Using Social Media to Build Coalitions and Respond to Racism on CampusJasmine Mickey, Quanta Taylor, &

Chris Linder

Introductions • Who’s here? – Name, institution, interest in this session

• Please use social media throughout the session!• #SoMeActivism

What we hope to do today…• Share incidents of racism and additional forms of

oppression in our own institutional contexts.• Consider our various social identities and their

influence on our activism. • Explore the dynamics of power and privilege

within social justice movements.  • Share and be exposed to a variety of social media

tools and their potential use. • Develop strategies for engaging social media to

build community and respond to instances of oppression.  

Roadmap!• Introductions • Common Language• Using an Intersectional Frame• Overview of Social Movements• Meaningful Engagement • Action Planning & Accountability Partners• Self-Care Strategies • Wrap-up

Learning Community Agreements• Use “I” statements• Listen to understand• Allow for complexity…find the both/and…recognize multiple truths • Attempt compassion for yourself and others…be lovingly critical• Consider how your identities relate to the amount of space you take up• Lean into discomfort• Be present• Just because you are, doesn’t mean you understand.

Just because you’re not, does not mean you can’t or don’t want to

• What’s shared here stays here, what’s learned here leaves here

Privilege • an unearned benefit or right granted to a person based on

membership in a particular social group Power• access to resources, including formal and informal influence

Social Identities •categories of group membership, usually “socially constructed” meaning the categories were artificially created by people in power, and the consequences of the creation are real; fluid and dynamic (i.e. gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc)Dominant or Agent group • membership in a social identity group that provides access to

privilegeSubordinated or Target group • membership in a group that experiences oppression or

marginalization in mainstream society

Some Common Language

Oppression • restricted access to resources and marginalization and

isolation based on social group membershipSystems of Oppression• structures that perpetuate limited access to power based in

cultural norms, values, legal systems, and other structural components of society; systems of oppression center members of the dominant

Internalized Oppression• members of subordinated groups believe and act on negative

messages they have learned about their group being inferior Agency• taking back or exerting power in a subordinated identity

Intersectional Framework• Intersectionality framework credited to

Black feminist scholars • Identities are intersectional, not additive

(both/AND)• Identities are fluid and contextual• Focus on oppression/domination, not

“difference”

Bowleg, 2008; Crenshaw, 1991; Shields, 2008; Jones & Abes, 2013

Application of Intersectionality: Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity

Jones & McEwen, 2000

Identities to consider: •Race•Gender•Gender Identity•Sexual Orientation •Religion•Ability •Age•Nationality

Reflection: Freewrite or Draw• What identities on your

MMDI are “distant”? “close”?

• How do your salient identities influence your activist work?

• How do your non-salient identities influence your activist work?

Photo Credit: Dunn, https://www.flickr.com/photos/lushpup/3276579680/

Discuss• Share a bit about your reflections related to your own MMDI.

What did you write about during the freewrite? • What examples of privilege and unintentional

marginalization/exclusion have you observed in race-centric activism?

Privilege & Marginalization in Race-Centered Movements

• Black-White Binary • Mono-racialism: Asking people to “pick” a race – Not “black enough” or “brown enough”

• Assumed racial salience • Gender-“blind” action • Christian privilege (e.g. saying Christian prayers

as part of invocations, etc)• Assumptions about what makes a “safe” space

(esp socially) – Assumed heterosexuality

• Minimization of privilege

Strategies for Building Inclusive Movements

• Develop self-awareness in privileged identities – Find other people who share your dominant identities and

have conversations explicitly about privilege• Exercise agency and find communities of support for

subordinated identities (e.g. Queer POC spaces)• Yes, AND…– Shift “yes I am a straight man, BUT I am Black” to “I am

Black, AND I am straight and male”• Race-explicit, not race exclusive focus• Intentionality without tokenism • Look for opportunities for coalition building

What are Social Movements?• “Social movements can be viewed as collective

enterprises to establish a new order of life. They have their inception in the condition of unrest, and derive their motive power on one hand from dissatisfatcion with the current form of life, and on the other hand, from wishes and hopes for a new scheme or system of living”. (Blumer, 1939)

Key Factors of Social Movements (Clark, 2012)

• A segmented populations connected by various personal, structural, and ideological ties.

• New members are recruited to the movement by capitalizing on pre-existing social and personal relationships.

• There is a triggering experience in which members of the group begin to identify with a new set of values, and become committed to changing behaviors.

Key Factors of Social Movements Continued

(Clark, 2012)• A core foundation is established based upon

the rationale for the envisioned changes, defines the opposition, and unifies the group.

• Real or perceived pushback from established system.

Two Hypotheses for Successful Social Media Campaigns

(Gamson and Wolfsfeld, 1993)• The greater the resources, organization, professionalism, coordination, and strategic

planning of a movement, the greater its media standing and the more prominent its preferred

frame will be in media coverage

Two Hypotheses for Successful Social Media Campaigns

(Gamson and Wolfsfeld, 1993)• The more the media actors emphasize visual material in the production; the more likely it is to produce action strategies that cause others

I, Too, Am Harvard#itooamharvard

Our voices often go unheard, Our experiences are devalued, Our presence is questioned.

Being Black at the University of Michigan #BBUM

• Restoration of budget• Affordable housing • New multicultrual center• Expansion of curriculum• Emergency scholarships • University exposure• Increased representation

So we IGNITE the flames to help us find our future. Increasing graduations, transforming

education. ... We are trying to rewind time with role reversal as revenge, because we have no other choice

when the university refuses to come to our defense.

EXAMPLES

Reflection for Action: Freewrite• What action do you want to take?• What resources or materials do you need to

achieve your goal? How can you access these?• What behaviors or steps on your part would

taking this action entail?• What support do you have? Where can you

find more support?

Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, 2007

Reflection for Action: Discuss

How will you measure success? What distinguishes failure from slow change?

Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, 2007

Self-Care Strategies • What do you do to take care of yourself? • Who are the people in your support

network?• How do you set appropriate boundaries?