Social Media Activism, Centered On Police Brutality

Whether an officer is responding to a complaint made or pulling someone over, many people can admit that police officers are important to a community. However, many incidents of police brutality have been quickly arising in the African American communities. This issue has caused a shift in perspectives of how police are viewed, raising the question, what should be done when the police become a problem? Police officers have been known to heavily patrol African American communities in the past, however the amount and mass of the weapons used by the local police are the same as our U.S Military. “Overall, 54% of people impacted by the paramilitary searches were people of color.” (Dansky, 2014) Instead of funding patrols, helicopter spying, and stop and frisk, the police departments funded more weapons and placed officers in African American communities. Suggesting that blacks are viewed as the same as the people fought in war. While patrolling these areas, police are often times aiming to issue warrants and/or arrest African Americans’. In the Department of Justice: Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, research found that “92% of all warrants issued in 2013 were issued in cases involving an African-American defendant.” (p. 68) That would suggest that only 8% of all other races were issued a warrant that entire year! Recurring issues such as this has to be prevented or African American communities will continue to have violence and aggression perpetuated by police officers that are placed in a role where they are demonizing low-income people. Over-policing has created an environment of fear and rebellion, which has a far greater negative effect in the crime, employment, and education of the African American community than the supposed safety benefits. The only way to accurately turn this problem around is by organizing and educating the African American race

Why was it such an effective strategy for bringing about change during the civil rights movement?

In the world we live in today, racism and police brutality are raising concerns that society needs to be aware of. Beginning from the mid 1900s and on, racism was an ongoing problem that many individuals acted on from day to day. Whether it was mainly whites who hated blacks or vice versa, there never seemed as if a solution would ever come about. Based on this article about racism and police brutality, it talks a lot about how brutality following the Rodney King incident has change and is more exposed due to updated technology. Racism is not a thing of the past, it exist in this day and happens everyday in front of our eyes. Another point from this article is how the media portrays black as intimidating and scary which often times is the reason why police officers act the way they do when they are encountering a black male. Today’s society is taught to be afraid of black men because they are dangerous and unpredictable. The media account is a short video of how police brutality is caught on camera and how the police are portrayed because of these videos. Because of the new technology officers are no longer able to get away with brutality and not having to answer for there actions. This media account is more of an awareness video of how if someone sees the police physically abusing someone, they should take there phones out and record everything that is going on. Today’s camera phone as said to be the police’s kryptonite because they capture everything that is done by the

Nikita Carney’s “All Lives Matter, but so Does Race: Black Lives Matter and the Evolving Role of Social Media” assesses the role of social media as a public sphere, capable of influencing public discourse and the evolution of social media as a platform for discussing racial injustice. Carney uses twitter as her subject and analyzes the opposing discourse surrounding hashtags “#BlackLivesMatter” and “#AllLivesMatter” occurring after the non-indictments of white police officers in the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. These hashtags represent opposing ideology about police brutality and the persecution of black bodies. Carney begins by establishing Twitter as a place for marginalized youth of color to engage in meaningful discourse about their experiences of racial inequality. Carney notes that “different groups viewing the same media coverage interpret issues of race and police violence in drastically different ways”, proving the existence of confirmation bias on social media. Millennials have

In addition to social medias significance, online activism has made sure we know victim’s names that have been victims of fatal violence at the hands of police. Authority figures were never questioned as to why they did the things they do, until now. People are now linking together different incidents and putting them together as a whole. Since the rise of new generation activists such as Alicia Garza and McKesson, violence and fatalities at the hands of police are now front page news and are no longer be

Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement inspired regular people to make a change. John Lewis heard Martin Luther King Jr. preaching on the radio at a young age, making John wanting to integrate Troy State. Martin Luther King Jr. also inspired people to march from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting with no barriers. Some might say that regular people weren’t inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and made the marches happen on their own but Martin Luther King Jr. had organized the marches so they won’t be too chaotic. Because of the hero’s inspiration regular people wouldn’t have acted in the Civil Rights Movement. However, because of ordinary people, the heroes were able to move forward and help fight with

Many of the most influential people, organizations, and events were created or occurred during the Civil Rights Movement, which is still known as one of the most pivotal time periods historically. The main reason this movement is so profoundly known and praised, is because of it’s passion and reasoning behind it all. In the 1950s and 1960s, grassroots organizations were able to create social change through Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy demonstrated in his profound written piece, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.

In the United States, studies have shown that minority citizens, particularly African Americans, are the primary victims of police brutality. This use of excessive force, when utilized by law enforcement officers, encompasses a wide range of abusive practices – racial slurs, profanity, unnecessary searches, physical abuse, and even murder. According to a report by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, 313 African Americans were killed without trial by police, security guards, and vigilantes in 2012. In other words, one extrajudicial execution of a black person occurs every 28 hours. This tension between law enforcers and minorities is hardly new, as evident by the prevalent racial discrimination between blacks and whites throughout history – slavery, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement. Although many Americans today believe that our nation is progressing into the “age of colorblindness,” blacks are three times more likely than whites to engage in police contact that result in the use of excessive force (Eith & Durose 12). The following pages will analyze how impoverished neighborhoods, negative stereotypes, and mass media contribute to the mutual antagonism between police and African Americans, ultimately setting the stage for violent conflicts. Furthermore, this paper will also investigate real-life examples of Rodney King and Michael Brown, as well as examine how American citizens have resisted against this racial oppression through both violent and peaceful campaigns.

One of the most known leaders of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King, Jr. His nonviolent methods of protesting racial injustice allowed for many people to join the cause due to the high moral approach that he utilized (Brinkley, p.745-749.) The Civil Rights Movement contributed to the major changes in American society. The reason that this is statement is validated is because the efforts of this turmoil during this period is realized today. They accomplished their goals, which were to end racial segregation and stand for equality for all American citizens. While Martin Luther King didn’t live to realize his accomplishments himself, he left behind a legacy that showed many that goals can be accomplished through nonviolent methods. The political changes are that laws were put into place to ensure the goals of Civil Rights activists are upheld. The social changes are that in most cases people are treated equally in regards to race.

In April 28 in city of Baltimore, protestors gathered together to demand justice for Freddie Gray’s death after finding out that he died in custody of the police. Instead of equally protecting all races, police are repressing the black community. Moreover, technology has made accessible for people to record atrocities and exposed them to broad audience gaining empathy and support. Social media has been fundamental for the news to spread around the world quickly. Social media is a tool that social movements can use to increase their growth. Consequently, civil rights activists have been using the slogan “Black Lives Matters” to get awareness for the atrocities being committed against blacks. Thus, advocates have been exposing police brutally such as Freddie Gray’s death, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and many more blacks. Even though the protest led to property damage same as Huntington Beach, the government responded by implemented curfew in the city. Compare to the Huntington Beach’s approach, this is a hard approach. Even though the majority of Americans consider that Blacks protesting is extreme, the general public needs to understand that not all government policies are moral. For instance, the government supported until the end of the Civil War. For years, slavery was

Harris (2015) in his article, “The Next Civil Rights Movement?” explores the idea that racial tension in connection to police brutality is an extension of the civil rights movement from the 1960s. By connecting a contemporary movement to a well-documented movement, it is possible for racial tensions and police conduct to gain momentum in the news media. Furthermore, the advent of social media in more modern times has changed the face of the traditional civil rights movement as there is now the possibility for the movement to gain momentum in a matter of hours rather than days or week as was the case in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. This instantaneous collective momentum has allowed the news media the opportunity to explore varying points of view straight from the public through their posts, videos, and pictures on social media rather than relying on selective interviews. The momentum behind the movement has gained traction and prominence in the mind of the public with the creation of the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) and #AllLivesMatter

In certain cases when police brutality is reported its always involved with a negative side from the race down to certain sexes. Law enforcements have mistreated minorities in many cases and got away with it. However, sometimes mistreatment isn't always consisting of physical harm to an individual in most cases. Disrespect and abuse come hand in hand when it gets down to police brutality. Police assume the victim is disrespecting their authority and they are quick to arrest or shoot an individual. Social media is changing the game for governments under pressure. Social media has suddenly turned into a powerful instrument of public scrutiny. And it is certainly here to stay. As a result, devising efficient means to subdue traditional media will not be sufficient anymore for governments intent on concealing the harshness of their law enforcement.Still, social media

What impact does social media have on police brutality? Police officers were once known as peace keepers whose duties include maintaining public order and preventing and deferring crime, but it now seems as though all we see in the media are cases of police brutality and the lack of ethics and morals possessed by police officers. Within the past year, the highly publicized deaths of Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Michael Brown which many will say were murdered by police officers have been a central piece of media coverage with the last year and has placed the controversial topic of police brutality at an all-time high. II. What is Police Brutality?

In the 1950’s The Civil Rights Movement took off and changed the rights of the African American people. Before, many public places and the population were kept separate: schools, stores, restaurants, and transportation. Peaceful boycotts and sit ins were the people's attempts to forcefully change their rights. With Lyndon B. Johnson backing up the movement, Martin Luther King and other civil right leaders made a huge differences in southern U.S and the U.S in general. Major events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Lunch Counter protests showed that perseverance and dedication was the way to gain their rights and equality after years of discrimination toward their community. The Civil Rights movement was able to make progression for equal

Police officers are not held accountable for their actions, which is why there is social media awareness. Social media viewers see unfiltered videos and footage of officers getting physical. “Social Media” explains how law enforcement try to not show how physical they get to detain a citizen: “... but thanks to technology, social media audiences are becoming more and more exposed to tense, unfiltered events by clicking through shared links and by watching live video feeds” (Social Media 1). The public should see the unfiltered videos to see what kind of bad things are happening in other states. Technology is progressing so users on social media can share videos to raise awareness and bring change. Live videos on facebook of police brutality