Patrisse Khan-Cullors. Alicia Garza. Opal Tometi. Do you recognize these names? These three Black women are the co-founders of the
Black Lives Matter movement. I didn't know their names. I should have known their names. I had a moment yesterday watching the
Daily Show with Trevor Noah when a segment entitled
"If You Don't Know, Now You Know" hit me in the gut.
This 7 minutes explores how Black women have been erased from social justice history. Trevor states,
"The unfortunate truth is overlooking the role of Black women in leading movements of social justice isn't anything new." Women's Suffrage Movement. Civil Rights Movement. Women's Movement. LGBTQ Rights Movement. Even though this segment is laced with comedy, it manages to present an incredibly important question;
"how many times have Black women been written out of history?"
From a media literacy perspective, it's incredibly important to think about what stories get told, who tells the stories, what stories get left out and how all these patterns build a narrative. I'm a big fan of the musical
Hamilton. I know it is not without its flaws but I believe as a piece of art it challenges, entertains, and makes us question the history lessons we learned in school. Lin-Manuel Miranda's choice to cast people of color as our founding fathers and mothers has likely changed theater forever. In
this extended interview with the cast of Hamilton, Leslie Odom, Jr. mentions the power of the first time he saw an early version of the show by saying,
"I had never in my life seen four men of color on a stage singing together about friendship and brotherhood."
The theme of storytelling is woven throughout
Hamilton. Watching the
"You Don't Know, Now You Know" segment made me think of the song in Act 1 entitled "History Has Its Eyes on You" when George Washington sings about not being able to control who tells your story. I reflected on the fact that in today's participatory culture we do have more power than ever before. We have
some say in what stories
we tell, share and amplify.
In June, the campaign #ShareTheMicNow saw Black women taking over the social media feeds of popular White women. The organizers stated, "For far too long, Black women’s voices have gone unheard, even though they’ve been using their voices loudly for centuries to enact change.” As media literacy educators and advocates, let us always think deliberately about what stories we tell and what voices we amplify. We may not have complete control but we do have power.
TIK TOK VIDEO SERIES: Earlier this month, TikTok
launched their "Be Informed" video series. We had the opportunity to work with the team to help with messaging and pack in as much media literacy as possible in one minute - not an easy task! The videos explore topics such as questioning the source, analyzing graphics, and understanding our own biases. Check out the videos on
@tiktoktips. And if you are on TikTok follow us @medialiteracyed!
NATIONAL CONFERENCE:
SAVE THE DATE!!! This month, we announced
our next National Conference will be held in Los Angeles from July 16-18, 2021. The conference plans currently include both in-person and virtual components. We will continue you to update you on how planning progresses. Please mark your calendars!
MEDIA LITERACY WEEK: As we enter August, we are moving furiously to our offical launch of Media Literacy Week efforts. We will be sharing information with you soon on how you can get involved for the 6th Annual U.S. Week, October 26-30. In the meantime,
check out updates about
Canadian Media Literacy Week and
Global Media and Information Literacy Week.
ONE LAST THING: Before I go, I wanted to share this new ad by Nike entitled
"You Can't Stop Us." It's worth 90 seconds. It's an incredible feat of editing. What I wouldn't give for a classroom filled with students right now for a robust discussion about advertising techniques!
