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zipgrowth · 6 years

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#BlackStudentsMatter: Why Digital Activism Is a Voice for Black students

Social media and social activism appear to be undeniably interwoven among Black users. And it’s increasingly become a powerful medium to elevate underrepresented voices on college campuses, too.

A recent Pew Research survey examining attitudes toward digital activism reported that more than half (54 percent) of Black users “believe social media is an important tool for them to use in expressing their opinion about social and political issues.” Meanwhile, just 39 percent of whites said the same thing.

People working in higher education must try to understand why Black youth see social media as viable tools to share their thoughts on social issues.

Part of me is not surprised at the survey’s finding. Many of the heavyweights behind some of the most well-known activist hashtags are Black. Take Tarana Burke, who first launched the #MeToo movement, or April Reign, creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag. This type of Black digital activism mimics the tenacious efforts of, for example, Ida B. Wells, to speak truth to the real experiences of Black people in a society that is eager to suppress conversations about institutional racism that exists today.

Our nation’s demographics are rapidly changing and that is reflected in student populations at universities and colleges. Higher education instructors have to adjust to this and develop a sense of cultural competence. One way to accomplish this is to recognize the ways students of color want and need to articulate their racialized experiences.

This is why people working in higher education must try to understand why Black youth see social media as viable tools to share their thoughts on social issues. So what are the implications of digital activism for Black students, and why should college instructors—especially non-Black instructors—care?

The Rise of Digital Activism and Its Use in Black Spaces

Researchers began to seriously take note of the onset of digital activism in 2011.

“Scholars awakened to the possibilities of social media as a catalyst for activism during the Arab Spring,” explains Allissa Richardson, assistant professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “As the year progressed, the Occupy Movement built upon using social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to share its message.”

In 2013, the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag began to surface across social media platforms after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, which sparked widespread outrage. Then in 2014, Michael Brown, another young Black man, was fatally shot by a white police officer. This tragic event catapulted the rallying cry, “Black Lives Matter” into the center stage of countless news and social media outlets.

That year, Richardson notes, “digital activism became much more connective in nature. Suddenly a single hashtag gave one access to a real-time conversation that transcended space.”

The Black Lives Matter movement might not have its current effectiveness without the use of Twitter. The #BlackLivesMatter hashtag enabled Black people, particularly Black youth, to publicly discuss their experiences and frustration with racial profiling and police brutality in large numbers. Following the death of Michael Brown, protests erupted in Ferguson, Mo., and those at the frontlines of the events posted photos and videos of what was happening. This motivated Black youth to take action and loudly proclaim that police were no longer going to treat them like second class citizens. Digital activism suddenly emboldened their sense of self-efficacy.

“There are great conversations happening on social media and people apart of the ‘Black Twitterverse’ are bringing issues to the forefront. It brings a great deal of awareness to students,” claims Akil Houston, associate professor of cultural and media studies at Ohio University.

Black Twitter: The Lantern for Black Folk

Digital activism among Black users also appears to be the modernization of a communication pattern that has historical roots in the Black community.

Black college students, in particular, are looking for ways to collectively respond to injustices beyond police brutality, and social media is often their preferred microphone.

“[Black Twitter] mirrors the call-and-response communication style [seen] in the black church of old,” explains Richardson. “When someone from Black Twitter sounds the alarm on a fresh social justice issue, the [virtual] congregation responds rapidly, telling the ‘pastor’ to ‘preach!’”

Black college students, in particular, are looking for ways to collectively respond to injustices beyond police brutality, and social media is often their preferred microphone.

Look no further to the stories of Black students like Lolade Siyonbola, a graduate student at Yale. A white student called the police on Siyonbola after she fell asleep in a dormitory common room on campus. The reason? Siyonbola didn’t look like she belonged in the room. She later posted two videos on Facebook detailing the situation, shedding light on the reality of what it means to be Black while occupying a space that is unconsciously deemed for whites.

Stories like what happened to Siyonbola are not uncommon. And Black students are taking to social media to speak about racial biases they experience on campus. These are average Black students in college classrooms across the nation, who self-police their bodies to make white professors and peers feel safe and comfortable. They take to social media to simply “exhale” and express how exhausting all of this can be.

Richardson recalls teaching a journalism class at an HBCU in Maryland when Freddie Gray was killed in police custody in Baltimore in April 2015. “Many of my students were from Baltimore and it hit too close to home for many of them. They could not not report on this.”

Digital activism, in many ways, is an extension and gift from previous prominent Black activists and cultural icons. As Houston asks, “What if James Baldwin had Twitter? What if Zora Neale Hurston was on Instagram? How would they weigh into a particular moment?” It hones in on their enduring spirit.

Limitations of “Hashtag Activism”

Critics of digital activism more often point to “slacktivism,” the notion that digital activism is limited to online discussion, retweets, and likes, and claim this form of action does not produce tangible change.

Digital activism, in many ways, is an extension and gift from previous prominent Black activists and cultural icons.

“There’s a real divide,” says Houston. “Some students [activists] are going to the protests and being arrested. They express their frustration about the other students who just liked or shared an article, but didn’t physically show up when it mattered most.”

But there is a real role for digital activism on campus. And diminishing its power to “slacktivism” ignores the ways in which social media allows students to organize, speak and spread awareness about issues.

We have seen cases in which digital activism can produce real change—and has inspired real political action. For example, after the death of Freddie Gray, Deray McKesson, one of the most prominent supporters in the Black Lives Matter movement, ran for mayor of Baltimore.

“Although he did not win, many youth in Maryland were inspired to see someone who was ‘Internet famous’ spin that name recognition into public office,” asserts Richardson.

In other recent examples, 22-year-old Black Lives Matter activist, Ja’Mal Green announced a run for mayor of Chicago as well as Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, who plans to run for city council in Ferguson, Mo. So it appears that digital activism does have some measurable influence on local and national politics.

Why Should Instructors Care?

So what does this all mean for higher education instructors? Why should they care about the impact of digital activism in marginalized student communities and communities at large?

There is a real role for digital activism on campus.

“Theory is great, but get to know your students,” says Houston. “Know what they’re reading, what they’re watching, and what they’re posting. And if you can do that, you can communicate more effectively with them. Digital activism is a part of students’ world.”

Richardson advises that “higher education instructors should champion digital activism for students of color because it helps them become better civic participants. When students realize the agency they have when they create a successful digital campaign, I have seen that awakening galvanize them to pursue systemic change through traditional means.”

My challenge to higher education instructors from all backgrounds is to intentionally recognize that the America you know is not necessarily the same America that your Black students experience on a day-to-day basis. Humbly listen to the narratives of your students from underrepresented groups. Failure to do this and more might continue to make Black and other students of color feel isolated and misunderstood in the classroom.

As Richardson puts it: “Digital activism can be an entry point to correcting this purposeful drowning out of our country’s future.”

#BlackStudentsMatter: Why Digital Activism Is a Voice for Black students published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness

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vitalmindandbody · 7 years

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How Black Lives Matter can move beyond a hashtag

As the Democrat nominees strenuously compete for the black vote in the wishes of winning the upcoming South Carolina primary, a single voice has been noticeably absent-minded from the fray.

Black Lives Matter, which dominated the discourse on hasten in America last year, seems to have totally fallen off the radar in recent weeks and months. The stillnes has made some inquiry the relevance, staying power, and vitality of this pivotal movement.

As a change that leap to life in the form of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in accordance with the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, few would have anticipated its had given rise to prominence as activists in the struggle for equality. Few understood the organise and startling impact that Black Twitter can have, and so Black Lives Matter was born and focused on advances and demonstrations in 2014 to highlight ethnic differences in America, and in 2015 they confronted presidential candidates to find out how they intended to combat racial inequalities and systemic cruelty.

And in 2015, the discussion between pitch-black lives matter and all lives matter reigned national conference, with presidential candidates immediately learning the lesson that all lives matter was an inadequate posture if they wanted to win the black poll. By the end of 2015, Black Lives Matter decided to organize itself into a viable entity and not just a rag-tag group of heartfelt African-Americans on social media who were fully committed towards working to advance pitch-black life. A website was created, they started liberating testimonies on issues, and took up its own position of not endorsing a presidential campaigner or even officially engaging in politics.

BLM wanted to remain apolitical and focus on the ability of community organizing, and organized and quiet nonviolent resistance to bring about change in the black parish and America at large. And while this approach may reverberate within the pitch-black parish, it has left many other Americans scratching their leader. In early 2016, as we head towards a decisive election year, BLM has almost become a non-factor in one of the most racially divisive presidential campaigns in modern memory.

It seems as though the movement has disappeared, and many parties wonder if the future of Black Lives Matter will more resemble the Occupy Wall Street or of the Tea Party movement .

It seems as though the movement has disappeared, and numerous people wonder if the future of Black Lives Matter will more resemble the Occupy Wall Street or of the Tea Party movement. Occupy Wall Street now dominates the annals of record, and the Tea Party movement is reigning the presidential hasten. Which channel will BLM proceed, or is there another route altogether to prosecute?

A recent essay in The Nation , A Concrete Plan to Do Black Lives Matter, attempts to confront this recent predicament by discussing how an organization called the Agenda to Build Black Futures has released a thorough agenda that lays out potential road maps for combatting issues that disproportionately harm pitch-black communities. Yet the Agenda to Build Black Futures is not BLM. They may fall under the umbrella of the Black Lives Matter movement itself, which can be almost any organization that supports the message #BlackLivesMatter, but they are not part of the actual organization called Black Lives Matter.

To some, the creation of the Agenda to Build Black Futures could be viewed as a successful progression of the Black Lives Matter movement, since it has spawned the creation of an organization that intends to fight for the principles of the movement. And to others, it will be seen as a confusing setback for the free movement of persons because this movement has been dominated by one name Black Lives Matter, and any other identify will be viewed as an unwanted distraction.

Activist, Twitter personality, and Baltimore mayoral nominee DeRay McKessons Campaign Zero is another one of these organizations that has either developed or splintered off from Black Lives Matter. Campaign Zero helped organizing, nonviolent resistance, and laying out an agenda or policy proposals like BLM and other organizations within the Black Lives Matter movement, but they too supported becoming political and working with legislators to make the necessary change in pitch-black communities. McKessons decision to run for mayor supports the organizations ideological commitment towards political engagement.

Again this could be viewed as a victory for the Black Lives Matter movement but not for BLM the organization. As an African-American, the growth of these brand-new organisations or expeditions from the Black Lives Matter movement are both encouraging and frustrating.

Without clear messaging and engagement in the daily political discourse, it is easy for others to consider the free movement of persons as becoming a dwindling force in American politics and society. It is easier to perceive BLM and the Black Lives Matter movement as on the cusp of fading away like Occupy Wall Street instead of to increase political significance like the Tea Party, but Id venture to say that the Black Lives Matter movement, and the many organizations that have emerged from it, intends to follow neither of those paths.

The Black Lives Matter movement soon appears to be reminiscent of the 1960 s civil rights change, where there were several cliques all simultaneously rivalling with each other while at the same time striving together collectively to resolve ethnic abuse in America including resolving segregation, increasing education openings, removing voting limiteds and more for African Americans. That time period is more known for the pitch-black chairmen who characterized it such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and not for any particular organization that held it. Yet it is also known for the many different organizations that played a significant role in creating change and preaching for black promotion such as the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and even militant groups such as the Black Panther Party and the Person of Islam.

Without clear messaging and engagement in the daily political discourse it is easy for others to consider the movement as becoming a dwindling force in American politics and communities .

The Black Lives Matter movement seems to be attempting to traverse the road of pioneering African-American civil rights trailblazers of yesteryear, so viewing the free movement of persons along an Occupy vs Tea Party spectrum, which is dominated by principally lily-white expressions, might be an inadequate comparison. Nonetheless, the problem with attempting to mimic previous success is that you may overlook some of the progress brought on by the success. In the case of vehicles of BLM and some of the other groups that have emerged from the Black Lives Matter movement, this inclination to remain apolitical and not engage with politics appears to be one of such flaws.

African-Americans have always been a disenfranchised group of people in America, and they have never had a government that worked on their behalf. There “ve always been” innumerable hazards foreclosing pitch-blacks from voting or securing elected agency. Therefore, an apolitical dogma was always standards and norms. It is hopeless to have a political establishment when national societies in which “youre living in” actively frustrates you from participating in the political process.

African-Americans and African-American organizations have a long history of being apolitical, but this was not because withdrawing from politics was the best road to converge our goals. It was because the reality of our forced political disengagement compelled us to haunt other methods for engaging in society and fighting for civil rights.

In recent years, the easy-going access to the Internet and social media, and the prevalence of digital cameras on our mobile phones has manufactured it easier for African-Americans to communicate across the country and captivate instances of corruption. Yet taking the movement beyond the cyber and even in-person planning arrangement, and into the political realm is the next necessary step to build upon the progress of previous generations.

Despite the many concerns about the viability of the Black Lives Matter movement, it most certainly is not going away anytime soon, but it may resemble a motion from the 1960 s instead of the 2000 s. Nonetheless, for it to have the impact it hopes, it can still resemble a modern-day civil right move, but it will need to break free of its apolitical ideology, and fervently engage in this incredibly important presidential election.

Barrett Holmes Pitner is a Washington , D.C.-based columnist and correspondent who center predominantly on hasten, culture, and politics, but also affection to dabble in plays, recreation and business. His wreak has appeared in The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, National Journal, the Institute for War& Peace Reporting and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter @BarrettPitner or call his website barrettholmespitner.com .

Photo via Tony Webster / Flickr( CC BY 2.0 )

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