BU professor examines movement’s decline after Trump

The Notre Dame Initiative on Race and Resilience (IRR) hosted Harvey Young, Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University, for his talk, “How Anti-Racism Lost the Popular Vote: Race, Performance & the Idea of America,” held on February 19. The lecture discussed the rise and fall of the anti-racism movement in America and its implications for the future.

Young opened the discussion by expressing his belief that, at its core, race is a social construct: “There is not a scientifically significant biological basis for our racial categories. … We have inherited a 19th-century concept, originally devised to give credence to the prejudices of people who were convinced that folks with different complexions and bearing different ancestral homes were not like [them].”

Young then analyzed the racial unrest and upheaval of the 2020 protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd. He noted how the event provoked widespread protests and a newfound “rise in activism,” that pressured societal institutions to reform in a way that, “against [that] backdrop, [remaining] silent was to be complicit in a racist structure and system.” According to Young, this period created the conditions necessary for a renewed rise in the anti-racist movement, noting its impact within his own academic field.

“Although situations varied for art schools across the country, it was almost impossible to lead an organization without making a statement assuring both the internal community of students, faculty, and staff, as well as the external audience of peers and community leaders, that you and your organization believed black lives matter and that you were committed to eradicating racism,” Young recalled.

However, Young noted that this movement did not come without its issues. In particular, Young highlighted an intolerance to disagreement and outside perspectives within this new anti-racist movement. According to Young, this appetite for dialogue was fueled by the belief among many activists that “the alternative position is racist, sexist, transphobic.” He also cited situations in which anti-racist activists levied allegations of racism without conclusive evidence. 

“There was a case in which an alum went on social media and identified a staff member as racist and demanded that this person resign,” Young explained. “Within three days, the petition had been signed by nearly 300 people, mostly current students and some recent alumni, and it was jarring to see how swiftly the calls could come to cancel someone on the basis of an allegation without evidence.”

Young went on to argue that these incidents contributed to a negative stigma surrounding the anti-racist movement as it continued to develop, identifying that “although rarely held, anti-racist activism [created] space for leftist activists to cancel aspects of conservative ideology.” According to Young, this, in part, prompted a “brutal counter current,” encapsulated in what he described as an “anti-woke” movement—a backlash against the anti-racist coalition that emerged following the demonstrations of 2020.

According to Young, “wokeism” emerged as a synonym for the “sensibility required for change-makers seeking to promote and enable inclusion and diversity,” and became associated with the growing anti-racism movement. He identified wokeism as an attempt to “unravel the fabric” of America’s “founding narratives,” displaying to Americans what he considered the true nature of America’s founding. To this end, Young cited several historical examples, such as Washington’s refusal to free his slaves (until after his death) or the several coerced sexual relationships Jefferson had with his own enslaved workers. 

As maintained by Young, wokeism’s erosion of these historical underpinnings created a “crisis of confidence” that resulted in the “resurgence of racialized nationalism.” Young explained how this backlash, in turn, targeted woke ideology, the anti-racist movement, and the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. Young stressed that Trump’s election displayed the power of this new nationalist, “anti-woke” coalition and merited fear over its consequences.

“[This nationalism] masks the intimidation threat under the banner of love and patriotism, or as others might describe it, because it presents an unapologetically muscular nationalism,” he said. “And of course, the rise of ‘Make America Great Again’ 2.0 in 2016 and 2024 are reminders of the resiliency of this strain of nationalism and patriotism.”

Young considered this backlash as culpable for the fall of the anti-racist movement, believing its failure on the ballot last November transformed it into nothing more than a “historical chapter” within American history. While noting the possibility of a renewal, Young acknowledged that the language of anti-racism has gone now “underground within popular discourse” and that recent actions by the Trump administration surrounding DEI, as well as other Republican efforts, appear to have cemented its seemingly “time-bound” nature. 

“[Anti-racism] is a contestation of a nostalgic idea of the country and a memory steeped in exceptionalism,” Young concluded. “As such, anti-racism to skeptics emerged as a counterpoint to patriotism. It was not only unpatriotic but also un-American. Calls for diversity were retrained as challenges to American unity.”

After the lecture, Keough Hall freshman Jack Rankin spoke with the Rover, providing his perspective on Young’s lecture.

“I loved how he was able to condense a lot of the tension in American politics,” Rankin told the Rover. “He had this kind of critical eye towards not only the conservative opposition but the liberal movement of anti-racism that was pretty self-improving. You could tell it was a very constructive dialogue and that he acknowledged both sides fully.”

The next IRR-sponsored lecture will be “Anticolonialism(s) as antiracism(s)? Italian Radicals Facing ‘Race’ and the Colonial Question at the Turn of the Twentieth Century,” on February 27.

David Murphy is a freshman studying economics and political science. When he is not crippled with schoolwork, he enjoys going on walks and working out in the gym. He can be reached by email at dmurph23@nd.edu.

Photo Credit: Initiative for Race and Resilience website

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