Philanthropy and Activism: A Performance
The book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (Giridharadas, 2018) discusses the way the world's elite use "win-win" philanthropy to convince others that they are making change while their efforts maintain the status quo. These wealthy individuals begin initiatives that they believe could solve a lesser person's problems, though the caveat is that their "social change" does not address the cause of a population's disparities. Many times, these philanthropic efforts function as a way to make the creator feel good about themself. The elite do not have their power or their finances challenged, they are not asked to give anything up... and yet people still expect change from a system that benefits one group while harming another (Giridharadas, 2018).
While reading Winners Take All, I could not help but think of 'performative activism'. It is a term that popped up quite a lot in June when "Blackout Tuesday" happened, a form of social media protest in response to the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. People across the world--from all walks of life, though mostly White--posted a black square on their Instagram profiles with captions like "#BlackLivesMatter" and "#BlackoutTuesday". The movement was originally created by two black female music executives to encourage people to pause their daily lives and reflect on the injustices going on in the United States. Their goal was to have people (especially White folks) take a moment to pause and reflect, and to encourage them to donate to protestors or families impacted by police brutality. However, Blackout Tuesday became just a symbolic gesture for many people. They posted the black square and went about their daily business without making a change or using their privilege to help others... quite the opposite of what the two creators intended.
These days, social media activism has turned into a trend of posting hashtags or sharing photos in one's Instagram Story. These actions become performative when a person does something to appear as an ally to the BIPOC community, though it is only on the surface. Performative activists may not research the links they are sharing, or unintentionally donate to harmful organizations. They may be selective in which issues they choose to address, or be unaware of their privilege (Ira, 2020). And these actions can be taken as a measure to make one feel better about themself and their position in society. However, performative activism does not result in real change--just like the elite creating phone apps that maintain the status quo. When we see advertising agencies increasing their use of BIPOC models, or magazines putting a BIPOC on the cover, or even brands like Poptarts taking a social media stance on BLM, we have to think critically: are corporations doing this to make change, or make money?
Circling back to Winners Take All and the stories of the entrepreneurs wanting to 'change the world', a related policy change that I would like to see implemented is corporations or the government providing more support for black-owned companies. Whether this is a policy change that corporations make to change the status quo, or the government providing reparations for slavery, this change could look like: grants for businesses starting up, for business to hire more Black employees, or even purchasing land for Black entrepreneurs. Though, the government would also need to address the racial wage gap when creating these policies (Ray & Perry, 2020).
References
Giridharadas, A. (2018). Winners take all: The elite charade of changing the world. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle edition.
Ira, P. (2020). The difference between performative activism and genuine allyship. Retrieved November 11, 2020 from https://medium.com/illumination/the-difference-between-performative-activism-and-genuine-allyship-c1071133d0e0
Ray, R. & Perry, A. (2020). Why we need reparations for black Americans. Retrieved November 11, 2020 from https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/bigideas/why-we-need-reparations-for-black-americans/
Madeline,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insights and great blog post! I feel Performative activists or activism is a real thing! I think you highlight wonderfully how we blindly share links on FB and IG without researching. It also highlights how we often blindly accept what the media tells us which is run by the elite. It is just a sharing circle with often no action or research about the links or IG stories. Critical thinking is key and like you mentioned taking real steps to create change. I find the social aspects of performative activism fascinating as well! I know a few friends who were shamed for not posting a black square on blackout Tuesday. They were not on IG regularly and actually one was working to raise funds for black owned businesses in her community. Often I feel people post the square or link due to the social pressure and shaming by others. They feel like even if they are doing something behind the seams they need to show it on social media of it doesn't "exist" Human behavior is so fascinating. I do agree I think we need to look at policies that keep our black communities oppressed and create a real change!