Black Lives Matter – “They Say” Source Analysis Essay
Injustice and bias against people of color led to the development of movements to speak up and fight against this discrimination. People of color were always viewed as an inferior race during the years of slavery. Moreover, killings of young black men in the recent past led to the establishment of the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2013. The articles chosen for this analysis essay included Borysovych et al.’s “Black Lives Matter: Race Discourse and the Semiotics of History Reconstruction” and Siscoe’s “#BlackLivesMatter: This Generation’s Civil Rights Movement.” The article with the most potent argument was “Black Lives Matter: Race Discourse and the Semiotics of History Reconstruction” by Borysovych et al. This article had strong arguments based on the extensive analytical research carried out.
The article “Black Lives Matter: Race Discourse and the Semiotics of History Reconstruction” argued that discourse and semiotics influenced racism. As stated in the article concerning (Foucault 1972),” discourse is related to the exercise of power and conveyance of ideology, which triggers events that help modify reality and construct social relations.” White supremacists exercised power and authority over the inferior and ethnic races, leading to the whites’ ideology over them. Their argument on disclosure had strong merit because of the extensive analysis conducted. In the article, two analysis approaches were used: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Discourse Historical Analysis (DHA). The CDA analysis allowed the investigation of power factors, including oppression and dominance (McGregor, 2004), and the embedment of racism in language structure and use (Lederer 265). The DHA analysis works to expose ideologies for what they are and expose the discourse subjected to the people. The BLM activists’ obliteration and overturning of statues represented the overcoming of those who stood for slavery. This analysis showed that past events and the present created ideologies in people’s minds on racism. Semiotics is the process by which people who participate in a cultural activity are used as symbols to support or oppose power and everything related to it. Statues, images, and texts have created ideologies in peoples’ minds; whether they are slave traders or colonists, they paint a picture. It was a picture of fear and inferiority for the inferior groups, while for the whites, it was a picture of power and superiority. BLM activists held on to texts that conveyed messages against racism, and the statues toppling conveyed their displeasure with slavery and racism. Their protests created ideas in individuals’ minds that motivated them to stand up against racism and George Floyd’s killing. The attention was now moved from the slave traders’ statues to the BLM activists, who stood up for suppressed people’s rights. Their protests promoted the awareness of racism and white dominance of suppressed groups. The BLM activists’ actions had a mental impact, and people are bound to remember these activities. Cultures and ideologies are responsible for how people act over time; when they are introduced to a culture that promotes submissiveness, they will be submissive. When they are introduced to cultures and ideologies that promote power and dominance, the people will feel superior. George Floyd’s passing awakened peoples’ ideologies and was incorporated into their culture, leading to BLM activists’ protests.
The second article, “#BlackLivesMatter: This Generation’s Civil Rights Movement” by Siscoe, argued that colorblind racism is the most common cause of racism. Colorblindness is an ideology that arose after people identified as anti-racism. Seeing people for who they are and not for their skin color seemed to be the greatest solution to racism and inequality. However, the results were not all they were hoped to be, as colorblindness was also a form of racism. The article stated that Black Lives Matter is pro-blacks and not anti-whites, promoting the unity of all as a nation. The article addressed three topics: race theory and the history of racial formation, the differences in pre- and post-Civil Rights Movement racism, and colorblind racism in the criminal justice system. Race theory indicates that there were a couple of theories that led to the dominance of racism. The article argues that biology was the initial cause of racism, as whites grouped people into classes (Omi and Winant 1986). People turned to social constructs over biological categories, leading to the emergence of racism. The racial formation also led to the result that race is a social construct. Ideologies before the civil rights movement advocated for the exploitation of slavery and the dominance of racism. The development of civil rights forged a path for the fight against discrimination. Ideologies after the development of civil rights led to colorblind racism, whereby people claim not to see color. That in itself is a form of racism. Colorblind racism overlooks the suffering and exploitation of black people during slavery. It focuses on the culture and morals of black people in response to the causes of racism and slavery. The penetration of colorblind racism in the justice system is seen in all the cases involving people of color because race is overlooked, and new policies and laws are formulated in line with colorblind racism. The “All Lives Matter” movement was created in response to the Black Lives Matter challenging it. All Lives Matter is based on colorblind racism that overlooks all that BLM stands for. BLM fights against colorblind racism and change systems that affect the daily lives of people.
In conclusion, the Black Lives Matter movement stands against all forms of racism and advocates for equality and better social systems. There are broad causes of racism and a new form of racism that everyone ought to be aware of and help fight against to promote equality. The two articles were in-depth and addressed the topic extensively.
Works Cited
Borysovych, Oksana Victorivna et al. Black Lives Matter: Race Discourse And The Semiotics Of History Reconstruction. 2021.
Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge. New York: Harper & Row.
Lederer, J. (2013). Anchor baby: A conceptual explanation for pejoration. Journal of Pragmatics, 57,248-266.
McGregor, S. L. (2004). Critical Discourse Analysis – A Primer. Retrieved from https://www.kon.org/archives/forum/15-1/mcgregorcda.html
Omi, M. and Winant H. (1986). Racial Formation in the United States from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. New York: Routledge.
Siscoe, Tanika. “#Blacklivesmatter: This Generation? Civil Rights Movement”. 2016. Portland State University Library, doi:10.15760/honors.279. Accessed 5 Mar 2021.
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Question 
Black Lives Matter – “They Say” Source Analysis Essay
“They Say” Source Analysis Essay
Assignment:
- The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two sources, which means to explain why they are strong, credible sources to use for your research paper. You should ask yourself this question: would I use these resources in a research paper. Why or why not?
Black Lives Matter – They Say Source Analysis Essay
- Use the topic that you have chosen to research. Take one article that you found in the library, and then find another source by doing a Google search. You can use any website or online source for the second article. The point of the exercise will be to find out which source is more trustworthy than the other source.
- Compare and contrast these two sources. To do this, you will write a paragraph about each of them. For each paragraph, you will explain the source’s argument, the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, and what research and sources the article used. You can write a short (2-3 sentences) summary of the helpful information the argument provides. You can also use direct quotations for this paper. However, you should focus most of the paragraph on what makes this a source that you can trust and that you find convincing, or a source that you CANNOT trust. Use the CRAAP test linked on your D2L page to come up with your evaluation of the sources. In your conclusion, you will say which source you think makes a better argument on the topic and why.
Requirements:
Your paper must meet the following requirements:
- Must show proper MLA formatting, as we will discuss in class. This includes Times New Roman 12 size font, and a proper first page and margins, etc. This will also include proper intext citations and a Works Cited page.
- Use the CRAAP Test worksheet that you read on D2L.
- Must have 4 paragraphs: One introduction, one paragraph for each source (analyzing its effectiveness), and one conclusion.
- Must have a clear thesis statement that says which source is stronger and why. Thesis statements should be the last sentence of your introduction.
- Must be at least 800 words long.
- Must be proofread and written with your best grammar and spelling, etc.
- Must reflect lessons learned in class and online. 8. Must meet ALL deadlines outlined above.
We need two articles
- Black Lives Matter: Race Discourse and the Semiotics of History Reconstruction
- #BlackLivesMatter: This Generation’s Civil Rights Movement