It is easy to criticize DuVernay for deliberately making critical factual errors in Selma before understanding her background and beliefs as a director. DuVernay is an African American filmmaker who during her college education majored in African American studies. DuVernay not only had a personal connection to the context of the film as an African American woman, but also to the general region of Selma. DuVernay frequently vacationed in Lowndes county, a township next to Selma as child. Hence, she developed a personal connection to the history and people of the region. According to DuVernay, it was important for her to make a film which depicted the people of Selma and the struggle they endured during the civil rights movement rather than
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The Black Lives Matter Movement has numerous times been called the modern civil rights movement for its primary use of non-violent tactics as well as incorporation of members who were previously activists in the civil rights movement. Some equate the movement starting with the 2009 killing of Oscar Grant whereas it is more popularly associated with the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin. The movement is founded on the principles of advocating for equal rights of minorities in legal and social spheres, including ending unjust police violence against African Americans. Many subsequent killings of young African Americans including Michael Brown helped to propel the movement to gain momentum and become part of the national dialogue. Essentially Jackson is a symbol of the deaths of recent young African American men as a result of police violence. Like the increasing support of the civil rights movement after the death of Jackson, support for the Black Lives Matter movement dramatically increased after the death of Michael Brown who was killed by a white police officer in 2014. The slogan “hands up don’t shoot” from the Ferguson marches after the death of Michael Brown parallels with the death of Jackson whereby conflicting stories between witnesses and the officers involved lead to increased division and debate over whether or not the actions of the officer were just. A study done in 1966 found that ¾ officers in the south had a racial bias towards African Americans. However little has changed today statistically, police are more likely to use force on minority suspects due to pre-existing racial
The Black Lives Matter Movement has numerous times been called the modern civil rights movement for its primary use of non-violent tactics as well as incorporation of members who were previously activists in the civil rights movement. Some equate the movement starting with the 2009 killing of Oscar Grant whereas it is more popularly associated with the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin. The movement is founded on the principles of advocating for equal rights of minorities in legal and social spheres, including ending unjust police violence against African Americans. Many subsequent killings of young African Americans including Michael Brown helped to propel the movement to gain momentum and become part of the national dialogue. Essentially Jackson is a symbol of the deaths of recent young African American men as a result of police violence. Like the increasing support of the civil rights movement after the death of Jackson, support for the Black Lives Matter movement dramatically increased after the death of Michael Brown who was killed by a white police officer in 2014. The slogan “hands up don’t shoot” from the Ferguson marches after the death of Michael Brown parallels with the death of Jackson whereby conflicting stories between witnesses and the officers involved lead to increased division and debate over whether or not the actions of the officer were just. A study done in 1966 found that ¾ officers in the south had a racial bias towards African Americans. However little has changed today statistically, police are more likely to use force on minority suspects due to pre-existing racial