“Kissing Ass and other Performative Acts of Resistance: Austin, Fanon, and New Orleans Tourism” examines Frantz Fanon’s “Algeria Unveiled” as a reconceptualization of J. L. Austin’s theory of the performative. Austin, whose examples of the performative all assume an equal, if not harmonious, relationship, overlooks instances of incompatibility and inequality. Fanon’s post-colonial framework, on the other hand, illustrates the markedly different types of intentions, uptake, and conventions which inform the speech act in cases of extreme inequality. In these cases, the powerless and seemingly voiceless use tacitly agreed upon conventions “inappropriately” to attain what they would not be able to have otherwise. New Orleans tourism provides a case study of this type of performative resistance. The article explores examples of resistance to a tourism narrative that distorts and negates black history and culture.