Black Square Summer

June 2020 was the ‘first time’ many white people and organisations realised what racism was. They then felt they could defeat it by posting a black square! What happened next was both predictable and laughable…

2nd June 2020. In response to the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement, many Instagram users started posting black squares to their account in conjunction with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Somehow, this was meant to raise awareness of racism and bring about some kind of social change. The reality was, as the post was used in combination with the mentioned hashtag, it temporarily stopped the images and words from anti-racist activists and organisers from being seen or heard. In effect these black squares, and the people who claimed they wanted to ‘listen and learn’, were silencing the voices that needed to be amplified during one of the most pivotal times for Black people this century.

One year after 28 million black squares were posted on Instagram, I encourage every Black person and active anti-racist individual, to call out their work colleagues, friends, family, public figures, and organisations, who openly posted a black square and claimed they ‘didn’t understand but would stand with Black people’, and question what they have done in the last year to dismantle racism. Hold these people accountable. Search for tangible proof that they have done the work they set out to take part in one year ago. If they turn up empty handed, then perhaps it’s time to question if they truly are an anti-racist or if they are complicit in upholding the racist structures they were so committed to burning down just 12 months ago. A person’s inactions are equally as revealing as their actions. Perhaps it is time we stopped supporting those whose words don’t align with their efforts.

The truth is, to empower others, you must first relinquish some of the power you possess. The problem is, not everyone is willing to do that. White people are born into a world where they assume immediate power which can be split into three categories. Those who are fully conscious of their power, those who are not aware, and those who are apathetic. Those in the latter two categories will never use their power to empower others unless they decide to leave the false comfort of ignorance. Those in the first category will use it to either empower or subjugate others.

In the case of most multimillion organisations, racism along with misogyny, child abuse and working-class exploitation, are the root to their profits and success. So, to be truly anti-racist, they would have to completely deconstruct all their existing working practices. In June 2020, the online clothing website; BooHoo, uploaded the following black square on their Instagram page:

Sounds great on paper. But the reality was that the Leicester based suppliers making clothes for BooHoo, were paying their predominantly Black and Asian workers, £3.50 an hour. Additionally, they were not being supplied with provisions to protect them from Covid. A year later, those workers have still not been paid their withheld wages and BooHoo have shifted some of their UK work to Italy, Morocco, and Pakistan.

This is just one example of the hypocritical statements of solidarity which have not materialised. There is a plethora more if you want to find them or like most, you could choose to ignore their insincerity and continue to support these individuals and organisations who are fundamentally anti Black. Which is what I know many Black people will do.

Too many Black people live for white approval to the extent they will go great lengths to defend their white oppressor. If you go to any Instagram account that posted a black square, you will find many Black people lauding them in the comments section. It sickens me when I see Black people praising white individuals for doing the bare minimum. Or not finding the vernacular to openly challenge their complicity when it comes to dismantling racism. Virtue signalling does nothing to change the systematic oppression Black people have faced for 450 years. But if you as a Black person are happy with the white man’s crumbs, then, enjoy(!)

I knew that the solidarity proclaimed in June wouldn’t last more than 6 months, because it was built on optics rather than substance. Rather than putting in the work to understand how entrenched racism is systemically and structurally, which is essential knowledge needed to comprehend how to then dismantle it, many white people thought a quick fix would be sufficient enough to alleviate their guilt and ignorance and pacify Black people. The majority of whom were happy just to have a tiny bit of acknowledgment from their white counterparts.

The reality is no one learns from a place of comfort. The truth is not always comfortable, neither is its delivery. Black people need to understand that sometimes YOU have to use your voice to make people feel uncomfortable, even if it makes YOU feel uncomfortable. Stop giving the white man permission to control your voice.

Additionally, being a white person who is authentically anti-racist is not just about what you do and say in front of Black people, it’s about what you do and say in front of other white people. Are white people really holding their white counterparts accountable for the racism they may be perpetuating, or are they allowing them to continue as they look the other way?

The Black Lives Matter movement rocketed in awareness during unprecedented circumstances; a global pandemic and lockdowns which forced people to look at racism and police brutality in a different light. This won’t happen again. Nor should it have to for people to want to fight racism. Subsequently there have been further deaths that have taken place by the hands of the police here in the UK. The first of those deaths to occur in 2021 was that of 24-year-old Mohamud Mohammed. Mohammed was arrested in Cardiff, Wales on 9th January for breach of the peace. He was subsequently released without charge the next day and died later that evening. Hours before his death, he had allegedly told his family that he had been assaulted whilst in custody. Zainab Hassan, who is Mohammed’s aunt and saw him after he was released from prison, said ‘He had lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises.’ The independent Office for Police Conduct is currently in the middle of investigating his death and has recently revealed that there are 6 police officers under investigation.

Here in the UK, there was not the same coverage, outrage, or mobilisation for Mohamud Mohammed that we saw after the George Floyd murder, even though his death occurred here and not over 4,000 miles away. Is this because Mohammed was Muslim? Or that he had a name that was ‘difficult’ to pronounce? Do the general public believe that police brutality is an issue exclusive to America? Or is it because no video of his death or alleged assault has been released?

It could be a combination of all those variables or something I have not even thought off. Either way, Black people’s deaths should not be deemed more, or less, worthy of our condemnation depending on any of the above. Furthermore, I have a problem with Black issues only being discussed when it relates to murder or the police. Both important aspects, of course, but we should also frame the conversation around education, health, housing, employment, and a range of other factors. Black people should be shown solidarity when they are alive, not just when they are dead.

For us as Black people this has been a lifelong battle. For everyone else it was a hashtag and a trend that businesses temporarily capitalised from to protect their profit margins and individuals used to ease their boredom during the Covid lockdown. The protests served as a justification for leaving their houses, and to look like they were part of a movement which for them, was a mere moment of escapism. The black square uploaders were virtual signalling in order to look like they were taking action against racism but in reality, were doing less than nothing.

Many of those who posted the black squares are now not following through with the rhetoric as they are suffering from ‘allie fatigue’. The fight to end racism was a temporary trend that most white people and organisations have abandoned and have now gone back to blissful ignorance. Others have swallowed the far rights misbranding of the term ‘BLM’, as they continuously tarnish and manipulate the phrase into more adverse and elaborate connotations to stop the progress and support of the Black movement. They have already done this with the word ‘woke’ and the teaching of ‘critical race theory’. This is just further evidence that we as Black people cannot solely rely on white people to fight for us.

Freedom for Black people will come from Black people. When people say we can’t attain liberation without white people I disagree. White people can be part time anti racists, but this is our lived experience 24 hours a day. I’m constantly fighting racism, whereas white people don’t, and more importantly, won’t. Most white people don’t care about anti-Black racism as they have nothing to gain from our emancipation.

George Floyd is still dead. Mark Duggan is still dead. Cynthia Jarrett is still dead. Joy Gardner is still dead. Mohamud Mohammed is still dead. When a life has been taken, there can never be justice. True justice comes when we destroy racism. Until that day comes, I won’t be getting excited about one police officer going to jail or a so called ‘allie’ posting a black square.