An Analysis of the Twitter Discourses Within the Intersections of #BlackLivesMatter and Keyword Education

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Abstract

Using critical discourse analysis and sociocultural theory for language use, this essay examines #BlackLivesMatter in concert with “education” as a keyword to identify themes generated using those search parameters on the microblogging platform Twitter. This study reveals various perspectives centered around #BlackLivesMatter and the role of education in social justice. This study also reveals Twitter as a potential site democratizing educational discourse for those outside the mainstream relative to education. Further this study identifies factors that intersect and help to determine how education is perceived and operationalized within disparate and racialized twitter communities functioning as allies, antagonist and proponents of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Author

• Charles Munene Mugi, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities