The use of communications during the struggle for social justice in the United States is far from being a novelty. News spread quickly by word of mouth when black college students started a host of nonviolent sit-ins in several states almost 50 years ago, as The Washington Post’s Krissah Thompson noted. Today, civil rights activists, particularly African Americans and Hispanics, have found in social media a powerful channel to voice their support for a cause and generate cause engagement, according to a latest study by Georgetown University and Ogilvy PR Worldwide.

The study found that nearly one in three African-American adults (30 percent) and four in 10 Hispanics (39 percent) say “they’re more likely to support a cause or social issue online than offline,” whereas one in five (24 percent) of Caucasians expressed the same interest. Likewise, a slight majority of African Americans (58 percent) and Hispanics (51 percent) are more likely to believe that they can help spread the word “about a social issue or cause through online social networks” adding that they feel they’re part of a community by supporting causes online --compared to 34 percent of Caucasians.

The study goes on to say that, although television and print media are still regarded as reliable sources to learn about causes, both African Americans and Hispanics are significantly “more likely than Caucasians to look for social media as an additional source of information (31 and 27 percent versus 21 percent, respectively.)”

The Georgetown/Ogilvy study seems to corroborate a number of successful online campaigns within minority-oriented organizations. Color of Change, for example, is an online civil rights group that has proactively used a large email list of subscribers to champion causes like the fundraising to help reduce charges for a half-dozen young black men in Jena, LA in 2007. Also, the NAACP enhanced its webpage in 2009, started a new blog site, and has revamped its online advocacy list that hovers around 400,000 members.

Also, Thompson noted that a study by the Pew Internet & Family Life Projectfound an increasing preference among minority Internet users for Twitter, and in the past decade, “the proportion of Internet users who are black or Hispanic has nearly doubled—from 11 percent to 21 percent.”

Minorities’ zeal to join causes online signals the importance of social media for furthering civil rights, hence changing the nature of activism nowadays. And it’s proof that, even amid the latest display of partisanship in Washington, communities in the United States can find unity by way of technology.

 

 

This is the first diary I've posted on MYDD in months. What prompted me to crosspost this from The Motley Moose was seeing a diary by MYDD's resident homophobe.

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Death of a Love Story

Life is often like a smooth flowing stream. Day follows day with only small ripples to disturb the surface and then, unexpectedly, a large rock breaks the current. Sometimes that rock is more like a surging rapid and at other times, it takes a sudden plunge over a waterfall. We have little control over the current. We can only ride out whatever the stream brings our way.

When J and R awoke on that quiet Wednesday morning, life seemed tranquil and serene. As on any other weekday, J prepared for work while R set the table for their shared breakfast routine. There was little to indicate that this day would be any different from the days that had come before it. Unfortunately, unknown to this loving couple, a waterfall loomed ahead.

R, as a self-employed writer, spent the day in front of a computer, while J went to work as an accountant at a large corporation. The two loving partners had played out this same routine for nearly thirty years. They both agreed that life had been good to them.

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(Washington, DC) Breaking News!  Red states and Blue States agree, it is time to stop political robo calls.

A new national non partisan political do not contact registry is being created by non profit Citizens for Civil Discourse.

This registry, going live in August, will allow all voters to tell politicians:

   * Who you want to hear from

-- Example: Hillary or Rudy; All Dems, All Reps

   * How you would like to hear from them

-- Example: Email but NOT phone

   * When you would like to hear from them

-- Example: Monday at 10 AM

   * What you would like to hear about

-- Example: The War; education; energy; gun rights; gun control

Learn more at: http://thinkdodone.typepad.com/ccd/

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Bush has a history of arresting protesters, knowing at the time that the person did not violate the law, but nonetheless ordering or allowing the arrest to accomplish a strategic political goal. What do you call it when a chief executive, whether president or governor, permits or orders arrests that are illegal?  Abuse of power seems so lame. For now, we can call this the Sheehan Maneuver.

But questions remain. Who was the 3rd man ejected from SOTU? And, why did MSNBC apparently delete from its article the quote from police official that they knew it was illegal to arrest Sheehan?

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