When Joe gave his lecture a few weeks it brought up some interesting ideas, but I didn’t imagine just how relevant it would become a few weeks later.
With the help of the internet and other technology, protests against systemic racism have spread across the US and the world. Oppression of African Americans has become a national issue in the US. However, activists globally have adapted the theme and focused on local issues – such as NZ’s protest which was also against armed police trials. The internet has helped protesters across the world to unite and mobilise. There are certainly issues with spreading videos across social media of black people being brutalised, and these should be addressed. However, those videos have added to the Black Lives Matter movement’s momentum by forcing society to recognise what black people have to go through.
The way that the protests are covered is significant, and is already changing. The (mostly left-wing) sources that I get my news from, like the Guardian, have moved away from sensationalist images of burning buildings on their front page, and have focused more on the vast majority of protesters who are peaceful. This is certainly not the case for all media, however: as I write this, Fox News’ front page warns of “brazen, anti-cop anarchists” in Seattle. America’s ignorance of its violent history allows some media to paint the protesters as completely un-American – I think a lot of people in the US could do with a lecture from Joe.
While the perception of violence as destructive can delegitimise protesters, it can also be used to their advantage. Powerful images and videos have been shared of police and the military in full riot gear standing against peaceful protesters in everyday clothes (Image 1). The sharp juxtaposition between violent police and peaceful protesters has symbolic power and can help dispel some of the myths of the ‘mob’. It may be the police, not protesters, who are swept up in collective, violent madness.
Peaceful protests have had symbolic power before, such as in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Across the US, images were shared of peaceful protesters in Birmingham, many of whom were children, being attacked by police with dogs and fire hoses (Image 2). Just like current videos circulating the internet, the severity and brutality of the images struck “the conscience of white America” and many could no longer ignore what African Americans faced (1).
Importantly, Birmingham’s protests led to meaningful change: segregation ended a year later. It’s vital for the current protests to do the same. This is happening to an extent – some cities in the US have promised to change their police funding, and NZ has called off its armed police trial. However, the Black Lives Matter movement is also calling for a deeper structural change. Joe explained that revolutions occur when it looks like change should be happening, but it isn’t. Hopefully these protests will finally lead to the change that should happen.
(1). Schlesinger Jr., Arthur. A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1965. pp. 959-60
Image 1: A man confronts police officers during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Photo by Jae C. Hong
Image 2: Firemen turn fire hoses on demonstrators in Birmingham. Photo by Charles Moore, 1963.
