Rethinking performative activism

Altars, authenticity, and grappling with the pace of change

Hello Dear Readers,

I’ve been kicking around an idea that I want your perspective on. Actually, it’s a question.

I’ve been wondering: what if performative activism isn’t the worst thing? What if, in fact, performing our value for justice is actually just one part of the process towards lasting change?

For those who are unfamiliar with what performative activism is, a quick Google search will say, “Performative activism is activism done to increase one’s social capital rather than because of one’s devotion to a cause.” Furthermore, “…it is often associated with surface-level activism, referred to as slacktivism.”¹

One type of performative activism you may be familiar with is the posting of black squares on Instagram back in summer 2020, an action taken by many folks seeking to convey solidarity with Black folks following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many more.

Another expression of performative activism includes the way corporations promote various heritage months (i.e. Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, etc.) without doing the internal work organizationally to make sure folks from those specific communities are actually supported in their workplaces.

There are many of shades of performative activism, and I’m sure they each carry varying degrees of harm. But a few weeks ago, I had an experience while reorganizing my office that made me pause to consider how performing our values might in fact be the very practice needed in order to integrate new habits into our lives.

Altar Lessons

I was first introduced to the idea of creating a home altar a couple of years ago. I’ve always appreciated intentional space to reflect, meditate, pray, dream, etc. And so when one of my teachers, Danielle Lyles Barton, shared with me and a group of women about the practice of curating an altar space in one’s home, I was hooked. I immediately began creating this sacred space.

My dad made my altar table from a tree he’d harvested and milled at our family farm. I found pictures of beloved ancestors and framed them. I sourced a few of my favorite beeswax candles. I filled my altar with trinkets I love and with various items I’d collected on hikes or walking in my yard. It was beautiful. My altar became the place of my regular spiritual practice, as I was learning so much about ancestral veneration, breath work, intention setting and prayer.

But over time, as I used my office space more, I felt a strong pull away from having an altar. It felt clunky and inauthentic. It felt like I was just trying on these practices because someone told me they were important, and because I wanted to belong in this new community. It didn’t feel true to my life with Godde.² So I disassembled the entire thing. I relocated all of the pieces and placed the table itself in a different room, trusting that if and when the time was right, I'd set up the altar again.

Months passed and I rearranged my office space at least two more times. Until finally I landed on the perfect configuration. And then, lo and behold, the right space for my altar became really apparent to me. So I moved the table back into my office. I placed it underneath a window overlooking the northwestern corner of our acre. I added back the pieces of the altar that felt true to me and to my life with the Divine. Now, it’s a place of richness and meaning. It feels like my own. It’s almost like I had to perform my commitment to an altar space, take a break from it, and then wait to see which parts of it made the most sense for my life and practice.

Essentially, my spirituality was performative for a season. I wasn’t trying to improve my social standing per se, but I wanted to get a feel for adopting these new practices into my life. It was an experiment of sorts, and over time, the pieces of it that were authentic and rooted in something more than other peoples’ opinions became clear. Those pieces remain.

What if social change requires a similar process? What if we have to try on values? What if we have to take risks to speak up, to celebrate a heritage month, or to post a black square? Not because it’s going to fix everything; of course it won’t. But because it’s a step that moves us in a new, and maybe more beautiful, direction?

Change Takes Time

I’ve referenced this here and there, but to those who don’t know, for my full-time job I lead a facilitation practice called The Diversity Gap. I support organizations who are striving to embody their values for racial healing in authentic and sustainable ways. I spend a lot of time listening to people unpack the challenges and complexities of trying to change their organizations.

In this work, I’ve found that one of the quickest ways to shut down progress is to shame people for not doing enough or for not doing it perfectly. The shame (as well as anger, fear, and guilt) keep people from staying engaged. Yes, maybe we can call it fragility. Sure. But that doesn’t change fact that humans don’t respond well to being shamed into anything.

When I recreated my altar space, adding back the pieces that made the most sense for my spiritual practice, it dawned on me that for many folks, performing their value for racial healing and justice is perhaps just one step towards them finding the pieces of social healing work that are most sustainable for them.

Yes, for some people, it’s just about the performance. But for others, I choose to believe that the performance is part of the journey. It takes time to create habits of social engagement that are lasting, integrated, and true to the capacities and possibilities of one’s life.

So I put this question back to you, truly wanting to flesh this out a bit more.

Is performative activism a no-go? Or is there something to it that’s worthwhile? How do we hold space for the ways many of us are trying to do better in service to our fellow humans, even when those efforts come up short? How do we celebrate small wins and baby steps towards a more beautiful way?

Please let know what you’re thinking in the comments below.

Be well, Beloved!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performative_activism

2. The word Godde is a way of expressing the Holy One who contains everything it means to be and feel masculine, and everything it means to be and feel feminine. (Reference: http://www.godde.com)