Activism on My Cellphone

Implementing social media into our daily lives has been a positive tool for shedding light onto specific topics that are commonly ignored by the news. Social activist movements such as “Black Lives Matter” or “Feminism” are just some of the examples that have been brought to public attention because of social media. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have all been a successful platform for creating a dialogue; even though, they have sparked controversial debates nationwide.

One goal of the “Black Lives Matter” Movement is to open up the conversation about race, racial injustice, and racial privilege. Through social media the public is able to view actual evidence of racially stemmed crimes; in brief, this evidence comes in the form of videos commonly depicting graphic violence. Technology has developed, so much so that in a matter of seconds someone could pull out their phone and take video, and with this development comes specific benefits. These benefits commonly give advantage to people of color, especially in instances of police brutality. Despite the fact that not many well-known cases of police brutality end up actually charging the police, video evidence still gives public attention to the problem. The use of recorded video in instances of police brutality is a viable strategy that provides the public with an actual account of what has happened.

Sharing video on social media is not the only way that social media stimulates controversial conversations about the “Black Lives Matter” Movement; for example, many social media users have gained popularity because of their comments about social and political movements. Social media user, Zellie Imani, a teacher, blogger, and activist grew to a popularity of 77.2k followers on twitter by becoming what many would call a “social media activist.” Social media activists post and comment well-structured analyses and/or information about events that are commonly underrepresented in the news media. For example one of Zellie Imani’s most recent posts is a link to a Telesur news article titled “North Carolina police kill #KeithLamontScott 'armed with book,' fire teargas at protesters. Where is the justice?” ("Police Kill Black Man in North Carolina, Clash with Protesters"). By spreading information like the example before the public has, at their hands, an account of what really is going on. Commentary about racially stemmed incidents also occurs on social media. These analyses of what is going on describe how many people are feeling about the situation. Zellie Imani recently tweeted his opinion on the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott stating, “Being armed is not a justifiable reason for a cop to kill a Black person, especially in an open carry state. #KeithLamontScott” (Imani).

The reason that I keep saying things such “what really goes on” or “an actual account of what has happened” is because what has been brought to light in recent years has been going on for decades. If you ask the African-American community, police brutality is not a current topic, it is an issue that has only recently been labeled as a current event. More and more people everyday are beginning to realize the injustice minorities face through national attention. As everyday goes on more and more minorities face the cruel injustice of the American criminal system; however, with every tweet and shared facebook post comes attention to the issue.

Social media is a platform that is accessible to almost all people. People are able to hear multiple perspectives because technology now has the ability to share valuable information. With a simple hashtag, you can give millions of stories a place to start in order to make a change. We need to expand technology to all people. No matter if they are rich or poor, educated or not. Technology is major part of the future, and everyone should be included. Our conversations, our knowledge, is no longer limited to just the people and environment around us, we are able to expand our conversations and knowledge to the world through social media. We just have to keep expanding the privilege of technology to all people.

#blacklivesmatter