Many organizations claim to “do the work” of anti-racism, but most only change optics, not power. Here’s how performative allyship hides in plain sight.

Every few cycles (usually after a highly charged public incident) a new wave of organizations recommit to anti-racism and equity work.

They hire DEI consultants, update diversity statements, and start celebrating cultural holidays they barely acknowledged before. But if you look beneath the surface, many of those performative anti-racism efforts, however well-intentioned, quietly reinforce the same hierarchies they claim to dismantle.

That’s not because (most) people are malicious. It’s because institutions are built to protect comfort and profit, not change. They reward optics and familiarity over courage and redistribution. So even when leaders genuinely want to “do better,” they often default to gestures that feel safe rather than strategies that actually shift power.

If your organization is serious about equity, here’s the real question: are your anti-racist actions actually anti-racist…or are they just window dressing?

Here are five common traps I’ve seen even well-meaning organizations fall into, and some guidance on how to move through them.

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