With racism dating back to the 17th Century, it is a well-known and extremely wide-spread issue. Here at Exist, we were shocked and saddened to hear the news of George Floyd, a man in Minneapolis, being killed by a white police officer. We believe that every race and ethnic group is important and matters equally, and although the tragedy took place in America, we believe that everybody can personally do more to solve the inequality issue in countries elsewhere.
Thanks to the ever-evolving social media platforms, news events have never been able to spread quicker or reach more people than today. Social media, such as Instagram, has meant that the news of George Floyd rapidly circulated to any individual who owns an account, exposing the inequality and raising awareness much quicker than any 10 o’clock news programme on the television.
Social media is an extremely important tool when it comes to highlighting the societal issues we currently have, giving every person with access to the internet an opportunity to get involved, become educated and form opinions on the global crisis. Social media has allowed this very real struggle of racial inequality to be fought for more effectively than ever before, meaning we can finally rally enough support to end the battle of black discrimination forever.
With 90% of teenagers having used some kind of social media, whether this is Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat, we are able to raise awareness and gather supporters and help from the local community almost instantly.
There are several ways people can become involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, whether this is through signing petitions fighting for change such as on Change.Org, donating money to help the movement through the many available sites, or going out into your local town to peacefully protest and raise awareness.
Just some examples of where protests are taking place are Reading, Henley on Thames and Hyde Park in London. Thanks to platforms such as these, now is the time to get involved and stand up for justice and freedom. With so many different opportunities and ways to help, there really is no excuse to not participate in such a powerful and passionate movement, so we can all come together to finally gain equality for black lives.
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