The (Identity) Politics of Reparations

Identity politics has been given a bad rap, with many fearing that it fosters ever narrower emphasis on difference over collaboration. But “activists, particularly those who engage in conversations with everyday people in their communities, see the use of identity, particularly liberatory identities, as a unifying force as long as it seeks to explore the depth and principles of the identity” and are formulating strategies to prioritise identity-formation. They argue that “the weaponization of social justice identity politics is purely a tactic that is being used to deconstruct cultural innovation rooted in BIPOC communities” by a pro-authoritarian movement whose own “strategy is entirely about identity formation”.