Sharing doesn’t always mean caring
At the peak of the social uprising of last summer, Instagram became the hotspot for the growing infographic trend. For a moment, these easy-to-read, fun, graphic posts took over everyone’s feed. It became a lifeline to the outside world in a time of isolation, and was the quickest way to stay informed for those active on the app. However, quick, fun, and simple graphics are not now, and never will be, the best way to understand social justice.
Coming from an educational background in social justice, I was excited to see the masses concerned over human rights. Social media was a great outlet, until it wasn’t. I watched as important social justice work was simplified to tapping the share button. I thought, “If this is my connection to the rest of the world, why do I still feel so isolated?” With the current pace and quantity of information on social media, real connections, meaningful dialogue, and deeper learning can get lost in the sea of content overload.
Infographics provide information that is reduced to consumable, bite-sized pieces that lack the context and nuances that come along with heavy topics, like your interpersonal connections with institutional racism. The human experience is so complicated, it is impossible to condense it into the 10 slides Instagram allows. Although social media is a great place to initiate awareness and quickly spread the word of urgent needs, it allows and encourages performative activism.
Social justice is about taking care of your community before anything else. Social justice is about figuring out your place in society and how your identities rule your experience. With this comes constant reflection and analysis and more importantly, the ability to share and build connections with others. Social media lacks the safe space that is essential for effective dialogue surrounding social issues. It’s not a competition about who can be the loudest or share the most posts. As important as it is to be vocal and to form your own understanding, it’s equally important to make personal connections with each other and to the information we’re given along the way.
Social issues are challenging to navigate when there is no structure or support. Given this, I wanted to share and recommend ways you can further your own growth in activism outside of infographics and social media:
READ READ READ. Learn about the stories kept in the margins of our history books. A good place to start is A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki. Also, check out Black Revolutionary texts. Great thinkers like Angela Davis, James Baldwin, and my personal favorite, bell hooks, set the foundation for all social justice work. Many of these readings are free to access online, such as this Google Doc.
Connect with your community. Attend social justice events, rallies, and learn about what’s happening in your local community. The best way to help your community is to listen to their specific needs. There are typically multiple speakers that are there to educate and share their experience as a community member. You could even make some friends while you’re there too. You can also participate in and support mutual aid groups and coalitions. These grassroots organizations offer services that are sourced straight from the community, from organizing events, to collecting and redistributing funds to those in need and setting up community fridges. Our community has proven to be fully capable of taking care of each other, but it can only happen if the whole community is engaged.
3. Remember that you are human. Don’t feel the responsibility to know everything. Social justice work is continuous effort. No one is perfect, and it’s perfectly okay to make mistakes or say the wrong thing. Always be open to learning and accepting your wrongs. Accountability comes from a place of love when done right.
And if you do find an infographic of something that interests you, let that be your doorway into your own research. Furthering your genuine interests will deepen your understanding and make it more personable. Infographics are a great place to start, but simply reposting on your story shouldn’t be the end of it. The internal work is the most difficult. Reflect on how your experience is different from or the same as others. Sit with parts of history that make you a little uncomfortable. Dream about what it means to be an equal and fair society. Ask questions, journal about it, talk about it. If we all put in the time and did the work, imagine how different our world and our conversations would be.
