The Impact Of Technology On American Activism

More than 26 million Americans took part in the Black Lives Matter protests. Of these, close to half a million protested in 550 spots on a single day on June 6. 

The protests against police violence and racial profiling continue to receive tons of support from politicians, celebrities, and corporate America alike. Black Lives Matter in bright yellow adorned the road to the White House.

There’s been a flood of support from organizations such as the NFL and NASCAR, which has encouraged supporters who would have been sitting on the sidelines to get onboard the protest train. Over 95% of counties in the U.S. that have joined the protests are majority white.

Republican Mitt Romney used his Twitter handle to show his support for the movement. Such an act was unimaginable in 2013 when the Black Live Matter hashtag (#BLM) began after the acquittal of teenager Trayvon Martin’s shooter.

According to Twitter, the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag has had over 8 million tweets, which is an astronomical show of support compared to the 146,000 tweets it had at its peak in 2014.

Many African-Americans are in awe of the widespread reach of the ongoing black liberation movement. Their cries are finally reverberating across the world as people from different countries form their own BLM protests.

The Link Between Social Movement and Technology

The civil rights movements of the ’60s had a difficult time getting out the word on beatings, arrests, or danger out. Phone booths were the only means of rapid communication. Switchboard operators would block their calls, so they had to dial the Wide Area Telephone Service (WATS) instead.

The WATS line would patch them directly to an organizing committee or civil rights worker. The worker would then aggregate all communication into a WATS reports and mail it to civil rights movement leaders. It took a lot of effort, risk, and infrastructure to bring awareness of the racial biases rampant in the Jim Crow South.

A social movement is at the mercy of the technology available to it. Communication technology will, for instance, affect its tactics, goals, and media rhetoric. As an illustration, on March 7, 1965, the Selma voter’s rights marchers needed more than the WATS line to create awareness.

An ABC News crew had to ferry film canisters past Highway 80 police blockades to the airport. In New York, the canisters were aired on the evening news to build support from 48 million watching Americans.

After the Selma march, MLK quipped that the civil rights movement would now air their grievances in the “glaring light of the television.”

Social Media Platforms Supporting Social Activism

Human rights movements today have embraced mass communication tools; basing their media strategy on their use. With the right platform, the activist can quickly get the word out, posting videos of arrests or protests on Instagram or Facebook.

You can use private chats and video platforms such as GroupMe or Zoom to avoid snoops or trolls. The day’s activists can send messages via WhatsApp or SMS to mobilize groups of people fast when a situation arises. To mobilize tons of online support, simply make your Twitter hashtag trend.

In addition, if you need the heavy guns and a whole nation to swerve hard to your plea, talk to an apex activist or influencer on a social media platform and reach millions of people fast. The communication tools that aid fights for freedom today are diverse. They are unique from any other that have existed in the struggles of the past.

Benefits that Technology Brings to the American Freedoms Struggle

Decentralization

The Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s to 1970’s can look monolithic compared to 2020’s BLM, MeToo, or the END IT movements. There are no college-based Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committees that coordinate activism. The scene today is well-coordinated but decentralized.

Top-down organizations, with a vulnerable leader at the top of it, are outdated. It is difficult to tell who is the organizer of a protest in 2020. The Black Lives Matter organization only provides guidance materials and frameworks to assist new activists. It does not necessarily direct all protests.

All these new activists need to do is share their protest details on social media to a massive audience to create awareness.

Increased efficiency

Social media and new communication technologies have not only decentralized activism but they’ve also made it more effective. Communication at the speed of light has been critical to 2020’s nationwide protests. As an illustration, the June 7 BLM protesters flooded Times Square only to find it barricaded.

By consulting Instagram stories with real-time updates from celebrity accounts like Erykah Badu, Lamar, and Nas’, they quickly joined the relocating protesters on 42nd Street. The ability to quickly spread George Floyd’s video was also the reason why his death was not swept under the rug as had been done to countless other victims of racial injustice in the past.

A new generation of activists

The use of technology has also birthed a new generation of protesters; the Gen Z. These young people have taken to Instagram and TikTok like a swarm; rallying people to the streets and transferring actions and thoughts that are pushing for policy change.

The Gen Z on TikTok has, for instance, taken it upon themselves to remodel allyship. They research, point out, and confront racism in their own settings. For example, 15-year-old Izabella’s TikTok viral video shows her confronting her parents’ frustrating responses to racism.

Heightened public participation

The technology has also increased public participation in activism and social change in the quest for American Freedoms for all. The 2017 Women’s March, for instance, had close to five million attendees in a day. The #MeToo movement is over a decade old, a grassroots effort started by Tarana Burke.

The viral rallying cry for millions of women and men globally picked up momentum when Alyssa Milano tweeted about the blatant abuse of power in workplaces. The #MeToo on women’s rights has led to a public discussion on sexual abuse and will lead to the building of legal and policy goals to avert such violations in the future.

Data by Pew Research shows the hashtag has been in use over 19 million times since the actor’s tweet. Celebrities and survivors have shared their heartbreaking abuse stories. The potent #MeToo movement has been so resolved that in February 2020, Harvey Weinstein - a powerful, wealthy Hollywood movie producer- was convicted for rape and went to present.

The evolution of social media

Social media has, without a doubt, positively impacted activism. However, its use as a vehicle that drives social change is also leading to its evolution. These platforms are changing from superficial and recreational tools to revolutionary and performative in nature.

In the past, social media has been accused of encouraging ‘slacktivism’ and abetting social injustices and abuses. It is now a robust tool for change, not only offering live and raw information or summoning protestors but taking a stand as well.

Twitter, for instance, has a grant for programs that address racial inequality. LinkedIn is helping its black users share their perspectives. At the same time, YouTube has a $1 million cash pledge to support organizations that address injustice.

Shaping Modern Protest Movements

Eight minutes and 46 seconds of video - that’s all it took to kick- start the racial reckoning in America. Derek Chauvin, a police officer, knelt on George Floyd’s neck, pressing the life out of him. 

The video recording of Rodney King’s beating by police in 1991 could not have had the same effect without the social media of today. King’s beating was aired on television, similar to earlier episodes of brutality against African Americans in the 1960’s. The criminal case dismissal of the police who beat Rodney King -one year after the event- launched weeks of protests and riots, but not at these current levels of shared discussion, coalition, coordination, immediacy and fund- raising support.

Darnella Frazier, a teenage bystander, recorded the Geoge Floyd altercation and shared it on Facebook.. The rest is history.

The angst-inducing video has increased activism against racial and other human rights injustices leading to what analytics and scholars say is the largest movement in the nation’s history. 

At the heart of the ongoing fight for freedom and equality in America are communication technology and social media platforms.