We Need To Cancel "Cancel Culture"
Alexandria Millet, Culture Staff Writer, and illustrated by Katie Herrick, Culture Editor
Social justice movements are nothing new. Pioneers for justice today stand on the shoulders of the many that have come before. There are many things to learn from these warriors—something former President Barack Obama agrees with (NowThis, 2019).
Last week, a clip of President Obama commenting on the current culture of activism at the Obama Fountain Summit in Chicago went viral. He discussed his thoughts on what he believes young activists should take to heart if they are to make lasting change in the community.
In the clip, he describes being “woke activism”—when someone tweets about someone else’s mistakes and feels good about themselves for calling them out. “That’s not activism, that’s not bringing about change,” Obama said (NowThis, 2019).
If change is the goal, a tweet will not see it through. Twitter is useful for sustainable grassroots movements, but Twitter routinely falls short when it is just about what is trending. Through his comments, Obama was hoping to inspire a more long-term dedication to real issues.
Obama also engaged with the concept of cancel culture in activism today. “People who do really good stuff are flawed,” Obama said, arguing that people cannot be equated to the worst thing they have ever said or done (NowThis, 2019).
Cancel culture is “the practice of no longer supporting people, especially celebrities, or products that are regarded as unacceptable or problematic” (MacMillan). Whenever I see a name trending on Twitter there is a 50-50 shot that they are being canceled for something they did or said.
Obama did not mean to say that people can be exempt from being held accountable for their actions, rather than we should see people in their fullness first. The saying goes, “If you want to travel fast, go alone. But if you want to travel far, travel together.” If cancel culture continues, our collective movements will turn into isolated individuals lacking any actual power to bring about real change.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s is a prime example of how a movement and its cause can take precedence over the perspectives of individuals within the movement. The approaches for fighting for change were—and still are—on a spectrum.
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X displayed the two poles that existed in the 1960s. But even in their critiques of each other, never did it become about silencing the other. Malcolm X once said, “Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom” (Quotes, 2019).
This is the generation that ushered in the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 and the Voting Rights Bill of 1965—so they must have done something right. It’s time to take notes on how they organized and strategized, and I think that forgiveness had to be a pillar in their functioning or they would have gotten stuck. This is a group to be admired and reverenced for their persistence to make tangible change.
It was never about title and status for the people doing the everyday work of the movement. Yes, there were notable names, but that wasn’t why they were doing it. There is nothing glamorous about struggling for justice, however, Twitter has created a space for the pursuer of the work to be celebrated more than the diligence—or actual outcome—of the work.
One of the final points that President Obama made was, “If all you are doing is casting stone, you’re probably not going to get that far” (NowThis, 2019). If the focus of social justice continues to shift from seeing actual progress to making sure everyone is perfect, real progress cannot be made. So, yes, call out ignorance, but in such a way that the progress of the movement is not hindered.
There is wisdom in doing justice work, wisdom that only comes with time and experience. We must look to those who came before and passed on the torch of evoking change to ensure we are building from the strong foundation that they left.
Sources:
“Cancel Culture (Noun) American English Definition and Synonyms.” MacMillian Dictionary. Springer Nature Limited. Accessed November 9, 2019.
“President Obama Speaks at the Obama Foundation Summit 2019 | NowThis.” YouTube. NowThis News, October 29, 2019. Accessed November 9, 2019.
“Quotes.” Malcolm X. Malcolm X, 2019. Accessed November 9, 2019.