Social Justice and the Media

Wednesday, it was announced that Ferguson, Missouri reached an agreement with the Department of Justice concerning the city's police force. This story follows up on the riots that took place in late summer 2014 after the death of Mike Brown. His death began a social media revolution concerning police brutality and its relationship with racial discrimination. After images of Brown's body lying in the streets went viral, Ferguson residents began protesting. The city's police force reacted violently with riot gear and tear gas, causing uprisings that lasted over two weeks. Since then, several other cases of unwarranted police brutality against people of colour have been brought to media attention, sparking social justice reactions such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Protesters in Ferguson

The recent social media attention on police and blacks is a great example of the way that technology has changed the way we think. Personally, I find it terrifying to think that police brutality has been going on for decades with little to no attention. Without social media spreading news like wildfire, we may never have been made aware of such a daunting issue in our society. Social media changes the way that we think- whenever something is happening, people jump to take a picture or video and post it to whatever platforms they prefer. This means that there are numerous first-hand accounts being shared with the world in mere moments. Suddenly, people can not get away with the same things that they did before. Like Kasy said in her recent blog post, Big Brother is watching.

It blows my mind how social media has been turned into such an influential tool for news and grassroots movements. The United States are still reeling from Brown's death and more examples show up every day, all thanks to the immediate access to information. Issues that have been hidden for years are very suddenly being brought to light. The world is changing as quickly as technology is, with new ways to communicate discovered every day.

Until next time!

Kathryn

Additional information regarding Ferguson's agreement with DOJ: NBC New York Times USA Today