Thoughts about #blacklivesmatter on Instagram stories

As I was swiping through #blacklivesmatter instagram stories in my dining room, I felt strangely uncomfortable. As people are marching against fatal police brutality across the country, nearly every of my friends' and classmates' stories were full of reposts about Black Lives Matter, those who had lost their lives, and ways to take action. What a wonderful way to build momentum. One of my college friends tagged me in a chain-type post shown to the left. I was supposed to repost her photo, tag 10 friends, and type #blacklivesmatter. What I found problematic is that I felt like there was a risk of this movement turning into a short term trend amongst my peers, and I hope that after people post, they hold themselves accountable.

I was surprised to see certain people repost these Black Lives Matter photos who had never once talked about issues of race and privilege at school. If they post a list of local upcoming protests to join, does that mean they are also going to attend them? Additionally, these posts make it easy for people to show their support without having to write any text of their own.

For me, to tag blacklivesmatter means to be educated on Black history and feel deep down why it is crucial to address Black inequality. While I know this movement must be addressed now, and not after any more waiting, for those who are newer to it, they must understand why it is so urgent and its broader pictures. The problem with posting Instagram stories online is that there comes immense pressure for peers to quickly do the same, and with this quick reposting comes the loss of self reflection.

I believe that reposting someone else's photo on one's story is just a first step to becoming involved in a social justice movement. I fear that with this social media trend, my friends and classmates will repost one photo and feel that they are off the hook and excused from appearing ignorant or not involved. In fact, I fear that I will fall into the trap and do the same. How can I challenge myself to do more?

Something I strongly believe is that learning about race is an ongoing issue. I will always be learning new things about race, as well as class and gender issues. To be engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement, I must admit to my white-passing privilege. White people are taught about POC disadvantages, but we rarely talk about White advantages to the same extent. To be able to see where I hold privilege and where I do not takes time. This is a deeply intimate and personal journey that I must go through. Therefore, I hope that people know that learning about race is a lifelong journey and involves a lot of self reflection and education. It does not end with a singular instagram post and ten signatures on change.org.

One girl, who is two years younger than me and attends my high school, said something in response to these posts on her instagram story that stood out to me. To summarize, she said that being able to post about racism while not addressing it in your everyday life is a privilege that many People of Color do not have. She urged people to have dialogues, do research, and educate yourself. Another girl in my year who I went to high school with reposted the chain post but said to follow up posts with action, then posted a link in her Instagram bio. I really appreciated that these two girls noticed the risk that this trend could not make meaningful change, and they addressed it.

As I conclude this blog post, I will continue to reflect on how I best express my frustration and pain around racially charged police brutality. These Instagram posts cannot be all that people do or all that I do. I need to do more, in whatever method that be.

Keep the Instagram posts going! Keep retweeting and talking about it. Then, take a moment to hold yourself accountable for what you are saying online. Everyone holds power in different ways. One of the most rewarding things to discover is how you can harness your power to dismantle systemic injustices.