Microaggressions are common behaviors that manifest subtly, and often unintentionally, from deep-seated biases. They’re expressed in seemingly benign phrases like “You’re pretty for a Black girl,” or “I just love Asian women.” Unconscious of the subtle racism informing their comment, the aggressor may not understand the weight their words carry.

Looking at how much change has come from social media activism, it seems infallible. Social change at the tip of everyones’ fingers, can you think of anything better? But lately, I’ve noticed an increase in online activism from people I know personally through Instagram stories pertaining to BLM. Some people I knew pleasantly surprised me by posting about petitions or infographics, when I would never expect them to really speak up. I had never really seen this level of activism within my smaller Instagram community, which is great, but also begs the question of why all of the sudden all these people are speaking out.

The unprecedented social upheaval caused by the worldwide Black Lives Matter movement has prompted many allies to reexamine their relationship with activism. Within Gen-Z, which has absorbed the image-consciousness of a culture that gave Instagram influencers unthinkable wealth and status, the optics of allyship have overshadowed meaningful change. But in 2020, information about non-optical allyship has spread quickly on the same platforms that favor superficial, performative posts of support. In sharing this, the predominantly younger users of platforms like Instagram seem to be seeking to counteract its fickle virality, which spotlights issues when they first trend but eventually buries them in favor of fresher, more marketable content.

Even though it’s unspoken, there’s a different kind of emphasis on that “Donate” request. Nonprofits and Black funds organizations aren’t asking for just any kind of contribution. They need funding, and that funding needs to come from the collective efforts of the populace, since those in power never divert the resources and funding that it’s common knowledge they have. It connects back to stepping out of one’s privilege, because there are those who were never able to step into privilege of their own that guarantees them education, love, support and safety.