‘You’ll be all white’: the flaws of online activism

As you scroll through Instagram stories, you see the same activism post shared by several of your classmates and influencers, with “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Asian Hate” written in fancy font on a pretty background with cute designs surrounding the words.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ll admit we’ve posted a couple of these posts on our stories here and there. It feels good thinking you’re doing something important and significant. However, a lot of us just stop there. There is so much more we can do than just spreading awareness and sharing a post to our stories.

I’m sure we’ve all heard of the term performative activism, activism or supporting a cause because it is the trend. However, this only ends up hurting the people for whom it claims to advocate. We need to remember that these causes like Black Lives Matter are about raising Black voices and protecting Black lives.

Tweeting hashtags won’t bring justice for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Amir Locke and all the other victims of police brutality. There are so many ways you can be an ally that really make a difference. Support local BIPOC businesses or donate to bail funds. Another part of activism is that you don’t need to display it so that everyone knows you’re doing your part. Educate yourselves on current events and injustices. Call out racism and microaggressions in our own community. Unfortunately, there are countless examples of microaggressions that our fellow CSB/SJU students face every day.

The path to liberation isn’t an easy trek. We all know that. But for some of us who choose to ignore reality, it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that actions and words do have consequences, that saying Black Lives Matter isn’t enough. In a school where our goals are to embrace difference and think deeply, our white peers lack greatly. But where they thrive is in passive niceness.

The inequities and injustices that persist today are evidence that there is still so much left to accomplish. In conversations regarding our rights, you don’t need to speak on our behalf. Invite us to the room. Let us use our voices. But that doesn’t dismiss you from educating yourself and surrounding yourself with people who don’t look like you. The importance here is letting BIPOC people take up the space and be in the room where decisions that will ultimately affect them are being made.

It’s not our job to make you feel comfortable, especially when the issues that you say you care so deeply about are only on your radar because you think it makes you a better person for “staying informed.” But in reality, you don’t care. It’s performative and we can all see through it. The real truth is that although you might not be inherently racist, you have to unlearn racism every day and acknowledge your biases. You have to be willing to be held accountable when your privilege exerts its boundaries. You have to know when to step back and let the community do what it does best, because at the end of the day the people within the community truly know what’s best for them. And yeah, it’s hard, but a true ally knows that we can’t reach liberation if everyone isn’t playing their role.

In the end, no matter what happens, you know you can go about your day not having to actively think about these issues, because you have nothing to lose. You know you’ll be all white.