Over the summer of 2020, the United States experienced an unprecedented wave of protests following the murder of George Floyd.

The New York Times reported that his murder constituted possibly the largest social movement in recent American history. Millions took to the streets to protest police brutality and to voice their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Similar trends of support followed after the nation began witnessing a spike in hate crimes towards Asian Americans.

The most recent shooting at three spas in Atlanta spurred an unprecedented wave of support for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Still, amidst the burgeon of popular engagement, observers are noticing that much of this engagement is performative.

In this day and age, social media activism has become very common. As common as it has become, observers are left questioning whether people are actually changing their mindsets or are simply appearing to do so.

From reposting colorful infographics to putting #BlackLivesMatter on Instagram bios, users are searching for ways to prove their allyship.

The already high pressure to assimilate into this society mounts as users are afraid of being left out, or in this case, being called racist. In fact, one of the reasons why performative activism has become so widespread is because of how it feeds off people’s fear.

Many are under the impression that not posting anything equates to being silent or part of the group “oppressing” minority communities. However, there are deeper implications that come with acting on the fear of being called a racist or ignorant.

Acting purely based on fear clearly demonstrates that one is not able to understand or acknowledge the issues at hand.

Thinking of one’s own reputation or personal image in this situation clearly shows that 1) they do not care and 2) they will not take actions to challenge people on the issues of race in real life. Posts of solidarity prove nothing when these pseudo activists are unable to hold others, let alone themselves accountable for their actions.

Standing idly by and not being able to confront acts of racism goes directly against what actual activists are calling for: a conversation about systemic racism in America. Normalizing having these uncomfortable conversations, rather than continuing to overlook performative activism, is what will create lasting change.

<Christina Park / CAMS 11th Grade>