Jump to content

2020 United States racial reckoning: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Undid revision 977811517 by Czar (talk) nope, not suitable for lede
Undid revision 977817325 by Czar (talk) non-NPOV
Line 38: Line 38:
also social media and other self-education? -->
also social media and other self-education? -->


Many major American corporations pursued antiracism and [[diversity training]] workshops, particularly companies seeking to be consistent with their Black Lives Matter messaging. Demand for these trainings had grown over time, especially since 2016, interest in diversity training bookings spiked during this period of reckoning. [[Robin DiAngelo]], whose ''White Fragility'' topped the Amazon bestsellers list, rose from prominence to phenomenon, according to ''The New York Times'', as a popular speaker during this time.{{r|NYT Bergner}}
Many major American corporations pursued antiracism and [[diversity training]] workshops, particularly companies seeking to be consistent with their Black Lives Matter messaging. Demand for these trainings had grown over time, especially since 2016, interest in diversity training bookings spiked during this period of reckoning. [[Robin DiAngelo]], whose ''White Fragility'' topped the Amazon bestsellers list, rose to prominence during this time and was a popular speaker.{{r|NYT Bergner}}
<!--
<!--


Revision as of 05:39, 11 September 2020

The killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests in May 2020 precipitated a national American cultural reckoning on topics of racial injustice. Public opinion of racism and discrimination quickly shifted in the wake of the protests, with significantly increased support of the Black Lives Matter movement and acknowledgement of systemic advantages and disadvantages due to race. Demonstrators revived a public campaign for the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, as well as other historic symbols, such as statues of venerated American slaveholders and displays of the Confederate battle flag.

Public backlash widened to other institutional symbols, including place names, namesakes, brands, and cultural practices. Anti-racist self-education became a trend throughout June 2020 in the United States. Black anti-racist writers found new audiences and places on bestseller lists. American consumers also sought out Black-owned businesses to support. The effects of American activism extended internationally, as global protests destroyed their own local symbols of racial injustice.

Public opinion

In June 2020, the high-profile killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery precipitated a national reckoning on systemic racism in the United States across, impacting culture, government, industry, and sports.[1][2] This reckoning confronted a legacy of systemic inequality and injustice in the societal treatment of Black Americans who, relative to the general population, have experienced disproportionately negative outcomes in education, health care, housing, imprisonment, voting rights, and wages as the result of overt discrimination and unconscious bias.[1] While Black Americans acutely understood these racial inequities as part of their daily lives, many white Americans were insulated.[3] In the years prior, there had been protests and skirmishes over killings of Black Americans by law enforcement, the 2015 Charleston church shooting, and the 2017 Charlottesville rally, which briefly received headlines but did not lead to systemic change[4] or as wide a level of support.[5] The videos of Floyd's death and police violence at protests, however, were revelatory to white Americans, who, as a result, would support the George Floyd protests in greater numbers than they had prior protests of killings of Black American by law enforcement.[3]

American public opinion of racism and discrimination quickly shifted in the wake of these protests. Polling of white Americans showed an increased belief in having received advantages due to their race and increased belief that Black Americans received disproportionate force in policing.[1] Public opinion in support of the Black Lives Matter movement greatly accelerated.[6][7] This increased response for racial justice might have been aided by antipathy towards President Donald Trump's support for police, greater understanding of disparate pandemic effects by race,[4] and a weakened sense of security following the COVID-19 pandemic's social isolation and economic fallout.[8] Others had grown accustomed to protest under Trump or were responding to his racial agitation or handling of the pandemic.[5] Some white Americans reported feeling more social permission from other white people to support Black Lives Matter whereas it would have felt conspicuous prior.[5]

Public debate

A week into the George Floyd protests, demonstrators targeted Confederate monuments and memorials, reviving a public campaign for their removal that had accelerated with the 2017 Charlottesville white nationalist rally over one such statue. Protesters proceeded to deface and topple remaining Confederate monuments and memorials for their association with institutional racism[9] and white supremacy.[10] By late June, as part of a wider reckoning on the value of historic symbols, activists extended their campaign to statues of American presidents and other iconic slaveowners or participants in racial discrimination.[11] Other targeted statues depicted Black people in deferential poses.[10] Activists continued to organize to dismantle statues and some politicians preemptively moved to remove statues in advance of activist direct action.[11] Faced with civil unrest, politicians became highly motivated to fulfill dormant promises to remove Confederate symbols.[12] Activist momentum spread to other Confederate symbols, especially the display of the Confederate battle flag. Following press in which NASCAR banned its display and organizations including Walmart and the NCAA announced that they would no longer fly the Mississippi flag—the last state flag to include the symbol—the state quickly voted to retire the flag.[13] Through this series of events, the public was brought to confront the history of racism in the United States. In particular, the removal of symbols sparked national debate and reflection over what reverence was appropriate to bestow on historical figures whose national influence coincided with participation in institutions of racism.[11]

Beyond monuments and Confederate symbols, public backlash widened to other institutional symbols, including place names, namesakes, brands, and resignations. Rhode Island removed "Providence Plantations" from the state's formal name.[10] Colleges renamed buildings and governments renamed public works.[12] Princeton University renamed its Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.[10] Household products including Aunt Jemima syrup, Uncle Ben's rice, and Cream of Wheat pledged to review racial stereotypes in their marketing.[14] Music groups including the Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum changed their names to remove references to the Southern United States.[15] The Washington Redskins of the National Football League, whose racially inflammatory team name had become a symbol of racial discrimination, pledged to change its name following pressure from business sponsors and a 12-year advocacy campaign.[16][2] Some firms in the music industry phased out the term "urban music" as outdated[17] and a social media debate considered whether America should change its national anthem based on a verse that some historians interpret as supporting violence against slaves.[18] Companies that had donated to Black Lives Matter causes without addressing internal diversity issues were publicly lambasted on social media. Leaders in the media and entertainment industries were ousted over their handling of racial issues, as were other celebrities and actors.[19] Reckonings over racial inclusiveness and equability expanded to the wine industry.[20]

Public conversations on race and power extended to other cultural practices. One debate addressed racial vocabulary. Hundreds of news organizations modified their style guides to capitalize "Black" as a proper noun in recognition of the term's shared political identity and experiences.[21][22] Merriam-Webster modified its definition of racism.[6] Americans reconsidered and replaced words and phrases with charged, racialized histories, such as "master bedroom", "master/slave" distinctions, and whitelist/blacklist. Real estate and technology organizations announced they would use more inclusive alternatives.[23] Journalists at major American newspapers contested their own coverage of the events.[24][25] In the music industry, BMG Rights Management announced it would reevaluate its record deals for race-based compensation disparities.[26] Major record labels began searches for diversity officers and the Black Music Action Coalition formed to address industry racial inequities.[17] The major sports channel ESPN began to air political commentary, reversing a longstanding mandate to separate sports from politics.[27] College athletes led boycotts[28] and following the August shooting of Jacob Blake, a wildcat strike during the NBA playoff led to a work stoppage from other American professional athletes.[29][30][31]

Consumer behavior

Anti-racist self-education became a trend throughout June 2020 in the United States, and Black anti-racist writers found new audiences. During the Floyd protests, black-owned bookstores saw an influx of interest, especially for books on social justice topics. In the span of two weeks from early to late June, books about race went from composing none to two-thirds of the New York Times Best Seller list. Amazon sales saw a similar pattern. In comparison, no such surge happened after prior prominent Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Popular Black authors included Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be an Antiracist, Stamped from the Beginning), Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race), and Layla Saad (Me and White Supremacy). Bestsellers also include Black biographies and memoirs (Becoming, Born a Crime, Between the World and Me, Just Mercy), anti-racist books by white authors (White Fragility, The Color of Law), and older books (The New Jim Crow, The Fire Next Time). Online library checkouts of anti-racist literature increased tenfold by mid-June. Some municipal libraries saw waitlists in the thousands per title. Amazon's tracking of daily e-book readers and audiobook listeners reflected the increased readership, when many of the aforementioned books entered its most-read list.[32]

Spurred by messages on social media, American consumers sought out Black-owned businesses to support. June saw record high Google searches for "Black-owned businesses near me" and smartphone restaurant discovery apps added features for discovering Black-owned restaurants. Businesses on social media lists saw significantly increased sales. Black-owned bookstores in particular had difficulty meeting demand.[33]

Many major American corporations pursued antiracism and diversity training workshops, particularly companies seeking to be consistent with their Black Lives Matter messaging. Demand for these trainings had grown over time, especially since 2016, interest in diversity training bookings spiked during this period of reckoning. Robin DiAngelo, whose White Fragility topped the Amazon bestsellers list, rose to prominence during this time and was a popular speaker.[34]

Analysis

White America's awakening brought comparisons to the Weinstein effect, in which the #MeToo movement revealed unspoken inequities and put pressure on public figures for legacies of sexual assault and harassment.[35][3][19] Similarly, under its racial injustice reckoning, the American public pressured American industries to confront legacies of racism.[35] The resulting symbolic divestments targeted white cultural hegemony.[4] NPR wrote that renamed landmarks and similar gestures would not provide economic opportunities or civil rights, but signaled cultural disapproval towards symbols associated with racial injustice.[4] The New Yorker likened the dispersed, national response to an "American Spring" on par with the Arab Spring and other international revolutionary waves.[3]

Effects of American activism were felt internationally, with global protests destroying their own local symbols of racial injustice in keeping with the precedent of felling statues in postcolonial Africa and post-Soviet states.[4]

Pop culture website The Ringer said the phenomenon was "having a transformative impact on race relations in America" and included a reckoning with both history and contemporary culture.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Coleburn, Christina (June 29, 2020). "The Ostrich Rears its Head: America's 2020 Racial Reckoning is a Victory and Opportunity". Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Wallbank, Derek (July 13, 2020). "Washington NFL Team Bows to Pressure, Drops 'Redskins' Name". Bloomberg.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Cobb, Jelani (June 14, 2020). "An American Spring of Reckoning". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Elving, Ron (June 13, 2020). "Will This Be The Moment Of Reckoning On Race That Lasts?". NPR.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Demby, Gene (June 16, 2020). "Why Now, White People? : Code Switch". NPR. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "America's Reckoning on Racism Spreads Beyond Policing". The New York Times. June 10, 2020. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Cohn, Nate; Quealy, Kevin (June 10, 2020). "How Public Opinion Has Moved on Black Lives Matter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Beason, Tyrone (June 28, 2020). "'Something is not right.' George Floyd protests push white Americans to think about their privilege". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Ortiz, Aimee; Diaz, Johnny (June 3, 2020). "George Floyd Protests Reignite Debate Over Confederate Statues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d Bowker, Brittany (June 30, 2020). "A running list of controversial statues, symbols, and names under scrutiny amid nationwide reckoning with racial history". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c Restuccia, Andrew; Kiernan, Paul (June 23, 2020). "Toppling of Statues Triggers Reckoning Over Nation's History". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Small, Zachary (June 6, 2020). "Confederate Monuments Are Coming Down, Are Streets And Highways Next?". NPR.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Hohmann, James (June 29, 2020). "Analysis – The Daily 202: Mississippi removing Confederate icon from flag shows power of pressure campaigns". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Cramer, Maria (June 17, 2020). "After Aunt Jemima, Reviews Underway for Uncle Ben, Mrs. Butterworth and Cream of Wheat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  15. ^ The Associated Press (June 26, 2020). "Country Music Reckons With Racial Stereotypes and Its Future". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  16. ^ Kishan, Saijel (August 9, 2020). "Investor Who Pushed NFL Team Rebrand Shifts Focus to Evictions". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Sisario, Ben (July 1, 2020). "The Music Industry Is Wrestling With Race. Here's What It Has Promised". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  18. ^ McEvoy, Jemima (June 25, 2020). "A Statue Toppled, A Sports Team Boycott—Could 'The Star-Spangled Banner' Be Next To Go?". Forbes. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  19. ^ a b Peck, Emily (0400). "The Reckoning Over Workplace Racism Has Begun". HuffPost. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  20. ^ Mobley, Esther (July 2, 2020). "The chaos of reopening California bars, and a racial reckoning in the wine industry: what you missed this week". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Charity, Justin (July 14, 2020). "America's Summer of Protest Brings Many Reckonings". The Ringer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  22. ^ Eligon, John (June 26, 2020). "A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans 'Black' or 'black'?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  23. ^ Andrew, Scottie; Kaur, Harmeet (July 6, 2020). "Everyday words and phrases that have racist connotations". CNN. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  24. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (June 8, 2020). "George Floyd Protests Have Ignited a Media Reckoning on Race". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  25. ^ Safdar, Khadeeja; Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.; Mullin, Benjamin (June 15, 2020). "America's Newsrooms Face a Reckoning on Race After Floyd Protests". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  26. ^ Hogan, Marc (July 27, 2020). "Amid a Racial Justice Reckoning, Pioneers of Rap, Reggae, and R&B Recount Their Struggles to Get Paid". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  27. ^ Flynn, Kerry (September 1, 2020). "ESPN and competitors ditch their 'stick to sports' mantra. Politics is now fair game". CNN. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  28. ^ Anderson, Greta (July 2, 2020). "Athletes push for and achieve social justice goals". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  29. ^ Frymer, Paul (September 4, 2020). "The NBA strike is a big moment for athlete activism — and the labor movement in America". Vox. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  30. ^ Sanchez, Ray (August 31, 2020). "Jacob Blake's shooting shows America has a long way to go in its journey toward a racial reckoning". CNN. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  31. ^ Tynes, Tyler (September 1, 2020). "The Great NBA Awakening". The Ringer. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  32. ^ Mayes, Brittany Renee; Tierney, Lauren; Keating, Dan (July 2, 2020). "Demand for anti-racist literature is up. These black bookstore owners hope it lasts". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  33. ^ Marcelo, Philip. "Black-Owned Businesses See Sales Surge Amid Racism Reckoning". US News & World Report. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  34. ^ Bergner, Daniel (July 15, 2020). "'White Fragility' Is Everywhere. But Does Antiracism Training Work?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  35. ^ a b Lewis, Charles, III (June 26, 2020). "The Performative Arts". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2020_United_States_racial_reckoning&oldid=977820838"