12 - Abolition as Reparations: “This Is America” and the Anatomy of a Modern Protest Anthem

Summary

Brie McLemore and Margaret Eby analyze Donald Glover, aka Childish

Gambino’s hit song and video “This is America” in order to situate the song as an attempt to garner reparations. According to the song, reparations could be due either because of continued economic exploitation of Black Americans in this country or due to the entertainment industry’s exploitation of Black creativity. They also explore the complicated role of social media in perpetuating, masking, and even soothing Black pain. They then detail the resurgence of This is America as a protest anthem during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. They join Hansford and Jagannath in calling for racial justice under international human rights law. Ultimately, they assert that Glover, along with TikTok content creators who appropriate the song as a protest anthem, have utilized the power of social media to integrate this framing into the broader conversation of racial justice, both specific to America and cognizant of the global demand for the dismantling of White Supremacy.