The death of George Floyd, an African-American who was allegedly the victim of racial profiling by the police, has resulted in nation-wide protests in the USA and trends like #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackOutTuesday, etc. have taken over social media.
Bollywood celebrities also lent their support to the cause on social media but were called out for firstly, advocating for justice in the USA but staying silent over the issues of intolerance in India. And secondly, for condemning racism, when through movies and advertisements, Bollywood has contributed to white supremacy.
Now, in his latest video for Patriot Act, comedian Hasan Minhaj has also called out Asians and Bollywood for catering to ‘performance activism’ but not taking part in bringing about real change.
In the video, he talks about how the black skin colour is perceived in Asian culture, and the way we the film fraternity, and Asian society in general, react to dark-skinned people.
He also took the example of Indian-American Rahul Dubey, who helped protestors hide from the police, and talked about how there is a need to go beyond just ‘social media activism’.
You can watch the whole video here:
Much like a virus, injustice will never remain limited to one particular region or community. It is thus, the responsibility of every person to bring about change.
