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Angela Davis and Ava DuVernay Discuss America's 'Racial Reckoning' for Vanity Fair Digital Cover Story

Angela Davis has been fighting the good fight for more than 50 years, working as a social justice activist and scholar. Now, she is featured on the cover of Vanity Fairโ€™s September 2020 digital issue, and in a conversation with 13th and When They See Us director Ava DuVernay, she speaks on this yearโ€™s โ€œracial…

Angela Davis has been fighting the good fight for more than 50 years, working as a social justice activist and scholar. Now, she is featured on the cover of Vanity Fairโ€™s September 2020 digital issue, and in a conversation with 13th and When They See Us director Ava DuVernay, she speaks on this yearโ€™s โ€œracial reckoning,โ€ performative activism and more. (Remember: Vanity Fairโ€™s physical September 2020 issue features Breonna Taylor on the cover.)

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

This year, we bore witness to the uglier side of America through social media. Earlier this year, George Floydโ€™s death at the hands of police was broadcast for the world to see, and just this past weekend, the assault of Jacob Blake by Wisconsin officers made headlines once more. Davis says that this time aroundโ€”since these incidents are occurring in conjunction with COVID-19โ€”those who are not affected by racism in America are beginning to understand its effects.

โ€œMoments like this do arise,โ€ she tells DuVernay. โ€œTheyโ€™re totally unpredictable, and we cannot base our organizing on the idea that we can usher in such a moment. What we can do is take advantage of the momentโ€ฆThere was work that should have happened in the immediate aftermath of slavery that could have prevented us from arriving at this moment. But it did not happen. And here we are. And now we have to begin.โ€

For someone like Davis, who has been discussing the criminalization of non-white people and the uneven playing fields due to class, gender and sexuality for decades, this current moment in history is neither โ€œsatisfyingโ€ nor โ€œexhausting.โ€ Instead, the National Womenโ€™s Hall of Fame Inductee is eager to see if the collective experiences of the American people through this movement continue to enact positive change.

โ€œIf itโ€™s true that names are being changed, statues are being removed, it should also be true that the institutions are looking inward and figuring out how to radically transform themselves. Thatโ€™s the real work,โ€ she explains. โ€œI like the term that John Berger used: Demonstrations are โ€˜rehearsals for revolution.โ€™ When we come together with so many people, we become aware of our capacity to bring about change. But itโ€™s rare that the actual demonstration itself brings about the change. We have to work in other ways.โ€

DuVernay also mentions that since the conversation surrounding systemic racism has become increasingly palpable, some statements from corporations, brands and individuals may come off as performative. Davis explains that statements and actions will come off as performative unless the work is put in to actively change something at all times, not just because itโ€™s popular to do so.

โ€œVirtually every institution seized upon that term, โ€˜diversity.โ€™ And I always ask, โ€˜Well, where is justice here?โ€™โ€ she explains. โ€œAre you simply going to ask those who have been marginalized or subjugated to come inside of the institution and participate in the same process that led precisely to their marginalization? Diversity and inclusion without substantive change, without radical change, accomplishes nothing.โ€ In order to combat performative activism, Davis says that we should continue to demand justice and accountability from institutions.

Read the entire conversation here.


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