Citation

Ray R, Brown M, Fraistat N, Summers E. Ethn. Racial Stud. 2017; 40(11): 1797-1813.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/01419870.2017.1335422

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recent events related to police brutality and the evolution of #BlackLivesMatter provides an empirical case to explore the vitality of social media data for social movements and the evolution of collective identities. Social media data provide a portal into how organizing and communicating generate narratives that survive over time. We analyse 31.65 million tweets about Ferguson across four meaningful time periods: the death of Michael Brown, the non-indictment of police officer Darren Wilson, the Department of Justice report on Ferguson, and the one year aftermath of Brown's death. Our analysis shows that #BlackLivesMatter evolved in concert with protests opposing police brutality occurring on the ground. We also show how #TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) has operated as the primary counter narrative to #BlackLivesMatter. We conclude by discussing the implications our research has for the #BlackLivesMatter movement and increased political polarization following the election of Donald Trump.

Language: en

Keywords

#BlackLivesMatter; Race; social media; social movements