This past week we debated whether or not the BLM movement had or needed a central leader. The question was raised whether or not social media and its ability to connect millions across the country with information instantaneously had replaced the need for a leader. When comparing the BLM movement with the civil rights movement I think that a central leader is not needed nearly as much today because of social media, but that’s not to say that a leader is not needed.
One thing I’ve noticed about the BLM movement in comparison to the civil rights movement is that there is less consistency when it comes to the approach protesters have taken. The civil rights movement for the most part utilized nonviolence under the guidance of Martin Luther King. BLM has had a large number of peaceful protests, but also a number of protests with widespread looting. These occurrences of looting have been met with criticism which not only has been used to focus attention away from the issues they are protesting about but has turned some people off from the movement. Perhaps if they had a central leader to organize protests and the approach they were taking consistency would reached and the movement would be stronger. On the other hand, social media has given way for a multitude of people to be a leader of the movement. I know that numerous NBA stars such as Lebron James, Chris Paul, and Jaylen Brown have been vocal in their support of the movement with Brown specifically driving 15 hours from Boston to lead a march in Atlanta. It is up to the people with power on social media to use their platform to promote change and perhaps find a consistent approach. I do not think that there is a definitive answer as to whether or not a leader is needed.
I’m not totally convinced that social media can replace a central leader. In my opinion, social media actually has the opposite effect; too many voices on social media leads to a disorganized, decentralized movement. In addition, social media is not an effective platform for creating social change.
Our current social media platforms can be used for most anything; from news to cat pictures, social media offers a tremendously wide range of material. When I go on instagram I am bombarded with slacktivism— people posting their support for social and political causes but doing little other than posting in the way of achieving the goals of those causes. For example, Blackout Tuesday on instagram may have called some attention to the BLM movement but realistically it did very little in the way of actually achieving anything for Black Americans. Further, I feel that the wide range of material on social media also results in an extremely wide range in opinion. Some influencers post in defense of the looting while many others condone it. Social media as a whole, in my opinion, is simply divisive and unproductive in bringing about social change.