Putting Learning into Practice: Integrating Social Media, Crowd Learning, and

From Digital Culture & Society

Article title: Putting Learning into Practice: Integrating Social Media, Crowd Learning, and #ColinKaepernick in an Introductory African American History Class Article online: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.brocku.ca/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=d16c8ece-0aa8-43a0-a2c9-a16cafc504e6%40sdc-v-sessmgr04

Doi: DOI 10.5195/rt.2017.394

Contents 1 Context 2 Overview 3 Strengths and Weaknesses 4 Assessment

[edit] Context

Social media has had a huge impact on social issues and social change. Many celebrities used social media to boost their brand and President Obama also used social media as a mean to boost his 2008 elections. In terms of social issues African Americans have been subject to racism and bigotry. When Colin Kaepernick kneeled down during the national anthem the hashtag #ColinKaepernick trended not only in the US but worldwide. This article discussed the importance of social media in the Colin Kaepernick case and the reaction of an African American man standing up for inequality.

[edit] Overview

Colin Kaepernick is a name that everyone had heard at least once. The Hashtag #ColinKaepernick was one of the most recognized hashtag in 2016 up until this year. During a pre-season game in 2016 took a knee during the national anthem to protest racism particularly police brutality against communities of color. People turned to social media to either support Kaepernick or to express their disgust with that they thought was disrespectful. President Donald Trump even used this to his advantage and on many occasions used the Colin Kaepernick case to rally his crowd. The Author Travis Boyce is a university professor who teaches African American history wanted to make the history of African Americans in media relevant to its students. He wanted to show its students to see “how both the plight of African American athletes in history and broader issues in contemporary African American history parallel the Colin Kaepernick saga. They will see that the discourse associated with #ColinKaepernick is not just limited to sport history, but also to an array of issues in African American histoyr”(Boyce, P.23). The goal of this research was to take a look at the hashtag #ColinKaepernick and analyze the responses on both sides of the spectrum. He wanted to show that there are double standards to everything, when there is a African American activist he is seen as a “militant”. The quarterback position has historically always been majority white. The racial politics who plays quarterback is grounded by the narrative that Whites are more intelligent and strategic than blacks. The majority of the audience that attacked Kaepernick were majority Whites and followed the trend of the “Great White Hope” narrative. Professor Boyce used the example of former quarterback Tim tebow also kneeling down during the anthem and wanted its students to find similarities and differences between both photos including public reaction. They found that the public praised Tebow for his Christian beliefs while attacked Colin Kaepernick.

[edit] Strengths and Weaknesses

The article highlights the important task of differentiating the double standards in our society. Professor Boyce made a good case at making parallels between African American history and the case of Colin Kaepernick. It helped create awareness on racial issues that divide the country. It exposed the double standards between black athletes and whites athletes. In this case they studied Colin Kaepernick and Tim Tebow and the public reaction to both.

The weaknesses in this article are the reaction that African Americans receive when they try to protest inequality. Colin Kaepernick doesn't have a job anymore in the NFL because of public reaction which were majority white supporters. You had people of power like President Trump take credit for him not having a job in the NFL anymore.

[edit] Assessment

In conclusion, America has always had racial issues. It is hard for African Americans to to be activist because the public reaction will always be negative and they will always be seen as militants. Professor Boyce highlights to its students the double standards between black athletes and white athletes. It also highlights the parallels between Colin Kaepernick and African American history through various cases. The Social media approach has had the ability to view public perception on the Colin Kaepernick case.