THE CONTEXT

The Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 altered the cultural climate in the United States. The daily injustices and the very real issues of police brutality that minority communities face became unignorable for everyone.

But, like clockwork, as we get further away from the most recent events our collective attention, and the likelihood of making real change, lessens tremendously.

KEY INSIGHT

Social media has been an impactful tool used to increase awareness of social justice issues. Yet we as people often fall victim to performative armchair activism, thus making our attention to issues ephemeral and our understanding of the victims shallow.

OUR AMBITION AT A GLANCE

We want to catalyze a movement that leads to police reform and a more thoughtful understanding of the Black American experience.

To do so, we will stir up awareness and give people tools to engage in informative dialogue around racial challenges that can translate into pressure on the U.S. Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Police Act.

A BILL THAT WOULD:

• Change rules on "qualified immunity", which can make it almost impossible to sue police for misconduct.

• Ban chokeholds and other practices that can lead to physical harm or death.

• End "no-knock" warrants in drug cases.

• Requiring police departments to report data on use of force and creating a national database to track police misconduct.

• Limit the transfer of military equipment to local police departments.

• And much more.

WHY WE NEED IT:

For far too long, Black Americans have been unjustly targeted and oppressed by law enforcement, who repeatedly get away with mistreating marginalized communities.

This policy impacts systemic change that is legally enforceable. The bill would be a direct response to the demands voiced by citizens, constituents and the global public for more police accountability. It is also a tangible representation of the actions that constituents have been calling for in the past year from activity on social media to protests in the streets.

THE ACTIVATION

Check The System

We know virtue signaling is a common trend that is more performative than beneficial. Since we might not be able to change that behavior, we can at least make people work for it so that their actions truly have merit.

By completing a series of three actions on a microsite, users will earn a black verified checkmark on their social media profile, signaling themselves as an agent for change in fighting for the passage of the George Floyd Policing Act.

Our goal will be to get 1 million black check marks in circulation on each of the social platforms - designed to stir up awareness for the actual Senate vote of the bill.

User Journey

STEP 1

We will begin by having our influencers and partners tweet out a link to our VMH microsite.

STEP 2

Users will be prompted to link their Twitter account or email. This will allow us to properly track their participation so that their actions result in a black verified checkmark.

STEP 3

Our microsite will have three modules that participants must complete before being awarded their verification.

In an interactive way, we can provide quick informative stats to educate, collect digital signatures to sign a petition, and Venmo partnership to make donating to social justice funds easy.

SOCIAL

Repost For Reform

We will create a series of Instagram filters that will give Black and Brown communities the opportunity to start conversations amongst their immediate network to shine a light on the struggles that are experienced by media and law enforcement.

These filters will be made available for people to apply to their own photos and add their own text overlays, tailoring them toward people's lived experiences.

Final Words

A repost without action is not brave, it's just optics.

We want to challenge the tired approach of blindly sharing Black tragedy without context, and instead empower people to be informed, understand the issue and the individual, and use their voice to engage in proactive behaviors that uplift marginalized communities.

With this campaign, we can help facilitate these discussions and hopefully get a few steps closer to equality.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Campaign Zero

8 Can't Wait

Mapping Police Violence