A First Perspective: Black Lives Matter

5:27 PM A Student's Perspective 0 Comments

A Student’s Perspective is a blog written by myself, Garrick Johnson and Joseph Badaan, both students currently attending Colorado State University. We plan to examine the #BlackLivesMatter social movement through online resources such as social media. We were both drawn to this topic because it has been such a polarizing social movement for the past few years. It has also come at a time whereby social movements can grow exponentially due to the power of virtual communication and culture. This allows us to further understand just how digital mediums can effect, mold and escalate such a cause.

Another reason both Joseph and I were interested in the #BlackLivesMatter movement is because we are able to give a unique and unbiased perspective on the whole issue. Joseph being from Australia will give an international perspective, one which is aware of the origin yet not affected by the media which has brought this matter to light so effectively throughout America. On the other hand I hope to give a different perspective as someone who has been 'outside looking in'.

As the movement has grown over the years we hope to give our readers an intelligent and unbiased analysis of the powerful social movement that is Black Lives Matter.

For our readers who may not know much about the Black Lives Matter movement, we hope this quick introduction catches you up to speed. The movement began in 2013 when the twitter hashtag #BlackLivesMatter blew into the online social sphere. This social media wildfire was sparked by the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman cases. Since these occurrences few more African American deaths transpired leading to great outcries throughout social media.
The movement was founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi who have successfully grown this issue into a significant social media powerhouse. The BLM movement continues to operate strongly online whilst demonstrations and protests occur on the streets. But has it been successful? As Blow (2015) states, the issue may have been raised but it has not been resolved.

In our following blog posts we will begin to dive deeper into the power of digital communications, their effect on social movements (particularly that of #BlackLivesMatter) and whether they can truly make a movement successful.

PS: Connect online to our social media pages to stay constantly updated! Also be sure to check out the ‘quick links’ tab for further info on the matter