Death of George Floyd
The killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 sparked the Black Lives Matter movement to become one of the “biggest racial justice protests in the United States since the Civil Rights Movement”. The death of Floyd was the last straw as society was very upset and demanded justice for the indescribable actions that caused an unarmed black man to be killed. The media can’t continue making the same mistakes and let the American people choose what they want to believe in. The objective of the Black Lives Matter movement is to call for racial justice for African Americans and the end of racial injustice from the police force.
The acts of police officer Derek Chauvin who killed George Floyd demonstrated that the United States still has fundamental racism against the African American community from its police force. “The impact of social media on the BLM movement has been astronomical, as it was not only the vehicle that gave rise to justice for George Floyd’s murder but also that which gave a voice to those who have been ignored and overlooked in the criminal justice system. While there is still a long way to go, the use of social media has been essential in highlighting the changes that need to be made in law enforcement and criminal justice policies’’ (Journal of High Technology Law). The only way journalists and the media can help end racial discrimination is by understanding systemic racism. Media platforms have the power to provide a clear picture to society on how they should genuinely see law enforcement and look to end police brutality.
Derek Chauvin’s actions were an example of racial discrimination that we as a society still face, and life would’ve been saved if he listened when Floyd kept repeating, “I can’t breathe.” The death of George Floyd was a landmark event within the United States as it called for change within society to stop the hardships against African Americans. “The renewed attention and activism that George Floyd’s death inspired in 2020 was possible because video images and social media were effectively harnessed to transform injuries and outrages that were well-known within Black communities into injustices that could no longer be ignored by the broader population. Social media users leveraged the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to shift the narrative and tell a story that was not being shared in mainstream media” (Williams). Mainstream media has shown how important the Black Lives Matter movement is to help change our culture and mindset.
Floyd’s death caused the Black Lives Matter to ignite and grow to another level as society was done with the constant injustice and brutality. The Black Lives Matter movement has become the only way that society can change for the better, and the media need to support it rather than act against it.
Williams, Jamillah Bowman, et al. “#Blacklivesmatter-Getting from Contemporary Social Movements to Structural Change.” California Law Review, 3 June 2021, https://www.californialawreview.org/blacklivesmatter-getting-from-contemporary-social-movements-to-structural-change/.
Jhtl. “More Than Just A Hashtag: The Influence of Social Media on the Societal Change of the Black Lives Matter Movement.” Journal of High Technology Law, 30 Sept. 2020, https://sites.suffolk.edu/jhtl/2020/09/25/more-than-just-a-hashtag-the-influence-of-social-media-on-the-societal-change-of-the-black-lives-matter-movement/.
