With the recent racial events of the past few years, black people around America and the world have started to become more socially and politically aware. Once seemingly blind to the acts of covert oppression, the murder of Michael Brown and the highly publicized riots in Ferguson, Mo. and Baltimore, Md. have shown the African-American population that the system of white supremacy is indeed an issue that must be confronted. Grassroots movements have been created in response to racist acts by bigoted white citizens and police officers, but none more powerful then “#BlackLivesMatter”.
Using our savvy social media skills, black millennials have championed this hashtag on Twitter and caused a viral discussion about the total disregard of black life in America. Of course, something so positive and forthright wouldn’t go on for long without opposition. Propaganda-based news organization Fox News and other conservative media personalities have used their platforms to challenge the good intentions of the “#BlackLivesMatter” campaign by branding it as a police hate group instead of a movement to further the call for black human rights. Even black police officers, seemingly more loyal to their jobs than their racial/ethnic identity, have joined in championing the new campaign “#AllLivesMatter”.
“#AllLivesMatter” was made in opposition to “#BlackLivesMatter,” with supporters of the latter completely diminishing everything that legitimate social activists and well-meaning people of color have been fighting for over the past year. It seems as if the “#BlackLivesMatter” movement is being attacked by conservative detractors and even members of the organization. Recently, there’s been public tension among some of the more notable members of the movement as collective heat has been put on them. Simply put, some of them now seem like opportunists who are using a legitimate social issue to get attention.
Read More At Fort Valley State University’s School Newspaper “The Peachite”:
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