#BlackLivesMatter and Online Activism

There has been a rise in activism that happens in online spaces. Online activism allows the information from the movement to be easily accessible to the individuals who are interested in it. By using the online space, it allows the movement to gain new allies, and for different people to share their opinions about the movement. Although there may be some individuals who don’t actually take steps to guide the movement further, the number of individuals who are truly passionate about the movement is higher than those who are going with the fad of the movement.

#BlackLivesMatter has been one of the most talked about and controversial movements in the United States for the past couple of years. The movement started after the George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin trial. #BlackLivesMatter has become a national movement, as well as a known phrase in many places in America. If it weren’t for the overextending power of the Internet, many individuals would not know the background of this movement, and they may not be able to participate in this movement either.

Activism is the intentional action to bring about social and political change. #BlackLivesMatter promotes activism because the movement is attempting to bring about social change and political change by telling the United States of America that Black lives in fact do matter. The founders of the movement felt like there were more than enough casualties of Black Americans in our current society.

Although the well-known hash-tag seems to be straightforward, there are a lot of different meanings that the individual can infer from the hashtag. The use of the hashtag may not seem to be actively making a change for the movement, but the hashtag is bringing awareness to the movement and what the movement stands for. In my opinion, I don’t think that activism is only about physically taking action and protesting. Activism can be simply making other individuals aware of the movement and what the movement stands for. As long as the individual is truly passionate about the movement and wants to make a difference in any way that they can, I think that it counts as activism.

#BlackLivesMatter have organized many protests that plague the injustices of African Americans. The movement also has a strong presence on Black Twitter.

The mission statement for the website goes as this:

“Black Lives Matter is a chapter-based national organization working for the validity of Black life. We are working to (re)build the Black liberation movement.

This is Not a Moment, but a Movement.”