Non-black people should not disclose Oprah Winfrey’s memes from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview – because that is supporting the “digital black guy”, advises a nonprofit organization.
The Slow Factory Foundation, which is dedicated to social and environmental justice, released the alert on its Instagram page on Tuesday, saying that “digital blackface” is an “online phenomenon” where whites and non-blacks share images of blacks to express emotions.
Winfrey’s variety of facial reactions during the interview resulted in a series of viral memes.
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“Although seemingly harmless, the problem with digital blackface is that it often reinforces negative stereotypes about black people, as they are aggressive, loud, sassy and are simply here for their consumption and entertainment,” says the post.
The organization added, “Performing Blackness, whether IRL or online, is not an acceptable way to express reaction or dissatisfaction, especially in exchange for likes and retweets.”
“Since the #MeghanandHarry interview on Oprah, we’ve seen a lot of digital blackface infractions with some of Oprah’s reaction GIFs and viral images, but that doesn’t mean you should use them,” added Slow Factory.
A popular Oprah meme shows the media mogul with a shocked expression on his face after Markle revealed to her that someone from the royal family raised concerns about the color of baby Archie’s skin as soon as he was born.
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Some people on social media praised the organization for raising awareness of the “digital blackface”.
“Thank you for explaining this so clearly. Very useful, ”wrote an Instagram user.
“Thank you very much for that – this is something I didn’t realize and I will definitely be much more thoughtful about the gifs I choose and why,” wrote another user.
Others felt that Slow Factory’s message went too far.
“Blackface is a violent and damaging representation of black people rooted in violence. Using an Oprah GIF is NOT blackface, ”wrote one person.
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“Reaction images / gifs and memes are universal and are certainly not part of the ‘digital black face’,” said another person. “I feel this is extremely divisive. People use photos of reactions from other races all the time and I don’t see how harmful it is.”
The term “digital blackface” has been around for years, but writer Lauren Michele Jackson popularized it in a 2017 rehearsal for Teen Vogue.