"This piece was written for and originally appeared in Point of Information, the original and its responses can be viewed here*
It will have been impossible to have missed how the Black Lives Matter movement recently captured the attention of the globe. Unsurprisingly, the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked mass protests, marching against the systemic police brutality faced by the Black community. However, what was surprising was the onslaught of support the movement gained from big corporations and conglomerates. Brands including Target, Walmart, H&M, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola have pledged millions of dollars’ worth of donations. Thousands upon thousands of posts clogged social media, with every company clamouring to ‘whitesplain’ why racism is bad.
I can’t help but feel pretty disgusted by the blatant bandwagoning and hypocrisy. Nike, a company built upon the back of forced labour; L’Oreal Paris who fired Munroe Bergdorf after she spoke out about racism in 2017; Washington Redskins with literally a racist name; NFL who backlisted Colin Kaepernick for taking the knee against police brutality; and don’t get me started on the irony of Jeff Bezos coming out as a BLM supporter. All of these companies perpetuate the system that they now seemingly oppose.  Â
The sad thing is you’ll know exactly the type of post I’m talking about. #BlackOutTuesaday saw thousands of inane, meaningless statements from brands who had absolutely no right like they’re going to make any efforts to change their own behaviours. If it wasn’t so dangerous, it would be funny looking at brands’ Instagram pages; a sea of white models, then a plain black image and suddenly an explosion of diversity. The attempts at anti-racism were so laughable, memes came fast and hard. Chris Franklin wrote a brilliant template for brands to co-opt:
The outpouring of vapid statements represents a transition that the market has gone through in recent years. Brands have effectively made the executive decision that the demographic who value Black Lives Matter are the ones to pander to. They desperately hope that whispering ‘sweet nothings’ to their progressive customers, they’ll make up the difference lost when the other customers actively boycott them for their BLM support. They’ve actively evaluated the possibility of exploiting a social movement. They’ve deduced that they will make more money if they present a vaguely ethical or socially responsible attitude.
Thing is, this pattern of behaviour is (obviously) really damaging to the actual work that movements like BLM do. ‘Wokism’ – companies capitalising social movements for revenue – presents a number of barriers for further progress:Â
It takes away from the actual work that needs to be done. It is not enough for a company to put out a statement if they’re not actually going to do the hard work at home and institute anti-racist policies and reconfigure their workspace. For example, in the case of the BLM movement, a company should investigate their own demographics and interrogate any issues that present themselves. If racial gaslighting seems to be prevalent, try to combat it in any way you can. Don’t just write a social media post about it.
It drowns out the brands and activists that actually put in the work. Whilst maybe well-meaning, these statements clog up the space and drown out the voices of those we’re meant to be listening to. #BlackOutTuesday completely backfired for many as the hashtag was co-opted by so many people writing about how they were educating themselves, that many weren’t able to reach or find the material or information about BLM that they needed. Instead, companies should be elevating Black owned businesses or Black activists, using their platform to promote the message rather than their own slogans.
It commodifies and exploits the issue and activism. By trying to placate consumers who want them to ‘take a stand’ with statements, companies actively try to profit off the movement, reducing it down to a dollar sign.
It creates the illusion of progress. According to IPSOS, 58% of adults don’t trust a brand until they’ve evidence ‘real world proof’ that it has kept its promises. Maybe we kid ourselves into believing this. But, why else do we allow the exact opposite to continue? Why haven’t these companies such as Nike, McDonald’s, L’Oreal Paris and more shown their strategies and policies that outline how they will improve on race-related issues? If one were to quickly glance over social media around #BlackOutTuesday, the pure number of posts would have inspired hope and excitement for the future. These posts convince us that work is being done, whilst we have no insight into the true inner workings of said company. Full transparency is absolutely necessary for true progress to be made.
It perpetuates a cycle of hidden lobbying and gatekeeping. As I said, when the consumer population has no idea what goes on behind closed doors, companies can easily shape agendas without affiliating themselves explicitly. In fact, Goods Unite Us found that the average consumer in America funds politicians and PACS 3x more through their purchasing choices than through direct political contributions. With your money, corporations ensure that policies that would harm their revenue are suppressed, no matter the cost to a social movement.Â
To me, it seems ignorant and just foolish to demand statements from companies who thrive on the system the way it is. Why would you expect ethical treatment from unethical companies? Full transparency is the way forward. If a company’s racist, or greenwashes, or uses sweatshops, I want to know. If we’re being brutally honest with ourselves, we allow this behaviour from corporations because it alleviates our consciences; we kid ourselves into thinking that progress is being made.Â
I’m not saying you’re a horrible person for buying from them. I totally get it; I also can’t afford the insanely expensive – but ethically and sustainably made – jeans. But I think it’s important we be real with ourselves. Their 'support', without action, is a hollow marketing scheme. The equivalent to sending thoughts and prayers on Facebook.