#BlackLivesMatter. #WhiteSupremacy. #BlackHistoryMonth.
These are all hashtags that can be commonly found on social media, accompanied by opinions from individuals or excerpts on articles revolving around racism. Scroll below to see the various ways that Black History Month has impacted social media.
NAACP
Throughout the month, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has been featuring various historical posts as well as current news about African-American culture on its social media accounts. In addition, to those who sign up, the NAACP sends a daily fact about Black History during the month of February via text or email. Scroll below to check out some of the tweets that the NAACP has posted throughout the month.
Sophomore Kyanna McGee is an active advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement and regularly uses Facebook regularly to voice her opinions.
Beyoncé’s “Formation”
Beyoncé recently released her new single “Formation,” a song with a strong nod to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The presence of the police and their treatment of African-Americans is especially emphasized throughout the music video, showing that her intentions were to send a clear message and not just release a catchy track. The song also promotes the empowerment of black women and characteristic black features.
During the Super Bowl, Beyoncé performed this song with a group of backup dancers, with the supposed intention of paying homage to the Black Panthers, a group that formed in 1966 to fight police brutality in Oakland.
This performance has received quite a bit of backlash, and is still a hot topic of discussion. For example, the Miami police union has voted to boycott Beyoncé’s upcoming concert in Miami as they claim that her performance at the Super Bowl was an attempt to further the divide between the police and black communities.
The music video has garnered over 28 million views on YouTube and has received both positive and negative reactions on social media from members of the white and black communities.
Some on social media support Beyoncé’s effort to empower black culture, while others have less positive reactions, saying that her intentions are to turn black communities against the law enforcement officials.
Click below to check out the rest of our Black History Month coverage.
