Another day, another corporate land acknowledgment. Another politician using “decolonization” as a buzzword while actively upholding colonial power structures. Another think piece about how Western nations need to “grapple with their past,” as if colonialism isn’t an ongoing, present-day crisis.
Decolonization is having a moment — or at least, the performance of it is. But let’s be clear: decolonization is not a metaphor, and it’s certainly not a trend. It is not a catchy phrase to slap onto diversity initiatives. It is not an aesthetic. It is not just about education, or representation, or “having the conversation.”
Decolonization is about the material dismantling of colonial structures. That means land back, reparations, the end of imperial control, and the redistribution of power. Anything less is just rebranded colonial management.
From Academic Jargon to Corporate PR
For decades, decolonization was discussed primarily in radical academic and activist spaces. Scholars like Frantz Fanon, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith laid out the necessity of reclaiming land, knowledge, and power. Indigenous movements worldwide have been fighting for sovereignty long before universities decided to put “decolonial” in their course titles.
Now, however, the language of decolonization has been co-opted by institutions that have no intention of actually dismantling anything. Universities will offer courses on decolonial thought while continuing to profit from stolen land. Museums will hold “decolonizing exhibitions” while refusing to return looted artifacts. Corporations will champion diversity while exploiting the Global South for labor and resources.
And we’re supposed to applaud these efforts?
Land Back, Not Lip Service
True decolonization demands return. It means giving back land to Indigenous nations, paying reparations to those whose ancestors were enslaved, and restructuring economic and political systems that were built on colonial exploitation. It means redistributing power, not just acknowledging past harm.
Yet when Indigenous activists call for land back, the response is immediate outrage. “That’s unrealistic,” they say. “That’s not how the world works.”
But is it really so radical to suggest that stolen land should be returned to its rightful caretakers? That wealth built on slavery should be redistributed? That colonial nations should be held accountable for their ongoing crimes?
Radical, it seems, only applies when justice threatens the status quo.
Decolonization Is an Action, Not a Hashtag
It’s easy to say you support decolonization when it requires nothing of you. But what are you willing to give up? What systems are you willing to challenge?
Because decolonization isn’t just a word to sprinkle into mission statements. It is a call to action.
And if that makes people uncomfortable, good. Because it should.
The Colonial Condition is a publication dedicated to critically interrogating colonial legacies, decolonial resistance, and historical reckonings. We challenge dominant narratives and amplify marginalized perspectives. Join the conversation — read, question, and disrupt.