One of the most significant social movements that has emerged within the past few years is #BlackLivesMatter. #BlackLivesMatter is a social justice movement focusing on issues like police brutality and disparities in the criminal justice system, as well as other manifestations of institutionalized racism. The movement started after George Zimmerman was acquitted on charges of murder of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin. While #BlackLivesMatter was not the first social movement to raise awareness about racial disparities in America, it is the first major social justice movement of its kind to capitalize specifically on social media to achieve its goals (Day, 2015). #BlackLivesMatter addresses issues of intersectionality of race, class, gender, and power, aiming to achieve broad but seemingly elusive social justice objectives.
Critics of #BlackLivesMatter have portrayed the group as a “security threat,” while others have responded the movement with mocking hashtags and countermovements like #alllivesmatter (Day, 2015). These criticisms are generally unfounded; #BlackLivesMatter has never claimed black lives matter more than other lives; but poignantly points out that black lives have historically mattered less than other lives in America since the birth of the nation. Calling #BlackLivesMatter a security threat can be viewed as a weak attempt to discredit the group, which disavows violence and uses traditional tactics of social movements such as the public protest.
Resolving conflicts between the social movement and its critics requires sensitivity and dialogue. The media needs to play a more active role in supporting #BlackLivesMatter by refusing to play into stereotypes that it is a movement that is inherently dangerous, showcasing instead the strength and courage of its female leaders, and showing how intersectional issues affect millions of Americans on a daily basis.
References
Black Lives Matter (2018). https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Day, E. (2015). #BlackLivesMatter. The Guardian. 19 July, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement
