Online activism
Online activism to me is using your social media platforms to make a change and express issues that are relevant in this world. For me, it is something that leads to effective change. I also think it tends to have a positive effect on other people and gives them the awareness to know what is happening around them. I think this ties in closely with digital leadership because it means that people are speaking up and sharing their story on an issue that is very important. It only takes one person to share something, in order other people to hear about it, and come together around things that are unjust. We all have the power to spark change and share our own stories on issues that are relevant.
I think we have so much power behind our phones and computers to create change. We can share our own story when talking about a relevant topic, or share other new stories that apply to the issue. We have so much access to the internet. It gives us the ability to post and see things at any given moment. The thing about posts and news is that they spread so quickly, and I believe it can be so effective on various platforms. People can spread change through visual components. You can post content of a group of people expressing a movement’s beliefs. You can also share photos of people posting graphic design visuals. Twitter is one great way to hear new ideas and have open conversations with other people. Hashtags are also very powerful tools because they have a greater impact around the world. We may not be aware of it, but there are so many different things that we can do to have a voice online to create change on issues that matter.
Leslie Mac started the hashtag “WhereIsLavishReynolds. She is someone who is seen as the founder of the Ferguson Response Network and who has a record of activism in the Black Lives Matter movement (BBC, 2016) Lavish Reynolds and her daughter were in a car with her boyfriend Philando Castile, who were pulled over in St. Paul by the police. The boyfriend was shot for no reason and Lavish has live-streamed the whole video right after it happened. After the incident Lavish and her daughter were taken in the back of the police car. The #WhereIsLavishReynolds trended on media after the incident happened. Leslie created this hashtag to show the suspicion that Reynolds and her daughter were not safe as they were taken into custody.
BBC.(2016, July 07). Philando Castile death: Show of support for LAVISH REYNOLDS. Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-36737242
