Black Lives Matter: Social Movement

Black Lives Matter is a movement that campaigns against institutional racism and brutality toward black people. It stands apart from previous movements advocating for equal treatment of the black community because it includes and even highlights the fringe groups like LGBT people, women, and the disabled. This type of intersectionality underscores the commitment the movement has to advocating on the behalf of all black people. This social movement is unique in another way as well because it uses social media as its main way of creating awareness, organizing, and promoting social change. Social movements rely mainly on a groups ability to share grievances and ability to organize. In today’s world it’s not uncommon to see those fighting for social …show more content…
Some concepts that I plan on addressing are the significance of strong and weak ties. Social media is a key example of weak ties. The mass amount of weak ties created over platforms like Twitter and Facebook promote widespread awareness and potential for mobilization. Additionally, I will compare and contrast the new and old repertoires in relation to Black Lives Matter. With controversial protests that have been both violent and peaceful the movement is an exemplar of both repertoires to a certain extent. I will look at their direct actions in relation to the repertoires and also the role that social media plays in a new modular repertoire. I will compare the actions taken by Black Lives Matter with the case study we did in class on the Black Panthers and the similar use of violence for awareness as well as the similar message they both carry. I can contrast this movement with BLM because of the different technologies available to them. I will address the readings done by W.E.B. Dubois’ explanation of emancipation and reconstruction will help explain the beginnings of the systemic racism that Black Lives Matter campaigns against. Additionally, his underscoring of the psychological wage given to white workers explains the inherent superiority complex created in this time. Finally, I will employ the …show more content…
I will introduce information from the Black Lives Matter official website and analyze how the movement defines itself. Additionally I will look at the ways in which the website emphasizes social media and the role it plays in the campaign. Also, I will introduce the article “Black Lives Matter: The Growth of a New Social Justice Movement” an article on www.blackpast.org that explains the rising popularity of the movement and connects the ways in which social media helped the organization gain traction and create awareness among the public. It gives examples of specific events that the movement initiated or responded to. Lastly I will address the book Future Active: Media Activism and the