The Voice of the Movement

Media has always played a huge role in social movements but the widespread use of social media has undoubtably affected the way that social movements are propagated. Movements, like “Black Lives Matter,” have successfully used social media to accumulate followers and gain publicity. It is amazing to me how this whole movement has taken shape from just some photos and tweets to a movement now that is so well known and powerful. Our country has been so affected by this movement that the 2016 presidential candidates are speaking about the movement and addressing some of the concerns of this huge population of people.

What is so awesome about “Black Lives Matter” is how it allows for so many voices to come through and with no one primary leader the movement feels even bigger and stronger. Voices from all over the country are speaking out to share experiences that they have had. A movement that is so reliant on social media does run the risk of being incoherent and chaotic. There are such a wide range of opinions and ways of expressing them that I think that sometimes the message can get lost. I am so excited to listen to Daunasia Yancey talk about how she used social media to work in favor of the movement instead of diluting their message. The whole movement and the message of the movement is in the hands of so many people and that makes it so incredibly difficult to control and unite the message of the movement. Im very curious to hear about how they, as a movement, dealt with and incorporated all of these different people and opinions.