Can the Black Lives Matter movement change America?
Presented by the brilliant BBC Trending (2015 TheWebbyAwards winner) editor Mukul Devichand and Mike Wendling. Both travel around the United States, talking to Black Lives Matter activists, the parents of young black men shot by police, civil rights elders like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and police officials. In an election year that will be crucial to the country’s future, can Black Lives Matter change America?
‘Not your grandfather’s civil rights movement’
Civil rights “elder”, the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
The inside story of the online campaign #BlackLivesMatter that has revitalised the US civil rights movement. The slogan was coined in 2013, shortly after a jury acquitted a Florida neighbourhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, of the murder of black teenager Treyvon Martin. It was a polarising decision, and three young female activists were so upset about the verdict that their heartfelt social media posts became the basis of a grass-roots movement. But it was the events in Ferguson which turned those words into a worldwide rallying cry.
This podcast radio documentary combines interviews with the activist creators and their critics, archive audio, and on-the-ground reporting, and features some of the key social media moments from the history of one of the most noteworthy political slogans of recent times.
A Year of Black Lives Matter. As the protest movement evolves, activists face pushback and growing pains.
TheAtlantic, Clare Foran.
Young black men killed by US police at highest rate in year of 1,134 deaths.
TheGuardianUS. Jon Swaine, Oliver Laughland, Jamiles Lartey and Ciara McCarthy. US policing The Counted.
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending and Facebook. All the stories are at bbc.com/trending. Photo credit: BBC Trending.