The Truth About Movements: They Are Multi-Faceted

The Truth About Movements:

They Are Multifaceted

Introduction 

The year 2020 has been rife with wake-up calls for many of us. Currently, we are amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there are roughly 40 million people who are unemployed, and there have been numerous police-involved shootings that have ended the lives of Black and Brown people. In the midst of everything, we are also fighting a force that has been working its way through American culture and society for the last 401 years. That force is racism inherent and systemic, covert and overt, microaggressive and macroagressive. But this post is not going to talk about racism; there are numerous books that you can read on the subject.

This post is going to talk about the numerous ways that movements work and why different types of people are needed within a movement to make it work properly. One of the main pieces of discourse that I have heard during the ensuing protests and demonstrations in the parks, streets, and public spaces is that some groups of people are jumping to the front lines like they should. Another point of discourse that only protesting is effective and that "voting is ineffective" and that "following a system that is not built for us does not work." This post seeks to address these points from a historical and logical perspective while also attempting to affirm all methods and means of supporting Black and Brown people in their search for true equity.

Supportive Persons 

Not everyone can be on the front lines of a protest for a myriad of reasons. One of the main reasons is based on necessity. There is a reason why most protest movements did not have every member of their movement out in the street. In many movements that have a large number of people protesting on the streets, there must be people to do the following things:

• Provide supplies;
• Serve of legal observers;
• Provide videographic or photographic coverage of the events;
• Provide intel to others;
• Guide the flow of traffic of protesters;
• Act as liaisons with social workers and law enforcement so that the representative interest of the protesting public. 

The above list consists of "supportive actions." One example of this is providing water and light refreshments to protestors at stations along the way. While some of these people are not actively walking the protest routes, they are providing necessities to keep protestors hydrated and properly nourished to continue their mission of expressing public discontent and demanding changes. 

Professionally Supportive Persons

Another reason why some cannot protest is that they have professional obligations that constructively restrict their ability to fight on the frontline. However, some professionals also historically used their professional skills to support frontline protestors in meaningful ways. As an attorney, we are often coined as the "architects of modern society." However, in having such responsibility, many lawyers get trapped by the lure of the billable hour and client engagement. Even still, lawyers have been working to support civil rights movements for as long as civil rights movements have existed. 

One example that comes to mind is when a protester is arrested during a demonstration. Attorneys are an important part of this process because many lawyers can (and often do) provide pro bono representation. Attorneys understand the system which often causes Black and Brown people to have disproportionate outcomes in prosecution and subsequent sentencing. Lastly, attorneys are the ones who can lobby for change in a manner that the electorate can understand. For lawyers, there are professional implications involved with protesting that can pose a risk on their ability to remain barred, to practice, or to continue to remain employed. Many attorneys choose not to actively protest based on the fact that they know they are more useful working to help protestors know and exercise their First Amendment rights. 

Another example are medical professionals (nurses and doctors) who are needed when police make use of their riot gear, tear gas, and rubber bullets and cause injuries. Medical professionals have been completing their shifts on the frontlines of COVID-19 to then treat those injured on the frontlines of protests. Even amongst militarized police forces attempting to control protestors, medical professionals continue to uphold their oath. Their contribution may not be actively marching, but providing the services to allow protestors to live another day to fight an unjust system. 

Virtual Protestors and Communicators

The earliest American example of a protest via communicating through virtual means occurred in the early 1990s with the Merger of Lotus and Equifax. Equifax attempted to purchase data on 120 million Americans following the merger. Over 30,000 people eventually provided commentary via email and the database was not released due to the public outcry. Nearly 30 years later and social media has evolved email communication; social media consists of Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Periscope, and Tumblr. Where email could send messages to a finite number of people around the world in seconds, social media is so pervasive that it exists as its own world separate and apart from the one that we walk in. 

It makes sense that with social media being so pervasive, protests are also now virtual. In a world where the average person spends roughly 144 minutes a day in front of a screen looking at a social media outlet, social movements must be virtual as well as physical. Black Lives Matter and the current protests can be likened to the Arab Spring in 2010, with social media postings up and down the newsfeeds and timelines of those across the world. News about protests, current events, access to legal and social resources, and ongoing injustices (as well as memes and videos). It has allowed tens of thousands of people in numerous countries to join in solidarity to let Westernized society to know that George Floyd's life mattered and that Black Lives Matter. 

In short, virtual protests and communications are now essential and at the core of most social movements today. People can do their part by contributing to the virtual protest and communications part of the movement. 

Engagement With The Political System

I will start by saying that voting and political participation are necessary to effect change in addition to protesting. I have had many commentaries with many people saying the following:

• voting does not matter;
• there is no point voting in a system that is not built for us
• voting is ineffective
• my vote does not count
• nothing changed with voting. 

Voting does matter and is effective. Directly, voting matters because it directly affects who is going to fill seats in our government. Furthermore, voting at the local level determines who will be prosecuting crimes in your jurisdiction, handling sentencing in criminal cases, or who will be advocating and initiating policy changes. Voting at a state and federal level also matters because of statewide policies such as changes in statutory provisions, changes to the constitution of the State, or referenda. Voting allows the public to put people in place who will listen (not hear) to the message of protests; it is the way to put the right people in place to engage with the establishment in a way that will change the status quo.

Political participation is also necessary. Rather than the glossy statements and airbrushed party presentation of issues, politics needs an air of honesty injected into it. The oldest Millennials are now nearly 40 and the youngest are 26. As a block of people, we now have the lion's share of voting power and the lion's share of political awareness. Millennials are more educated and better read than their Generation X or Baby Boomer counterparts. As a Millennial, I feel a sense of responsibility to engage with the system while keeping my dialogue straight-forward and honest. I think that the system, when bombarded with an entire generation's loud yell for change, will do so and the old guard will be left with no choice but to step aside. 

Voting is also a form of protest. It is a literal way to say "fuck you... you have to go." It is the public's way of saying "you've been terminated." It is another act to demonstrate discontent with someone's lack of action or failure to act in a way that benefits the public.

Ending Notes:

In the end, it is important to know the truth about the Black Lives Matter movement; it is a movement that requires everyone to do their part and do their part in varying ways. Everyone has their own role to play. Whether it be handing out water and providing support to protestors, or providing professional assistance in the form of representing protestors at their criminal hearings. Each person is providing their own contribution towards a common goal. 

Additionally, we cannot disengage from the system because we are not getting the results we want, we have to apply pressure to the system by engaging with it. By applying social, political, and actual physical pressure on the system, things will eventually be left with no choice but to change. And if those who are in power hear what we want and continue to not act on our accord, it's time to go the ballot box and let it be known that their failure to act is unacceptable. It is time to vote them out. After voting them out, it is time to get back to our various ways of protesting so that we can continue to push the change. 

(c) 2020 - IFW