Research Paper on Black Lives Matter Movement

Introduction

While the #BlackLivesMatter movement was formed in response to police violence against Black people, the campaign generally advocates for equality, diversity, justice, and aggregate value for all citizens irrespective of color. Given the objectives of the Black Lives Movement, this report reviews the representation of the movement in the media and how the same has affected the delivery of services. It explores how news frames influence the description of social issues facing blacks in the American society. The report begins by offering a chronological account of the BLM movement before outlining policy reforms to improve social justice and equity. By using a critical race theory lens framework, this report highlights how the Black Lives Movement has promoted social justice.

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Background

In the 21st century, the human rights equality movement has focused on three predominant demographics: black lives, women, and LGBT community (King, 2016). The story of Travon Martin has placed great emphasis on the value of black lives in modern America as well as across the globe. The Black Lives Matter movement characteristically campaigns for the emancipation of blacks by portraying the subjugation of human rights of blacks. Furthermore, the Black Lives movement explores how state machinery and social structures contribute towards the constriction of the human rights space concerning blacks. In particular, the Black lives movement dwells on police biases and structured violence against Black people. The campaign challenges the gross violations and blatant disregard for the inherent dignity of blacks. It seeks to affirm the dignity of black lives through political processes, behavioral change, and restorative justice. Thus, the Black Lives movement explores the theme of human rights and dignity through a world where the rights of black people are both disregarded and abused.

In From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, Elizabeth Day chronicles the birth, and nascent stages of the Black Lives Matter movement (Day, 2015). She notes that the internal reflection of Garza after the acquittal of George Zimmerman that blacks were inferior citizens led to the birth of the BLM. The acquittal was rife with racism and social injustices against blacks.

Due to human rights concern, the targeted violence against Black people in America has attracted substantial interest in the media and policy process. However, the multiplicity of news frames leads to different public reactions to the discourse on the rights of Black people. Cognizant that police violence is one of the most dominant forms of violence against blacks, the Black lives movement was started to advocate for the dignity and human rights of Black people in America. The Black Lives Matter was formed as a social protest against the George Zimmerman's release. The 2014 shooting of Michael Brown further exacerbated the Florida shooting of Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman was exonerated for the murder of Trayvon Martin- a black youth whom he had shot dead. Of note, the acquittal was instigated by a jury impaneled of white people. The acquittal prompted massive protests. The protesters expressed anger over the inadequacy of the American legal system at stemming racial profiling and violations of the rights of blacks.

A favorite theme for the BLM is human rights campaign. According to Day, Black Lives Matter movement is a movement that is anchored on social justice and the need to end endemic oppression and racial injustices (Day, 2015). Writing from a critical race theory perspective, Day observes that there is structural discrimination against black Americans. She portrays the saddening statistics of the systemic inequality in access to education and housing. Of note, a significant proportion of African Americans remain disenfranchised because of felony convictions. At the same time, it becomes difficult for former convicts to find employment thus increasing poverty among black American communities.

The news frame of black lives in media transcend conventional media to include digital media. Human rights advocates leverage online media to disseminate real-time and verifiable information. Digital media is advantageous than traditional media because of its pervasive reach and crowdsourced data. On the other hand, conventional media channels such as TV are guilty of misrepresentation of facts. For instance, real-time tweets during BLM demonstrations show that police used tear gas and rubber bullets on protestors. TV news often leaves out items on police brutality during peaceful protests.

One prism through which one can understand BLM is through the call for justice as demonstrated by the Ferguson killing of Michael Brown. As Wesley Lowery (2016) points out, the protests following the death of Michael Brown evince the deep-seated distrust that the residents have in the police tasked with protecting them. As a result of the dysfunctional relationship between the police and the people, there is a need to acknowledge that race affects public administration of justice (Gates, 2018). Of note, the Mike Brown killing reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter with the BLM been thrust into the limelight through the increased media involvement. Indeed "Ferguson would mark the arrival on the national stage of a new generation of black political activists" (Lowery, 2016, p. 12). Therefore, the BLM is more of a campaign for increased liberties for African Americans.

The Ferguson killing, observes Lowery, should not be viewed in isolation from past oppression of black lives. By juxtaposing the BLM matches in Ferguson against the 1935 Harlem riot, Lowery manages to show that the American society has entrenched and perpetuated "deep systemic inequality"CITATION Low16 \p 27 \l 1033 (Lowery, 2016, p. 27). By looking at the shooting of Brown against the historical injustices meted on African American people, Lowery (2017) observes that the inferiority and marginalization of black people is a strong determinant in the apathy against police. While the BLM movement is concerned with the dignity of the black people, the All Lives Matter has emerged as a competing entity that waters down the efforts of the BLM movement. Alicia Garza (2014) criticizes social campaigns such as All Lives Matter for masking the struggle against racial injustices in African American communities. The emergence of All Lives Matter and biased reporting in the media create the need for an objective presentation of structural inequalities in the media.

The subjective violence against black people comes full circle in the skewed justification of police violence against black people. After the police separate circulated blurry photos of Mike Brown in a perceived act of stealing, Taylor observes that the media proceeded to label Mike Brown by othering him as a criminal (Lowery, 2016). Nicholas Kristof's tweet further developed the narrative of the polar nature of Mike Brown to the effect that most of the slain black people were criminals instead of innocents. By tying culpability to race, the media advance the stereotype that black people are inferior to the White people (Taylor, 2016). While the press had previously condemned police violence against Blacks, it negated its efforts in promoting the rights of black power by establishing the dichotomy of good and bad black victims. Therefore, the labeling of black as evil and inferior people demonizes African Americans thus justifying police brutality.

While the American civil war did not free black people into liberation, the Black Lives Matter seeks to optimize the liberties of African Americans. According to Taylor (2016), Black people live in communities characterized by economic inequalities and social inequities. Black mainstream media also furthers the thematic exploration of black people as objects of labor production. In this light, employers should provide a working environment that respects the rights of employees irrespective of race. Of note, racial profiling exposes African Americans to economic inequalities (Gates, 2016). Therefore, racial profiling directly contributes to high poverty levels among the households of African Americans. Cognizance of the causality between liberty and development, Taylor (2016) posits that human services should promote an equitable society with respect for socioeconomic and political rights. In this light, public employment agencies and private firms are increasingly adopting equal employment measures in their hiring processes.

The vigilance of the BLM movement has promoted responsible policing. Law enforcement officers are likely to act within the law to avoid chastisement and labeling. With regards to human rights, the BLM movement has promoted inclusion. The campaign accepts members even from the LGBT community. While media activism has polarized people on racial lines, most people opine that the BLM movement is necessary for modeling policy and legislative changes. In particular, the BLM movement is a human rights revolution that maximizes the capacity of individuals to participate in policy process by exerting pressure on the policymakers.

Conclusion

By accentuating the BLM and the issues it advocates for, this paper recognizes the centrality of the media in the success of the BLM. Additionally, the article observes that BLM primarily relies on online media to create awareness on social issues affecting black people. Hence the media has a significant role to play in the BLM movement. While the BLM advocates for the protection and promotion of human rights, reforms should be implemented in a holistic manner that does not negate the enjoyment or limitation of rights among the non-discriminated population. Of note, the success of the BLM campaigns hinges on progressive realization of rights as opposed to the immediate provision of such rights.

Overall, media frames have an enormous impact on the Black Lives Matter movement. While episodic frames in the media create a vibrant discourse on the structural injustices facing black people, biased reporting affects the effectiveness of media frames on black people in siring policy changes. The thematic framing of human rights and systemic exclusion of black people in the socioeconomic processes promotes poverty and wealth inequities. Based on the above, the Black Lives Matter movement has promoted social justice and respect for human rights.

References

Day, E. (2015). #BlackLivesMatter: the birth of a new civil rights movement. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movementGarza, A. (2014). A herstory of the# BlackLivesMatter movement by Alicia Garza. The Feminist Wire, 7.

Gates, H. L. (2018). Thirteen ways of looking at a black man. In Color-Class-Identity (pp. 11-23). Routledge.

King, D. K. (2016). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a Black feminist ideology. In Race, Gender and Class (pp. 36-57). Routledge.

Lowery, W. (2016). They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement. Little Brown.

Taylor, K.-Y. (2016). From# BlackLivesMatter to black liberation. Haymarket Books.