This Black History Month, Americans woke up to yet another instance of casual racism. It was not the long-awaited celebration for the lives and legacies of the Black community that continually faces erasure. Instead, the month began with a reminder that the ways in which Black achievement and lived experiences are acknowledged can be overshadowed by the persistence of racial microaggression and digital microinsults disguised as memes.
On Feb. 5, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a video on his social media account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The clip immediately provoked widespread attention and backlash across party lines, with Democrats and Republicans condemning the post and demanding that President Trump remove it and apologize. The White House initially backtracked by framing the video as an “internet meme,” then shifted the blame to an unnamed staffer, allowing both the administration and the president to avoid accountability and proceed mostly unscathed.
This calculated cop-out, packaged with its own public appearance clean-up crew, quietly signals that the harm inflicted on Black Americans is considered something to be overlooked, buried under piles of American anger and national indifference at the sign of the next passing horror.
The timing of the post, not even a week into Black History Month, reflects a broader cultural rhythm that normalizes the dehumanizing portrayals of Black individuals. These portrayals are created and consumed so casually and routinely that they have become a natural yet dystopian fixture of American society and its daily beat. It is a society fueled by undiscussed outrage and short-lived shame rather than accountability, education and reflection.
The use of racist imagery depicting Black individuals as apes is an enduring trope in American history, repeatedly leveraged to justify hidden oppression and violence against the Black community. For an active president to engage in these acts of public mockery carries even more weight, as a president’s actions are often viewed as an extension of the country’s values and identity. Such behavior sets a precedent for the optional accountability afforded to those at the highest seats of power, signaling that they are above both legal and moral consequences.
By framing the video as an “internet meme” and shifting the blame to an alleged nameless staffer, any sort of accountability or remorse was removed. The resulting message is clear and unwelcoming: people in positions of power can engage in acts of casual racism without concrete consequences or lasting damage to their reputation. This reinforces a culture in which Black Americans are subjected to aestheticized racism, a reminder that their value is remembered only during designated holidays and often reduced to mere symbolic recognition.
This incident joins many others like it, existing primarily in the permanence of internet archives, remembered by few and discussed by nearly none. It becomes yet another example on the never-ending list of casual racist acts disguised as jokes, using humor as an armor to preempt public recognition of any harm. America coats jokes in entertainment before delivery to make longstanding oppression more palatable. Cruelty repackaged as a joke at the expense of a community that has endured nearly an eternity of dehumanization and oppression is not humor in any form, but a direct and violent attack against Black people.
Instead of reflecting on the countless Black Americans of the past and present who helped shape U.S. history, society was forced to sit with a reminder of the persistent inequities facing Black Americans, a group afforded only the luxury (read: misfortune) of the shortest calendar month of the year as some sort of consolation prize.
During a month where social norms would mandate, at the very least, for people to repost some half-heartedly curated Black History Month recognition post as a form of socially validated acknowledgement, the populace was again confronted with the biting reality. Racial harm persists, even in a month meant for celebration and even at the hands of the country’s highest government official.
On paper, Black History Month celebrates the contributions and achievements of the Black community, acknowledging the injustices they have endured and affirming their humanity. It stands as a powerful rejection of the dehumanizing stereotypes many individuals continue to perpetuate, including false claims that Black people are savage, uncivilized or alien. In practice, however, the month remains a glaring reminder of how much work toward racial justice and systemic inequities stands undone.
Until then, Black History Month will continue to prevail as more of a paradox, a month more remembered for its performative gestures of American guilt than as a period of genuine celebration or reflection. After all, it’s not American to possess any capacity for accountability, nor the courage to sit in the discomfort of the harm it inflicts; denial has always been a mainstay of the American Dream.
