The Surge Toward “Diversity”: Interest Convergence and Performative “Wokeness” in Music Institutions

Abstract

Following the brutal murder of George Floyd by police office Derek Chauvin in summer 2020, interest in so-called “diversity” initiatives in schools of music across the U.S. and Canada has exploded. In this article, I put forward Derrick Bell’s (1995) principle of interest convergence—a key tenet of critical race theory (CRT)— in order to explore a possible convergence of interests in “diversity work” between white and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) groups in higher education music institutions. I examine music institutions’ performances of “wokeness” at this time and then consider what Sara Ahmed (2012) calls the “nonperformative” to interrogate the convergence of white interests with the interests of BIPOC communities. To conclude, I put forward ways to capitalize on this interest convergence through curricular and policy change in higher education music institutions.