Racism doesn’t just occur in the physical world; it is also reflected in the digital world in words, images, groups, and even emojis and GIFs. While these images and caricatures may seem benign, their use is likened to a digital version of Black Face, and can be deeply hurtful and offensive to folks of color. Shaunna and Lisa explain their use by white folks as “trying on” different races as a way to represent extreme joy or frustration in online communications. Using images or GIFs of people of color as a way to express a white person’s extreme emotion is dehumanizing and a slippery slope towards cultural appropriation.

Endurance athletes, like everyone else, are accountable for the things they say online. Even if they are “saying” them with images or emojis. 2020 saw a wave of endurance sport companies making statements about standing up against racial injustice and inequality, but it is now time for them to put those words into action, and hold their employees and athletes accountable. We are all part of the race conversation. We have to be open to correction, education, and change over time, and learn to think, act, speak, and use our emojis more responsibly.

For more on this topic:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/digital-blackface-reaction-gifs

https://www.aquickbrownfox.com/blog/2020/11/15/representation-matters-but-it-is-not-enough

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