Born digital: The Black Lives Matter movement and memory after the digital turn | Culture and communication in digital worlds

Author(s): Yvonne Liebermann

Year of publication: 2021

Keywords: Black lives matter, Social media, Memory practices, Digital activism, Structural violence

Methodology/Sample: Discourse analysis/_

Reference: Liebermann, Y. (2021). Born digital: The Black lives matter movement and memory after the digital turn. Memory studies, 14(4), 713-732. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698020959799

Abstract

The dominance of traditional, institutionalized archives and memory platforms has been more and more challenged by the emergence of digital networks and “peer-to-peer” memory practices. This article argues that memory practices on social media platforms provide minority groups with affordances that established archives do not. Therefore, I will analyze tweets, Tumblr posts and a YouTube video in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA. Social media platforms can act as alternative archives to institutionalized archives and related systems of knowledge and power. While traditional archives focus on the representation of events, memory practices on social media platforms can also stress structural and slow forms of violence and their embeddedness in the everyday, point to historical continuities and make memories travel, thus establishing transnational and transcultural networks of mnemonic entanglements.

> Summary

The paper discusses how digital memory practices on social media challenge traditional archives, providing visibility for marginalized groups.
It focuses on the #BlackLivesMatter movement and its impact on memory formation.
Social media serves as alternative archives, stressing structural violence and historical continuities.
The research highlights the need for alternative archives due to the limitations of institutionalized memory practices.
It emphasizes the importance of visibility and agency for minority narratives in the digital sphere.

> Problem statement

The paper discusses how traditional archives fail to represent minority memories adequately, particularly in the context of Black Lives Matter.
It highlights the challenge posed by digital networks to institutionalized memory practices.
The research emphasizes the need for alternative archives that reflect structural violence and historical continuities.
It critiques the “hierarchy of suffering” created by dominant memory discourses that marginalize certain traumatic experiences.
The paper argues for the importance of recognizing diverse memory practices to foster a more inclusive collective memory.

> Methods used

The paper analyzes tweets, Tumblr posts, and a YouTube video related to the Black Lives Matter movement.
It discusses memory practices on social media platforms as alternative archives.
The research examines how social media can stress structural and slow forms of violence.

> Practical implications

Digital memory practices on social media can empower marginalized groups to share their narratives and challenge dominant historical accounts.
Social media platforms can serve as alternative archives, providing visibility and agency to underrepresented communities.
The emergence of digital networks allows for transnational and transcultural memory formations, reshaping collective remembrance.
Traditional archival practices may need reevaluation to include diverse perspectives and counter-narratives.
The paper highlights the importance of questioning established categories that influence memory recognition and value.