Looking Woke vs. BEING Woke

Looking woke online can seem pretty selfish and empty, but can it ever become real activism? Is There A Right Way To Protest? /watch/An9eg7ZuDjPue SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a video! https://bit.ly/3tNKzhV And follow us on Instagram and Twitter! https://www.instagram.com/abovethenoisepbs/ https://twitter.com/ATN_PBS **What is performative activism?** It’s usually defined as activism done to increase one’s social capital rather than because of one’s devotion to the cause. I translate that to LOOKING like you care, even if you really don’t. It’s putting the spotlight on yourself, many times for those glorious, delicious likes! **What is virtue signaling?** One of the core complaints about performative activism is that it’s a kind of virtue signaling, where you publicly express an opinion to demonstrate just how woke you are. Like, when Pride Month comes around, and a bunch of people slap a rainbow on their profile pics, but then on July first, they’re gone. **What’s an example of online performative activism or virtue signaling?** For a lot of people, performative activism hit a peak during the BLM protests last year. Do you remember Blackout Tuesday? It stemmed from an original campaign by two Black music executives after the killing of George Floyd. The point was to raise awareness around police brutality and systemic racism. Then the black squares happened. Millions of people were swapping out their profile pics for solid black squares to show solidarity. But there was a backlash, because it seemed like a bunch of people were just jumping on a trend to make themselves feel good for participating. **Are there any positives when it comes to performative activism?** It can be helpful when it comes to spreading awareness about a cause and attracting other people who might have never engaged in the first place. When it comes to BLM, there’s some pretty solid data supporting this. When George Floyd was murdered on May 25th, 2020, a large sample of Americans were asked, “Do you support or oppose the Black Lives Matter movement?” 45 percent answered that they supported it. Just nine days later, the day after Blackout Tuesday, after huge amounts of action on social media,52 percent of people answering that question supported the movement. That’s a pretty massive swing in a short period of time. SOURCES Activism Or Slacktivism? How Social Media Hurts And Helps Student Activism https://news.stlpublicradio.org/2014-01-02/activism-or-slacktivism-how-social-media-hurts-and-helps-student-activism The Subtle Ways That ‘Clicktivism’ Shapes the World https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200915-the-subtle-ways-that-clicktivism-shapes-the-world Why People Are Posting Black Squares on Instagram https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/6/2/21278051/instagram-blackout-tuesday-black-lives-matter Who Are the Black Squares and Cutesy Illustrations Really For? https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/6/3/21279336/blackout-tuesday-black-lives-matter-instagram-performative-allyship The Nature of Slacktivism: How the Social Observability of an Initial Act of Token Support Affects Subsequent Prosocial Action https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.1086/674137.pdf?casa_token=wg3bY1knpcMAAAAA:UjESTk4OguPhDkUB6Dk6KjpRiKeD9MR72kRdUk0y4QO7ARBR_I6YyINru6w8JkWzAe72_iZ0Ed0ouD2yftdkMJeJCl0qcZC7S912TWXqbTZm0LSRePo False Equivalencies: Online Activism from Left to Right http://dfreelon.org/publications/2020_False_equivalencies_Online_activism_from_left_to_right.pdf How Public Opinion Has Moved on Black Lives Matter https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/upshot/black-lives-matter-attitudes.html Racial Justice Groups Flooded With Millions in Donations in Wake of Floyd Death https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/us/politics/black-lives-matter-racism-donations.html CHAPTERS 0:00 Performative Activism Defined 1:11 Being Woke VS Being Genuine 2:34 Those Little Black Squares 3:57 The Research 4:53 The Upside of Performative Activism 6:38 The Big Takeaway About KQED KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services, and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source, leader, and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places, and ideas. Funding for KQED’s education services is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Koret Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, Campaign 21 donors, and members of KQED. #TheActivist #woke #AboveTheNoise

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