In the face of social justice fatigue, America must remain committed to progress

In late 2020, months after the murder of George Floyd, I read about the $340 billion in corporate pledge money allocated toward addressing racial injustice and spearheading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. Four years later, corporate messaging about ending racism is disappearing. 

My concern with the disappearance of this messaging is not just that companies didn’t make enough genuine progress in the fight against systemic racism, but also that it represents a disappointing shift in consumer culture. The current lack of corporate messaging highlighting a commitment to dismantling racial injustice mirrors a national consciousness that has shifted away from social justice. Progress does not move in a straight line, and to prevent societal regression amid this country’s social justice fatigue, we must remain committed to our values of inclusivity and equity and take action in our local communities.

Many commentators believed that 2020 was a turning point in our country’s fight against racism. However, most activists have since become dissatisfied with the minimal systemic progress toward equity, including the performative nature of corporate activism. 

Another major reason for activist dissatisfaction is the increasing resistance against their work. Earlier this year, I wrote about the rising anti-DEI movement in corporate settings, which eliminated inclusivity task forces and slashed DEI programs. I now realize that I underestimated the scope of the anti-DEI movement in my initial column. 

Beyond the workplace, the anti-DEI movement has affected educational institutions by striking down affirmative action. Many anti-DEI advocates believe that programs that consider an applicant’s identity are inherently discriminatory for their focus on race rather than systemic socioeconomic inequalities. These stances are just a few examples of the broader backlash to social justice movements from 2020. 

In addition to corporate and classroom policy, the fights for and against social justice are battlegrounds of our contemporary culture wars. When we politicize words like “affirmative action” or “DEI,” we prioritize rhetoric over progress. Instead of evaluating the specific components and impacts of affirmative action and DEI, we debate semantics and throw around vague definitions that misconstrue the terms’ objectives. For example, many DEI programs aim to remove prejudiced language from job descriptions and increase transparency in the promotion process, which are meaningful policies that we overlook in our politicized debates. 

Although affirmative action and DEI programs are imperfect, we discover their real impacts when we demystify the buzzwords. For instance, when company leaders identify specific issues surrounding workplace diversity and continuously reflect on their approaches to solving them, their DEI programs can increase an employee’s sense of belonging and reduce attrition rates. Specific aspects of these programs can genuinely increase inclusivity, and we should not generalize all programs as performative or problematic.

Beyond corporate policy, we must push government officials to mitigate the impacts of systemic racism through the law. While we often hear about gridlock and inaction on a national level, most progress actually occurs on a local level. 

For instance, roughly 62% of the largest U.S. cities enacted an alternative public safety program from 2020 to 2022. Furthermore, 25 states passed laws to curtail the use of force, ban chokeholds and mandate that local agencies report police misconduct to state authorities. Therefore, we must believe in our power to spur change in our community by advocating for real policies, electing officials who hold our values and holding productive conversations to keep social justice in our national dialogue. 

Change can also happen on campus. Despite the growing backlash against social justice efforts in education, the University of Michigan administration recently announced their DEI 2.0 initiative. This initiative’s goals include providing more transfer opportunities for Wolverine Pathways graduates and building child care facilities for Michigan Medicine staff. As students, we have the opportunity to raise our concerns regarding equity, propose solutions that promote diversity and evaluate whether the administration’s actions meet our standards for an inclusive campus. 

Throughout history, many social movements have followed a pattern of action and reaction. Social movements inevitably experience moments with less momentum. However, we should not fall complacent to the patterns of history and wait for another national tragedy to break our inaction. Joining the calls for social justice in 2020 was important, but maintaining the fight for equity when these movements lose media coverage is equally important.

Whether through advocating for specific legislation in state governments or discussing racial injustice with our peers, we must spread awareness about the rising anti-DEI movement and re-commit ourselves to promoting inclusivity. Only through our persistent organizing can we keep the fight for social justice alive.  

Sarah Zhang is an Opinion Columnist who writes about gender, race and campus culture. She can be reached at sarzhang@umich.edu.

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