Twitter's Impact on Social Justice

The Black Lives Matter movement first social media initially used Facebook, however, Twitter was the outlet where it gained plenty of momentum. Social media introduces an innovative and convenient to increase activism. Some even refer the social media outlet as Black Twitter due to how African Americans to raise awareness of issues affecting the black community and increase knowledge of culture (Wortham, 2016).

According to Black Past, an online historical archive, "Black Lives Matter drew inspiration from the 1960s civil rights movement...they used newly developed social media to reach thousands of like-minded people across the nation quickly to create a black social justice movement that reject the charismatic male-centered, top-down movement structure that had been the model for most previous efforts."

Twitter influences activism compared to older era of civil rights movements:
-providing accurate news (fact-check news)
-convenient way to organize and rally protesters
-broadcast events
-including members of the LGBT community
-provides a platform for stories not covered by mainstream media

Jelani Cobb, professor of journalism at Columbia University, said that it's as vital as television was to the civil rights  movement of the 1960s. This newest generation of the movement is defined by an inability to look away and a savvy about the power of images to effect change.

Other movements that gained momentum through Twitter:
-Arab Spring in 2010
-Occupy Wall Street in 2011

The Trayvon Martin Case

Alicia Garza, a 32-year-old writer,was in an Oakland bar as the news came through that George Zimmerman had been cleared of charges for the murder of Trayvon Martin.  Garza wrote in a status on Facebook, "Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter."

Black Tweets Matter by Jenna Wortham