Black Lives Matter
This week we cover not only the Black Lives Matter movement, but also the “All Lives Matter” response and (most recently) “Living While Black”—the spate of black people reported to the police for doing nothing wrong.
Monday: Which Lives Matter?
In Aug 2016, the NYTimes provided a useful history of BLM, with a focus on the rise of the Twitter hashtag. Read that piece, then follow up by doing one of the following:
- Read up on several of the deaths that contributed to the rise of BLM: Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Laquan McDonald, and Tamir Rice, among others. What patterns stand out? Write a ¶ identifying a key pattern that leads you to some insight about the racial tensions, police practices, or protest methods (whether via social media or in the street).
- Find a compelling opinion piece discussing BLM and bring its conclusions to our attention in a brief summary (include a link).
- Find news coverage or an opinion piece discussing the counter-protest of “All Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter” bring its findings to our attention in a brief summary (include a link).
- Find a political protest organization that’s taking on the topic of “BLM” and bring its tactics to our attention (brief summary + link).
Friday: Caught for Catching Someone
Just a week ago, the NYTimes reported on a white woman who harassed a black man living in her apartment complex. She called the police to report him as a suspicious stranger; he posted to Facebook. As the article’s author notes, this is just the latest in a series of similar encounters: links in the article lead to others with links to even more examples. These stories often end in the public humiliation of the overeager 911-dialer, some of whom have lost their jobs in the ensuing storm of social-media outrage. Read the article linked above then do one of the following:
- Follow the links embedded in the NYTimes article to read up on other instances. What patterns stand out? Write a ¶ identifying a key pattern that leads you to some insight about (a) why these incidents keep happening so frequently or (b) why these incidents draw such a reliable response from journalists and their readers.
- Find a compelling opinion piece discussing the “Living While Black” phenomenon and bring its conclusions to our attention in a brief summary (include a link).
- Find a political protest organization discussing “LWB” and bring its tactics to our attention (brief summary + link).