White and non-black people are told that using black people GIFs and photos of black people for fun is 'digital black_face'

[Kimme More]

White and non-black people are being told not to share any of the numerous Oprah Winfrey memes from her bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - because they are a form of 'digital black_face'.  

The Slow Factory Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to social and environmental justice, this week issues a warning about digital black_face, describing it as an online phenomenon where white and non-black people share GIFs and photos of black people to express emotion, and stating that it often perpetuates negative stereotypes that they are 'aggressive, loud, and sassy.'     

In an Instagram post, the organization used an Oprah meme as a direct example of 'digital black_face' - sparking a furious debate in the comments where some agreed with the message, while others hit back, claiming that banning non-black people from posting the memes equates to 'black erasure'.  

'Performing Blackness, be it IRL or online, is not an acceptable form of expressing reaction or dissatisfaction, especially not in exchange for likes and retweets,' the organization wrote in its post. 

The Slow Factory Foundation went on to insist that people shouldn't be sharing the recent onslaught of Oprah memes just because they're popular, suggesting that they are reminiscent of white people wearing black_face in minstrel shows. 

'Since the #MeghanandHarry interview on Oprah, we’ve been seeing a lot of digital black_face infractions with a few of Oprah’s reaction gifs and images going viral, but that doesn’t mean you should be using them,' the non-profit explained. 

The comments were limited, likely to w e e d out any racist messages, but thoughts on the post were incredibly mixed.   

Some praised the organization for raising awareness for digital black_face, while others felt the inclusion of memes was going too far and actually a form of black erasure. 

 

What's your opinion abut this?

 

[Marcanthony]

I can't understand anything since so many words got censored coz of the annoying censorship.

Digital ... what?

[Kimme More]

6 minutes ago, Marcanthony said:

I can't understand anything since so many words got censored coz of the annoying censorship.

Digital ... what?

 

Totally forgot about this annoying censorship. Digital black_face (without_).

Edited  

[Marcanthony]

This is stupid. This is just another misuse of the practice of culture appropriation.

If i see a white person wearing a dress of my tradition, i would feel proud. I feel proud of my tradition and i would enjoy that other people are liking it too.

Did Slow Factory Foundation ask every black person that is the way to go? If not, then why are they doing it? To put their own opinions and hide it under a Digital BF mask?

Not one sane person would think that that Oprah meme was "aggressive, loud or sassy" and calling it that very much means you're the racist one in the room.

Also isn't it ironic that people are sharing each other memes of anything and they're the one creating the walls and telling it to stop?

[MX3]

We all make the same facial expressions. 

If the meme is racist stereotyping or the message is racist then yes. But if its just a person making a face to show an emotion or mood then..........
 

[PrettyGorl]

Lol just read the comment section on their ig. Truly miserable ppl. Unsurprisingly the comment section is limited just like here on exhale. They feel powerful when they silence others.

[Scrappy]

On 3/13/2021 at 1:06 PM, Marcanthony said:

This is stupid. This is just another misuse of the practice of culture appropriation.

If i see a white person wearing a dress of my tradition, i would feel proud. I feel proud of my tradition and i would enjoy that other people are liking it too.

Did Slow Factory Foundation ask every black person that is the way to go? If not, then why are they doing it? To put their own opinions and hide it under a Digital BF mask?

Not one sane person would think that that Oprah meme was "aggressive, loud or sassy" and calling it that very much means you're the racist one in the room.

Also isn't it ironic that people are sharing each other memes of anything and they're the one creating the walls and telling it to stop?

I’m fine with someone dressing up like my culture too so long as they don’t ***ualize or mock it.