BLM started through social media and it continues to be popular due to social media. According to Wired, Alicia Garza started the #blacklivesmatter hashtag in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin. The hashtag spread, creating the BLM movement.
The BLM movement has been spoken about in the media since its creation, and the #blacklivesmatter hashtag has been prevalent. In 2016, the hashtag hit a record high during July in response to the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. According to The Hill, both men were shot and killed by police in Minnesota and Louisiana. The hashtag was used 1.4 million times.
The previous record of 1.4 million was broken in the time period of May 26 and June 7, 2020. According to the Pew Research Center, #blacklivesmatter was tweeted an average of 3.7 million times per day- meaning that it was tweeted about 47.8 million times overall.
When the news of Floyd's death spread on social media, one could argue that the BLM movement had a resurgence. Protests occurred across the nation, and are still continuing in some places. Others who have been killed as a result of police brutality have been discussed; the protests are being held in their names as well. For example, according to the Washington Post, Breonna Taylor, an African-American woman, was shot and killed in her home while she was sleeping. Social media began spreading the word of Taylor's death, which occurred on May 13, 2020. As a result, protests centered around Taylor have been happening for 12 weeks.
Social media has spread information, petitions, and ways to donate and help various causes involved with BLM. On August 23, a new name was brought into the movement: Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back seven times by the Kenosha Police Department. According to USA Today, peaceful protesters gathered in Kenosha; however, there were also riots.
According to The Verge, a group on Facebook called "The Kenosha Guard", which was a militia group, called for people to come to the Kenosha protests and riots to protect businesses. Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from our town of Antioch, Illinois, arrived in Kenosha late at night on August 25, 2020, with an AR-15. He shot three people, killing two of them.
Through social media, specifically Twitter, people figured out who Rittenhouse was and where he lived. Through #blacklivesmatter, the news of his identity spread.
According to The Verge, social media played a key role in Rittenhouse showing up to the protests; in addition, one could argue that social media allowed law enforcement to discover who Rittenhouse was.
Overall, social media has played a role in people demanding justice for those who have been killed as a result of police brutality. It has also been used as a way for people to bring attention to those who are guilty of killing Black people, such as the cops who killed Floyd, and those who have killed protesters, such as Rittenhouse. One could argue that the BLM movement would not be as widespread if social media were not there to spread its message through various posts and hashtags.
Works Cited
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kyle-rittenhouse-homicide-charges-kenosha-shooting-first-degree-homicide-jacob-blake-protest-wisconsin/
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/08/30/jacob-blake-shooting-kenosha-time-reckoning-race-police/5670494002/
- https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/502353-blacklivesmatter-hashtag-averages-37-million-times-per-day
- https://www.wired.com/2015/10/how-black-lives-matter-uses-social-media-to-fight-the-power/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/as-breonna-taylor-protests-stretch-into-12th-week-calls-for-officers-arrests-intensify/2020/08/18/ce6f2b9a-d823-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html
- https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/26/21403004/facebook-kenosha-militia-groups-shooting-blm-protest
Photo Credits
- blacklivesmatter.org
- nydailynews.com
- apnews.com
- independent.com
- cbs58.com
- news.sky.com
- wired.com