The MLK, Jr. Essay Contest invited students to write an essay on the theme of Silence, Betrayal, and Social Justice. The contest was sponsored by the College of the Liberal Arts and the MLK, Jr. Commemoration Committee.
Adriana Lacy, a junior majoring in public relations and African American studies with a minor in digital media trends and analytics, placed third in the contest. Read her essay below.
When White Silence Becomes White Violence: The Betrayal of White Americans and Black Lives Matter in the Digital Era
On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old unarmed teen in Sanford, Florida. After a trying trial, Zimmerman was found not guilty of shooting Martin, and many Black organizers took to the streets to protest the injustice.
Online, the activism spread through a simple hashtag: #BlackLivesMatter. The brief, yet powerful hashtag explained to the world a thought that should not be questioned: Black lives matter. All black lives matter.
The hashtag set the tone for activism to appear in a new place: social media. Social media is quickly becoming ubiquitous in our society and the rise of social media activism, or hashtag activism for short, has gained much attention as of late.
With social media, there is now a new first step in the ladder of engagement, the advantages of this kind of activism is extensive, and hashtags play a big part. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have adopted hashtags as the centerpiece of their sites. These hashtags can direct a reader straight to the point of interest that they’re looking for. These hashtags have the power to trigger change and raise awareness about issues people care about while giving those around the world a chance to weigh in on important conversations.
It is important to note that social media cannot replace the realities of life. New York Times columnist Roger Cohen said it best: “To bear witness means being there — and that’s not free. No search engine gives you the smell of a crime, the tremor in the air, the eyes that smolder, or the cadence of a scream.”
But social media can expose the harsh conditions of refugees. Social media can expose police brutality that occurs almost daily in the United States. Social media can expose gender disparities. Social media can enlighten the masses on these occurrences and help the process to eradicate these issues.
However, with the era of Donald Trump and the alt-right, social media has given a platform for hate, racism, and white silence. With popular sites such as Twitter providing almost no sort of security against behavior like this, many white people have been able to spew hate like never before, hiding behind a hyper-nationalist photo or generic Twitter egg.
But a lot of this racism and betrayal hasn’t taken these extreme measures. Many times, the white betrayal can be seen in the form of passive aggressive facebook statuses or more importantly, staying silent at the face of injustice.
One of the biggest misconceptions of racism is that it is the victim’s fault. The solution to abolish racism is not at the hands of people of color, but at white people. Racism is not just a black problem, but it is also a white problem.
This “problem” of white allyship isn’t new. In 1964, activist Malcolm X talked extensively about what whites can do to further their allyship and break white silence.
“By visibly hovering near us, they are ‘proving’ that they are ‘with us.’ But the hard truth is this isn’t helping to solve America’s racist problem. The Negroes aren’t the racists. Where the really sincere white people have got to do their ‘proving’ of themselves is not among the black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America’s racism really is — and that’s in their home communities; America’s racism is among their own fellow whites. That’s where sincere whites who really mean to accomplish something have got to work (Malcom X).”
This approach shows the danger of what white silence can do. Black people can preach and preach their agenda, but it is also up to whites who stand with Black people and rights to help spread that message. White people have been given the privilege of “whiteness,” and it can be used for good as a way to dismantle white supremacy. Guilt, shame, and embarrassment are not going to change the situations of Black people. The decision to speak out on injustice, regardless of the consequences is where the true change will begin.
When the majority chooses silence over action, it allows for those oppressed to continue to be oppressed. White people must educate themselves on the injustices of the oppressed and seek out answers they do not know, and ultimately, listen to those who are oppressed.
This idea is very vital in the digital age. With the rapid dissemination of media now, information is more accessible, with larger audiences than ever before. With this, those in power must use this for good and spread knowledge on the importance of advocacy and action.
All lives can not matter until Black Lives begin to matter.
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” – Martin Luther King