Lives that seem to no longer matter #OneColour

Created after Trayvon Martin’s murderer George Zimmenman was acquitted for his crime that killed 17-year-old Trayvon. This hashtag has created both advantages and disadvantages through social media. 

This hashtag has created a lot of positive energy thought social media. The greatest positive aspect it created was allowing people from different states with the same string of stories, that they all have the same skin colour and are not being treated correctly. Stories that are not the “Developing News” on CNN, the untold, undocumented but very real stories. This hashtag has been able to create their own community for black people. A community that shares the same problems, fears and visions for a better future for their colour. A community that has seen the brutality of 2.8 million people oppressed by the justice system that supports and protects the everyday man but they still find their own brothers and sisters killed and dead in streets sidewalks like dogs.#BlackLivesMatter Their brothers and sisters stopped by police after doing absolutely nothing yet searched because they are accused of looking like “a potential threat”. Black woman who are a bargaining chip for conflict and war. Thus this hashtag has allowed the community to share stories and experiences of how their own brothers and sisters who are dying by the hands of those who are supposed to protect them but instead like Trayvon, allow their murderers to go free. Social media and this hashtag has allowed people to know that they are not alone in the struggle for equality and the end to once again segregation nation

CNN thoughts on this movement

The Power of Music and a Hashtag

This music video showed the power of social media and how Public Relations professionals used this as and advantage to bring even more notice to the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, once again showing the power of a hashtag. 

However, with this community that has been created there has been negatives that have been experienced with this hashtag.

Black students have disrupted homecoming, classrooms and college demanding rights and changes, sound familiar. Uprising of students.The increased disruption in educational institutions creates an atmosphere for violence which has occurred from time to time. Students asking for change because they are tired of being the minority not in their institutions but in their country. Today's generation are tired of their friends and practically their race being attacked, beaten and kidnapped. So the bullying of the justice system and the unruliness of students have been the disadvantage of this hashtag. Another disadvantage is this hashtag has allowed for race to turn on other race and for racial tension to be heightened and so the promotion of hate and resistant has been increased instead of love and equality.

The hate and resistant that has being created is very powerful and another disadvantage. Social media and this hashtag has allowed races to turn against each another instead of us, pausing and looking in the mirror, not to see the colour of our skin but to see what we all are first which is human beings. Nowadays all we see is colour and this has heightened because of this hashtag. A white policeman went missing and instead of us having empathy for him and his family we turn on each other writing things like “White’s deserve to know how it feels to watch their back like we do” on social media. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has being criticized as causing more harm than good, creating the notion that we should hate other races, increased violence among blacks and other races and that only black people suffer. The lives and races of all people is what is important and should be adopted into society, #AllLivesMatter is what is important. So this is another disadvantage that has been created hashtag. 

    

As a Public Relations professional it is important to look at this disadvantage and address it by making people realize that all lives should matter. Like the video explains, the focus should change to that. As a Public Relations professional it is important that, that message is promoted on social media so as not to create even more racial tension or exclusion.   

So although it has brought people together, creating a community it has also allowed people to have an increased hate to another other because of their skin colour losing the focus that it was a life that was lost, thus instead of even more segregation, we should concentrate on protecting all lives instead of being disobedient and violent to one another which at times results in death. A boy died and his death impacted everyone and it up to this hashtag to teach and share this in order to stop the hatred from continuing    
A Community in All Walks of Life: Music's Influnce

The Oscar Goes to…Segregation #NoColour

#OscarsSoWhite

This year saw the nominations for the 2016 Oscars to be the most controversial nominee of all time, the lack of diversity and increase in segregation among black people increased racial tension, with only white actors being nominated. The 28 Academy Awards showed the increase racial diversity and segregation within America once more.

It is important to look at the hashtag and look how it influenced the Academy both positively and negatively on social media. If we are all honest with ourselves for a moment this is not a new issue that is occurring in America. The likes of James Brown and Ray Charles expressed the white man always being the superior force among them and once again it seems to be occurring to the likes of Viola Davis and Idris Elba.First To Speak Out: Jada Pinkett Smith

For the most part America still feel under the notion that segregation still exists and so the hashtag brought focus into the fact that segregation is not only taking place in Hollywood but that is truly hasn’t ended.What's it's Really like to Work in Hollywopd The days of the white man overpowering the black and forcing them to sing songs like, “Run Nigger Run” seem to have creeped into the halls of Academy Awards.

This important speech that was said shows the reality that if no one creates opportunities for black actors there will be no roles and thus no accolades AKA no acceptance speech to be made for any black people. I believe that the Academy must start to be aware of more black directors and producers who promote black based films because 10 years ago black people were at the forefront of nominees with Halle Berry and Denzel Wahington taking lead actor and actress, Queen Latifah in “Chicago”, Will Smith for his portrayal of Muhammed Ali and 2 years later Jamie Fox for his portrayal as Ray Charles in 2006. Black people were praised and honoured for their hard work by the Academy, where has the forefront gone? Finally, by allowing Chris Rock to host the award show and discussing the matter at hand in a humorous yet important way brought positive reaction to the Academy and the hashtag showing that they realize there is a problem even if they might not have a way to fix it at the moment this was a positive for Public Relations professional of the Academy as they should that they must not refrain from talking about it but discuss the important elephant in the room.

The advantage of Chris Rock hosting: His Opening Monologue and Neutral results for His performance

So these were the advantages that came out the hashtag #OscarSoWhite.  

An Article of thought about #OscarsSoWhite

Although there were advantages to this hashtag there were also disadvantages. The Academy still found negative reaction through social media as the stigma was created that the Oscars are racist and the only awards that does not embrace black people with no nominations for black actors. Another disadvantage experienced was the Academy is believed to not advanced into today’s times. It had not about what race the actors is but about what made an impact, what movie taught, interested, moved, shocked, made us aware, cried and made the public laugh. So the Academy should be aware of the reaction of the public instead of a committee that is mostly made us of one race to decide what actor deserves an accolade, transformation needs to be implemented. This was another disadvantage, there is not transformation or racial equality within the Academy committee thus this is a recommendation to the Academy and the committee and to Public Relations professionals that they should incorporate more diversity in the Academy. 

Overall this is the current view of the Academy and sadly the world of a black person in America and Hollywood.