Pursuing Justice Online Using #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter

• In Event: Policing, Politics, and Participation

Abstract

The use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter exploded on Twitter after a grand jury failed to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown in 2014. This paper follows Twitter activity of six high profile cases and examines the correlation between the use of #BlackLivesMatter and the judicial process involving the officers in each case: Michael Brown; Sandra Bland; Philando Castile; Atatiana Jefferson; Breonna Taylor; and George Floyd. These cases provide insight as to why the increased online pursuit of justice rarely materializes in real life. In many situations the police act as surrogates for all forms of government which are then reinterpreted and projected to other government actions. Therefore, understanding the relationship between the public and police as agents of the state is salient to how people from highly policed communities construct their political and social identities and respond according to their understanding of their relationship with the state. When the state fails to hold police accountable for their misconduct, the Black Lives Matter movement has found a forum on Twitter to mobilize support for justice and accountability. Building on the assumption that justice is invoked when other societal virtues are lacking, and as such, injustices lead to social strife and unrest, the increased use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter signals a problem with how the public servants handled each of these cases as well as dissatisfaction with how the judicial processes unfolded for the police officers involved. Analysis of these cases suggests that Twitter activity using #BlackLivesMatter increases significantly when officers are not indicted by a grand jury or when officers are found to be not guilty after a trial. This suggests that existing accountability mechanisms used by police and the judicial system are not effective in rendering justice to satisfy the public. Our research seeks to understand what it means for the police to be held accountable to the Black community if accountability is understood as a social relationship in which an actor feels an obligation to another. Historically, the Black community has had little to no influence on this relationship given the origins of policing are deeply rooted in controlling Black people (and other marginalized groups) and keeping them out of political processes and power. This lack of accountability to the Black community in particular has contributed to the criticism and concerns about loss of trust and legitimacy of policing generally expressed by the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Instead, we discuss how the concept of social accountability might be applied in the context of #BlackLivesMatter from seeking justice online to increasing citizen empowerment by exacting improved responsiveness and governance from the state and its agents.

Authors

• Rosa Castillo Krewson, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Lorita Daniels