As we all know social media has tremendous power in promoting social change. It is an effective tool for moving information and moving it fast. It is so good at moving information in fact, that it has brought a lot of information to my eyes that quite frankly: pisses me off.
It seems that every other day there is a video of an African American being harassed by an officer, being treated lesser than his white counterpart, or being portrayed as criminals or juveniles. The worst part about it? White people let it happen. Don't believe me? Go to YouTube, click the search bar and type in "Why black people", but then don't hit search, just wait and see what your suggested results are.
Some of us think that we don't have a voice, some of us are afraid we will be judged if we speak up, and some of us straight up think blacks are a lesser being.
Well I am here to tell you right now, that it does not matter if a man is white, black, latino, or any other race; every last one of us is an equal, no one greater than the other. And for you out there that are scared to speak up? Know that every person has a voice in this and that right now you have the most powerful tool that you could ever have to make a difference right in front of you: The Internet.
If there is going to be change in this country the only way it is going to happen is if we create a voice so loud, so undeniable, so constant, that our government cannot ignore it any longer. This change needs to happen and it needs to happen now. I challenge every one of you that reads this to go right now to social media and post why #BlackLivesMatter to you. You have the power to make a difference, but if you read this and ignore it you are offending not only me, but the Constitution of this great United States of America; the same Constitution that guarantees every man be treated as an equal.
The power is in your hands, don't waste it.
This is awesome, and incredibly ironic that you posted this blog today. I just wrote my Wiki post about the concept of "trending" and how hashtagging is a huge part of it -- and I used #BlackLivesMatter as my example, because it has been so powerful already, and is going to continue to be instrumental to the fight to ultimately end racism, particularly within the police force, permanently.
ReplyDeleteThis is also incredibly well written, and the call to action with your own example at the end is just perfect. Great job.