I have been fortunate enough to grow up in an age where social media is used heavily. In the most recent months, many people have used their social media accounts to shine a light on the Black Lives Matter Movement. Without social media, think about the news that you would only be seeing.
Maybe it is just me but the news stations have not shown as much positive protesting that I have seen on social media. On the news, I have seen news reporters say that the looters are apart of the Black Lives Matter Movement which is not the case. The Black Lives Matter Movement is a peaceful movement with diverse supporters who want to see inequality eradicated.
On my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok accounts, I have been seeing the positive impact protesting and donations have done. Specifically, on TikTok, there was a video showing black-owned brands you can buy from Target. The brands were: The honey pot company, Carol's Daughter, Shea Moisture, Bevel Shaving, and Partake Cookies.
These products and many others would have never been noticed on a higher scale without the use of social media! There were also lots of posts about defunding the police and what that means. For many uneducated people, there are many questions and concerns that come to mind.
Like, why would you defund the people are supposed to keep everyone safe? The thing is, some police officers are not keeping everyone safe. African Americans/Black people are being targeted and killed for minor expenses that a white person would be let off for and still live and that is the problem.
When people say defund the police it means distributing the money to the schooling system, local hospitals, and/or putting the money into communities where there is work needed to be done. If you look at public school lunches in America compared to other countries there is a great difference because those other countries see where the money is most beneficial.
The public school system needs money way more than the police who have used the equipment to terrorize peaceful civilians during a protest. Another example would be giving aid to hospitals. There were millions of people dying in America from COVID but there was not great aid in helping many hospitals have the necessary tools to keep everyone alive.
But as soon as George Floyd died, it seemed like America had all the money in the world to equip every officer in the garments used. But there were people before who could not even get proper medical attention. Why wasn't the money given to those in most need rather than police officers who have continued to abuse their position to continue racial injustice?
The Black Lives Matter Movement, talks about defunding the police, seeing peaceful protest and all the positive impact it has on the world has had a significantly larger impact because of social media. Social platforms have forced people to see what is going on and how we should be apart of the change today.
I post on my Instagram story to make sure my friends and followers see the injustice the black people have been facing for centuries but only has become openly recognized on a larger scale now. I hope that social media continues to influence my generation and many more on social media platforms to spread the word and create change. Black Lives Matter is not a trend but a movement!
