By Cameron Lesesne
Control over the narrative in the 2020 Police reform protests are a major step in dismantling systemic racism. What's different this time is that through connections to technology like camera phones, instant messaging and social media, the people on the ground and on the forefront of the movement are leading the narrative. This narrative now reaches people beyond one's immediate circle through trending topics, viral posts and a shared commitment to the dialogue, and to raising the global awareness. Personally attending protests in Broward and Miami Dade, witnessing posts reach people in the millions with a raw lens of the reality of what's happening on a daily basis has been captivating.
The World over, The Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) has sparked outcries for justice and permanent changes in the criminal justice system. In each case, the participants on location were controlling the narrative, not the media, government or any other external parties. Video evidence and first hand accounts are showing that law enforcement and its roots in systemic racism are real and it's being documented by a diverse wave of Americans and citizens around the globe. Americans in all 50 states of the US are continuing protests for the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many many others in just recent years.
The narrative has clearly shifted with the message driven home with first hand accounts, the people's perspective, often in real time. The dialogue is now led by people from all over the world and all walks of life seeking reform, justice and long term changes to the current law enforcement system. The communities involved have been able to lead the stories, force change and challenge the accountability of the police, putting up resistance against infringements on the first amendment. In some cases the police attempted to suppress the media by arresting reporters, attempting to confiscate and sometimes destroy phones and the evidence on them. The people filming also create a new layer of evidence to consider that can't be lost or not recorded like with body cameras that are supposed to be activated when the police have an encounter with citizens they are assigned to protect. What's abundantly clear is that changes can be made in the short and long term when the people move in force together, step up and declare enough is enough.
The Evolution of Protests is a series of multimedia/digital content Produced and presented by LMG Entertainment. The goal of the series is to highlight the growth, evolution and effective changes modern protests have adopted to support long-term changes in social justice and equality.
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