Paper short abstract:

This critical-technological discourse analysis examines the affordances news discussion boards and social media provide anti-Black Lives Matter rhetors.

Paper long abstract:

The historic election of U.S. President Barack Obama in 2008 ushered in an academic paradigm of colorblindness where scholars mulled over what a "post-racial" America looked like. By Obama's second term, however, the highly publicized killings of dozens of black boys by white police officers and vigilantes inspired the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in 2013. The movement has grown since then, from a digital outcry to actual protests in various cities across the United States, sparking extreme rhetoric in various online spaces. From the blogs of mainstream, conservative, television news anchors, to the Twitter feeds of outraged opponents to Black Lives Matter, vitriolic language abounds when the movement is discussed. This critical-technological discourse analysis will examine what affordances news discussion boards and social media provide anti-Black Lives Matter rhetors. It will explore also the varied attempts to undermine the Black Lives Matter mission to end police brutality by coining phrases such as "All Lives Matter," "Blue Lives Matter," and so forth.