Social Media And The Black Lives Matter Movement

A necessary and common fight for equality has been one that has survived throughout all of man’s existence. Due to recent racial divide and the product of racial profiling, a movement has risen up to combat these common issues. The most recent and most well-covered is the Black Lives Matter Movement. Even though it has been lauded by some media sources and individuals as the next great movement to champion for civil rights, the Black Lives Matter movement is not the same as the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s nor is it likely to be as successful. If the Black Lives Matter Movement continues with discrepancies in ideology, lack of clear leadership, and trends of hate, the movement is doomed to fail.

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

The use of police brutality and racial profiling is an unfortunate part of today’s society that needs to be addressed. Blacks are being stopped and searched by police officers in greater numbers compared to other races, and sometimes these situations escalate into violence. In the essay Blue On Black Violence: Freddie Gray, Baltimore, South Africa, & the Quietism of Africana Christian Theology, author Darryl Scriven, a Philosophy professor at Florida A&M University, reports that, “CNN reported that May 2015 was the deadliest month for Baltimore, Maryland in 16 years with 35 recorded, civilian-caused homicides” (Scriven 2015). He then goes on to say, “Most of the victims were African American” (Scriven 2015). This use of unnecessary force is not new. Police have employed the tactic of racial profiling to unfairly stop and search people of color, and some of time, this turns violent. There are several cases of police brutality that occurred in the past few years that show many similarities with cases from the past in Macintosh County.

Police related shootings deemed ethical or unethical show a greater prevalence in low-income black communities’ statewide more often than white communities. Usually, the outcome of civil

There are many problems that exist in the world, whether that be political, economic, or even social issues. These issues can affect individuals, both directly and indirectly, in doing so can lead to detrimental effects on society. One way to get involved in an issue and help spread awareness is through a movement. There are many movements in the world where people stand up and fight for a cause they believe in, in doing so can bring about change that leads to a better world. In specifically the Black Lives Matter movement is a global platform that helps black communities when they are faced with injustice. Black communities are faced with inequality, injustice, racialization and many more struggles that other communities don’t have an issue

In Stephen’s article about Black Lives Matter and social media he shows how social media is a key part of

From riots and increasing crime rates to public gatherings, all these are impacting peoples’ way of life. Juliana M. Horowitz and Gretchen Livingston, expert reporters for Pew Research Center, state that “roughly two-thirds (64%) of people (…) understand the movements goals” and that “about half (46%) of whites ages 30 to 49, and even (…) 50 to 64 (37%) and those 65 and older (26%), express support for the movement.” Black Lives Matter is a chapter-based national organization that’s working to suppress a racial and social issue within the United States. The movement is a unique contribution that goes beyond the killings of black people by police. With two-thirds of the nation’s support, it indicates that the issue is real within the societies; that blacks, latinos and other different cultures are targeted. In another article by Jon Swaine, criminal reporter for the Guardian and Ciara McCarthy, a journalist for the Guardian, declares that, “black males 15-34 were nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by law enforcement officers.” According to the Guardian “U.S. police killed at least 258 black people in 2016” and “about 169 were unarmed” which was recorded in company’s project “The Counted.” More research by organizations are beginning to notice the extremities for the BLM uprisings. U.S. police killings have increased the last

With the overwhelming recent media coverage of unarmed individuals being killed by police officers, it has now brought national attention to the seriousness of these events that should be addressed. One of the most notable event that caught the attention of the media and the public was the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. He was an unarmored black male that was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. This was not the first or the last time an unarmed person was killed by a law enforcement officer, it was an event that appeared to have caused citizens to start scrutinizing police department’s use of deadly force policy more in depth; especially the black community. According to “The Counted”, a database created by the Guardian that count the number of people killed by police and other law enforcement agencies in the United States; 190 unarmed individual were killed by law enforcement officer as of October 2015; 178 were male, 62 were Black, 28 were Hispanic, 76 were White, and 9 classified as other or unknown (guardian.com, 2015). Although the fact that the majority of the unarmed killing by police officers involved the death of White individuals, we have to keep in mind that Whites make up the majority of the U.S. population and that the number of minorities killed by police officers outnumbered their White counterparts, with the majority being Black individuals. While individuals should comply with the police, there is a need for better police and

Social Movements and citizen’s involvement are crucial constituents of a democratic government, a government by the people exercised through elected representatives. Social movements are organized efforts that express a constructed social and political identity often having deep roots and long legacies. Social movements regarding equality for black people have existed throughout American history because of the government's failure to protect black people’s right to equality. The social groups tied to these movements react against active oppression to pursue justice. At the present time, one of the most influential social movements is the Black Lives Matter movement, a movement originating from a social media hashtag, that focuses on fundamental

According to data received from the Centers for Disease Control, between 1999 and 2011, 2,151 whites died as a result of being shot by an officer compared to 1,130 blacks. However, all of these facts do not justify the cases when officers abused their power, it only obliterates the “Black Lives Matter” definition that the trend of blacks being victims of violent encounters with law enforcement because officers are racist towards black people.

The Black Lives Matter movement has swept across America. It 's branched out with chapters in over 31 cities and held rallies and boycotts across the United States(Sidner). The Black Lives Matter movement started with the outrage of the death of a young man. It continues to take over headlines and raise awareness on police brutality and inequality. However, the movement has met resistance from the All Lives Matter group. This group thinks that Black Lives Matter is a movement to express hatred towards other races. However, statistics, the views of fellow citizens, and the overall purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement, can prove that the movement wasn 't meant to express hate on other races and that we need to support the movement instead of going against it.

Hundreds of African American men and women are killed by police almost each and every year across the United States. No one really knows the exact number of deaths occurs by the police because” the United States does not count how many lives are lost” (mapping…). The use of lethal force by police officers raises serious right concerns, the united states has a legal obligation to protect, provide security, and respect the right of freedom, of human in the society no matter their race rather if they are black, white, Hispanic. Their genders, whether they are males or females, sexual orientation, and religion. People should feel protected when they see a police officer driving around their neighborhood they should feel protected instead of feeling

In summation, we looked at social conflict as it related to class, race and ethnicity, gender, and how it explains the Black Lives Matter Movement. As we examined the literature, we asked how and why did the Black Lives Matter Movement begin? What are the problems with the Black Lives Matter Movement? What does social media have to say about the Black Lives Matter Movement? What is the youth’s culture’s input on the Black Lives Matter Movement? How does the Black Lives Matter movement tie back to the police? And where are we going with the Black Lives Matter Movement post-2016? We focused on whether or not the Black Lives Matter movement had the potential to affect change and have a long-lasting impact on society as a social movement. Therefore,

So, in relation to the black Lives matter issue, I feel strongly that the police are being vilified by that movement. There was two clear executions of police officers last year where the shooter used social media to clearly state his motives as retaliation in conjunction with the black lives matter protest. The originators of this movement are glossing over the fact that their martyr attempted to disarm a police officer. This is not trolling, this is an issue that I take very personally. As I type this I'm hoping I won't get a phone call tonight saying that my father is either dead or will be thrown under the bus for trying to prevent his own death or the death of another simply because he used lethal force and the criminal happened to be