Michael Allen, lecturer in American Culture Studies in Arts & Sciences
An important question to ask about any political statement is: “Who is it for?”
Following weeks of anti-racist statements issued by universities, art museums and foundations, the answer is pretty clear. Power doesn’t like to cede, but it can adapt long enough to survive an insurrection. As the old adage goes, power has a way of looking like change long enough to make things stay exactly the same. Art and design students are not fooled, but institutions are continuing to try to hold their ground while proclaiming allyship. They face a “crisis of symbolic efficiency,” to use the late Mark Fisher’s phrase.
Read the full piece in Hyperallergic.