Black and white- always opposites, always different, always split. For centuries, African Americans have been looked down upon by the supposedly superior white race, having their opportunities and freedom limited due to the color of their skin. However, with current-day advancements, the will to fight for their rights has drastically increased as a result of many protests and causes. The rising Black Lives Matter movement decreases ignorance and inspires changes in social and economic norms across the world through passionate words and media exposure, publicly unmasking the racial injustices.
The Black Lives Matter movement drew widespread media attention and continues to be the spotlight thousands of eyes focus on. Despite the US being a developed country, colored citizens in the United States such as African-Americans experience brutality. Instead of being a bystander of the vicious events, this century introduces a new line of defense- social media. Social media now plays the most important role in the struggle towards change- allowing people to take a stance and protest for their rights. Data suggests that social media has led “23%” of their users to change their views on colored people because “of something they saw'' on one of these platforms (Perrin).
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| (Giorgi, Salvatore) |
The data directly reflects on the impact media has created on the viewers, leading them to the change of opinions. Utilizing books, TV shows, ads, and even movies as a weapon against hidden crimes, “pop culture has also influenced” the opinions of the public, working its way into “the conscience of a growing number” of people by exposing the ugly truth (Crutchfield). As a result of publicizing the events in books, kids or even teens who don’t have social media are now starting to learn from a young age of what America’s situation truly is, and the wider expansion of exposure allows people of all ages to gain enlightenment through not only books but also engaging shows. Ultimately, BLM inspires change through the media and helps promote equality by spreading awareness to multiple age and ethnic groups, persuading the public, and demanding change for a world where one is not defined by the color of their skin.
The fight for equality not only socially but also economically has increased as colored citizens of the United States, specifically African Americans, are tired of waiting for better jobs and educational opportunities. Protests regarding BLM have helped bigger corporations and businesses realize that the color of one’s skin doesn’t play a role in a person's career, rather their skills matter. This realization has helped the county’s black unemployment rate to fall “to a record low in August” as a “5.5% from 6%,” decreasing even further since 2019 as a result of the numerous petitions (Isidore). Many passionate words have been spoken about the economic status of African Americans, both pleading and demanding. As a result of the rising fame of BLM in the last quarter of 2019, the employment of both black men and women increased, proving that skin color and worth should not be correlated. Furthermore, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, black men ages 20 years and over hit their national lowest unemployment rates in November of 2019 at “5.1%” of their total population (Isidore). When it comes to black people in the office or at work, there is a stigma around them and a mentality in people of distrust towards them of not being able to do a job properly and so being unworthy. This is what BLM has fought to diminish; this sick and useless stereotype. BLM has helped change the nation economically and shape job opportunities in businesses for African-Americans who couldn’t have had a chance in the environment they lived in. Now they are making tiny steps into major strides for a world where one can thrive without being defined by the color of their skin.
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| Image from US Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Rising in the ranks from a simple hashtag in social media to public protests in America, the development of BLM influences and inspires acts of fighting back not just here, but internationally. What used to just be a rallying cry for just the black population in the USA has evoked others with dark skin in other nations or those belonging to other suppressed minority groups to speak up about the discriminations against them. Across the world in Sydney, Australia, protestors provide support for the Black Lives Matter movement and publicly “address...brutality” and injustice in the “treatment of indigenous groups,” drawing inspiration from objections here (Da Silva). This is change. In a world where the sufferings of the inferior were hidden behind glorified masks, BLM exposes the truth and ignites other cultural groups to do the same- to stand and fight for the rights they deserve. Likewise, many discriminated dark-skinned women from India gain new perspectives and new courage from the movement, leading them to speak out against the racist beauty products and the lack of dark-skinned representation. Products that used to promote only fair skin are now “changing the names” that offer bias and offense and are even “discontinuing… [their] skin-lightening products” due to increasing petitions and debates (Shapiro). Many beauty products indirectly promote racist opinions and insecurity. BLM now stimulates petitions to rise and people in many developing countries to also join the fight to not only voice out grievances but also act upon their desires for a world where one is not defined by the color of their skin.
Ultimately, through public views and media platforms, the movement Black Lives Matter has invoked change in the economic and social statuses of not only African Americans but people of all color and ethnicities around the world, persuading them to make lasting changes.
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