Black Lives Matter is an organization that started to combat police brutality and simultaneously maintaining the agenda of uplifting black communities and individuals. It began in 2013 with the not guilty verdict of Treyvon Martin, and the following year after the horrific death of Eric Garner they continued to rise to national prominence. Over the last several months America has been faced with the issues of racial injustice. These issues are not new in America, however how groups like BLM organize and rally is much different than the 20th-century framework. A recent studying citing that over 24 million Americans partook in these recent demonstrations.
The Black Lives Matter social justice group once again rose to national prominence following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Specifically following George Floyd’s tragic death, which was upload online for the whole world to see, sparked massive outrage from all Americans. In the Covid-19 era, the online space has imploded with activity from users on social media platforms. When this video was uploaded it was shared and seen millions of times, watching someone get their life drained for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The response and outrage on social media were significant. Users shared images of a black screen to partake in what is now known as Blackout Tuesday. This was a message that individuals wanted to share and show their support for the black community as well as standing in solidarity with their message of police reform.
The implications throughout social media are remarkable but also they have shown some very important aspects as to why these demonstrations are different. A group like BLM might not be directing the actual protesting but they are providing materials, guidance, and a framework for demonstraters to follow. A key to getting this information out to demonstrators is the group’s ability to utilize social media. Their use of social media has allowed them to be able to spread their message to a much wider and larger audience. Through the protests that sparked in Minneapolis, demonstrators across the globe in London and Paris marched against police brutality. Sparking one of the largest social movements in history while in a pandemic.
A significant challenge the group faces is that much of their information is spread through social media. Social media is also the biggest catalyst of ‘fake news’ and it is more likely to be seen and shared. This has led to an increase in disinformation campaigns against BLM and even some cases of opposing demonstrators in violent confrontations.
BLM has sparked a global movement that has rocked the world. It has shifted global attitudes towards the idea of race and authority. While trying to change and reform our current system of policing through the interactive engagement of an online community.