Refusing the Passive Consumption of Online Images of Black Death

• In Event: Black Death: Past & Present

Abstract

Now, more than ever, we are inundated with images depicting the flagrant brutalization of Black people, globally. In large part, and within the American context, these images come by way of cellphone videos documenting police violence often against unarmed Black men. These images are widely consumed via social media and result in an array of responses, most notable of which have been calls for police reform and a demonstrable increase in the institutional valuing of Black life. Within activist circles persists an ongoing debate about the usefulness of these images in pushing the reform agenda and awakening the masses to anti-Black state violence. While one side pins the video to their page so that it is the first thing visitor’s see, the other side calls for trigger warnings and reminds us that this circulation does not agitate but sensitizes so that you will be disturbed less the next time you are brought to bear witness. In this paper, I begin to explore the contemporary origins of the latter argument, paying particular attention examples of Black peoples’ outright refusals to witness. Additionally, I will discuss other contemporary examples like #ifTheyGunnedMeDown that call into question the ways in which corporate media uses images to document and frame the lives of Black people that have been lost to police violence.

Author

• Nataleah Hunter-Young, Ryerson University, Canada