Instagram has been one of the leading platforms to promote the Black Lives Matter movement. Hundreds of images are published daily that call for justice for the deaths of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor. A few names among the growing number of systematic racism victims.
Although we find more than 21,606,423 publications through the hashtag #blacklivesmatter, the platform does not facilitate the dissemination of links - limiting the weight of this movement to images that are shared and then lost.
In this fight for more justice, attention, and education, Google Docs appears as an unlikely but necessary solution for sharing reliable information. Unlike the ephemerality of social networks, this simple text platform works as an editable and public library accessible by everyone.
Google is a suspicious tool when it comes to data protection. However, the document ally.wiki presents us with a directory of links that allows us to make educated decisions in the fight against racism. As for Instagram, it will remain an essential megaphone to capture attention. We only need to use it with reason and give a voice to those who have not had the opportunity to speak.
💾 Memory Lane
"Magic lies in challenging what seems impossible." - Carol Moseley Braun
In the book Black Software - From the afronet to Black Lives Matter, the author, Charlton D. McIlwain, explores how online movements for racial justice are not exclusive of the present. On the contrary, McIlwain shows us how, since the 60s, technology has been used as a tool for equality. In his book, we learn about the role of the African American community in the creation and evolution of the Internet - from the search engine "Universal Black Pages", invented in 1994 by Derrick Brown, to the Black Youth Project 100.
💻 Present tense
“The progress of the world will call for the best that all of us have to give.” - Mary McLeod Bethune
To understand realities that go beyond our own, we must listen. Recently, I added three podcasts that explore racial issues to my rotation: Blacks in Technology, Code Switch, and The Institute of Black Imagination podcast, moderated by artist, writer, and consultant Dario Calmese. Another discovery of the week was the episodes of VCs off the Record - a partnership between the Black Women Talk Tech movement and the investment fund WOCstar.
🔍 Time will tell
“The future has already arrived. It's just not evenly distributed yet.” - William Gibson
Social networks like Facebook and Instagram make us believe that our ideas and online interactions must be associated with an identity - an extension of who we are. Special.fish, a social network created by Elliott Cost, reinvents the idea of community. There's no need for identities based on genders, races, and ages. On this platform, people can share their lists, ideas, and thoughts in the form of a username. You can be the sun, an island, a number, or just a combination of letters. I'm a nenúfar (a Portuguese word of water lily).
And today's question is:
🤔 Name a book you think everyone should read
Let’s share ideas, recommendations, and thoughts!
Até já!
Inês 🌿