The Unspoken Truth: Twitter Interpretations of the #SayHerName Movement

• In Event: Social Media's Role in Activism

Abstract

Women of color have been victimized and killed at the hands of state agents who are expected to protect and serve the citizens of society. Natasha McKenna, India Kager, and Sandra Bland, are all examples of African American women who have died in police custody. Through social media, #SayHerName was created as a campaign highlighting the value of black women within the #BlackLivesMatter movement. However, the movement has gained limited national attention, allowing these cases to be forgotten by the general public. This exploratory study utilized a qualitative content analysis of social media posts on Twitter in response to the #SayHerName movement regarding user perceptions toward the killings of women of color. Additionally, this paper attempts to bring necessary attention to interactions between black women and police as a whole. This research is fundamentally important because existing research on interactions between black women and police is scant, despite the numerous deaths of black women that have occurred. It is a necessity to explore how members of our society understand these events in order to advance notions of social justice.

Author

• Asha Ralph, Old Dominion University