtue signalling. I will mention Monique Melton here on why ‘white tears are violent’:
“…those tears are a way for you to appear as if you’re “one of the good ones”. It’s like, “look at me, I all of [a] sudden care so much about Black lives that I’m even crying about it.” But we’ve been Black all this time, we’ve been suffering, speaking out & calling y’all in to this work all this time. And y’all have remained unbothered. And now you want to cry. No, your tears are for you. Those tears are your guilt, shame & embarrassment streaming down your face as u begin to see just how harmful & complicit you’ve been in upholding white supremacy…”. @meomotivate 1st June 2020.
Being Held Accountable, Holding Others Accountable.
Stop making excuses for those in your own circles and those in your own families.
When we continuously allow racist remarks to be made by those closest to us and we suggest that these people still have good intentions, it reaffirms to these individuals that their comments are socially acceptable. This form of ‘covert white supremacy’ over time (ie. cultural appropriation, denial of white privilege, not challenging racist jokes), allows more overt acts of white supremacy to seem more acceptable (such as hate crimes and police harassment). Check out the Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (2005, p.5) and @theconsciouskid for diagrams on overt/covert racism. Holding ourselves and others accountable for the actions we make, and for the ones we do not make is one of the most important things we can do right now (and always).
Being held accountable does not mean reposting statements from BIPOC individuals on our Instagram stories and thinking that we have made a positive impact. Nor does it mean asking our Black/First Nations/ BIPOC mates for their opinions on recent heinous and racially charged events, without considering first how exhausting and hurtful these conversations could be. Being held accountable for white people does not mean asking Black people what we can do to help, or how we can be an ally. It is not fair to ask oppressed people to give free emotional labour, or to provide explanations for concepts that can be rapidly answered through a web search. Asking “how can I help?” might be a plausible question to ask in specific scenarios, however, as a general rule there are some obvious ways we can learn, act, and do better before resorting to this:
1. Consistently acknowledge and accept your position of privilege. Consider why certain stories and certain comments make you feel uncomfortable or guilty or ashamed.
2. Move away from asking “am I racist?” towards asking “how am I racist?” Read more about this concept from Anne Wilson Shaef here. Becoming actively anti-racist is a consistent process of unlearning and learning.
3. Be an ally without telling the world that you are one! Find more on allyship by @mireillecharper here, and from @wastefreemarie here.
4. Consider who benefits from the posts you make online. I will refer to Rachel E. Cargle here who says “Friendly reminder: anti-racism work is NOT a self improvement space for white people. If protecting bodies and empowering black lives aren’t at the center of your work then you’re not here for black people- you’re simple going through motions to make your white self feel better” via @rachel.cargle 8th June 2020.
5. Turn your anger into action. It is never too late to start.
a. Protest (safely),
b. Sign every petition,
c. Vote for parties whose policies do not actively harm First Nations/Black/ BIPOC communities,
d. Set up weekly or monthly reparations to multiple organisations,
e. Ask your workplace what policies they have for hiring First Nations people and for racial discrimination procedures (if you can do so safely),
f. Challenge yourself to read X number of books by Black/ First Nations/ BIPOC authors.
6. Reach out to those who have views that are different to yours, rather than unfriending or unfollowing them. When we only have conversations with those who appear to be on the same ‘side’ as us, this creates a confirmation bias (in which “Our natural tendency seems to be to look for evidence that is directly supportive of hypotheses we favour…” Nickerson 1998, p. 211). If we continue to only reaffirm our beliefs with those who think similarly to us, we are not engaging in the conversations that truly matter. Simply unfriending and unfollowing those people that don’t seem to ‘understand’ or agree with our own conclusions has no benefit to any person involved.
7. Accept that you (and I) will continue to make mistakes, but it is okay to change and adapt your views after learning more and becoming better informed.
One final reminder:
If you would like to discuss anything mentioned here please don’t hesitate to send me a message at b.gibbs@onewomanproject.org, or connect with the wonderful OWP Team on Facebook and Instagram (‘One Woman Project’).
Resources and Reparations/Paying the Rent – Master Google Docs:
· AUS here, here, and here (donations specifically)
· Anti-racism resources here
· Being a better ally here
Follow on Instagram:
References & Reading List
Abrams, K, Fregene, J & Awadallah, L 2019, Discourse and Debate: Is performative activism inherently bad?’, Columbia Spectator, https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2019/03/27/discourse-and-debate-is-performative-activism-inherently-bad/
Adegoke, Y 2020, ‘We Need To Rethink Our “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” Approach To Activism’, VOGUE, https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/performative-grief-online
Allam, L, Wahlquist, C & Evershed, N 2020, ‘Aboriginal deaths in custody: Black Lives Matter protests referred to our count of 432 deaths. It’s now 437’, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/09/black-lives-matter-protesters-referred-to-our-count-of-432-aboriginal-deaths-in-custody-its-now-437
Bracken, C 2020, ‘Indigenous Australians react to the #BlackoutTuesday takeover’, triple j, https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/triplej-breakfast/the-triple-j-textline-reacts-to-the-blackouttuesday/12317728?fbclid=IwAR33rGtJBJxHtl073ViDjKhniMVeKnV5TiB-oVYe4IoH4v_Br2d_cJhE6mU
Diop, A 2020, “We have to keep repeating ourselves just to be able to breathe”: black activists on the movement for justice”, Vanityfair, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/black-activists-on-the-movement-for-justice-george-floyd-protests
Gray, JM 2018, ‘Performing Wokeness’, The Harvard Crimson, https://www.thecrimson.com/column/better-left-unsaid/article/2018/10/1/gray-performing-wokeness/
Haylock, Z 2020, ‘How Did #BlackOutTuesday Go So Wrong So Fast’, Vulture, https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/blackout-tuesday-guide.html
Hesse, B 2007, ‘Racialized modernity: An analytics of white mythologies’. Ethnic and Racial Studies: Racist Futures, 30(4), pp. 643–663.
Leonard, C 2009, ‘In Defense of Slacktivism’, Robert Morris University Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, https://bayercenter.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/in-defense-of-slacktivism/
Nickerson, R 1998, ‘Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises’. Review of General Psychology. 2. pp. 175-220.
Onyejekwe, A 2020, https://thetheatretimes.com/the-dangers-of-optical-illusionary-performative-activism/
Purves, E 2020, https://www.redbrick.me/the-troubling-trend-of-performative-activism/
Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence 2005, ‘Building a Multi-Ethnic, Inclusive & Antiracist organization: Tools for Liberation Packet for Anti-Racist Activists, Allies, & Critical Thinkers’.
Shaef, AW 2016, ‘Racism and all of us’, Anne Wilson Shaef Blog, https://annewilsonschaef.com/racism-and-all-of-us/
Sinanan, J 2020, ‘Blackout Tuesday: the black square is a symbol of online activism for non-activists’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/blackout-tuesday-the-black-square-is-a-symbol-of-online-activism-for-non-activists-139982
Sumedha 2020, ‘Black Squares: A Brief Takedown of Online Performative Activism’, LiveWire, https://livewire.thewire.in/politics/performative-activism-online-black-squares/
Trevitt, S 2020, ‘A critical turning point for First Nations justice’, Right Now, http://rightnow.org.au/opinion-3/critical-turning-point-first-nations-justice/
Winant, H 2001, ‘The World is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy since World War Two’, New York: Basic Books.