Experts Matter. Find Yours.
Connect for media, speaking, professional opportunities & more.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GEHAY7MEYRD4NHFWOELCD7EWLM.jpg)
FBI data shows murders are up, and our experts are ready to help with your coverage
FBI data shows murder rates are up, with the latest figures showing a staggering 21,570 murders happening nationwide in 2020. Dr. Kim Davies teaches a sociology of murder course at Augusta University and was recently interviewed on the topic by a local CBS affiliate. Davies has developed the course to help educate students and get them thinking about ways they can bring awareness to the violent crime problem. Students put a tick on the sidewalk in chalk to represent every murder to offer a better understanding of the number of families affected. “If I put that number on the board, it looks like a big number," said Davies. "But nobody really knows what that is. If we tick every mark and we say, ‘Look, that’s a victim,’ it means more to the students.” Davies also reiterates that even though this current number is probably the highest it’s ever been since she's been offering this class, it's not at an all-time high. "Murder was higher in the '90s when I was in grad school, but it’s been going down, down, down. Hopefully it’s not a trend where we continue up, but we’re back up.” If you’re a journalist covering true crime or any other aspect of this topic, then let us help with your stories. Davies is a sociologically trained criminologist with academic focus is on homicide and violence. Her most recent book, The Murder Book: Understanding Homicide Today, explores topics such as the increase in mass murders, the change in Stand Your Ground laws across the country and police shootings as it relates to the Black Lives Matter movement. Davies is available to speak with media about this subject – simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
Podcast: The partition of India: an ‘evil act’ or ‘rush to grant independence’?
Aston University academic discusses need to understand what resulted in up to two million deaths The partition formed part of a global pattern of expanding nation-states, fitting populations to borders, and decolonisation throughout the 20th century Debate now needed to find ways to accommodate human diversity rather than pulling people apart The partition of India at the end of the Second World War was not an “evil scheme” but a case of being “overtaken by events”, according to an academic at Aston University. Dr Volker Prott, a senior lecturer in modern history, spoke about the legacy of India and Pakistan’s independence in the latest episode of the ‘Society matters’ podcast series, presented by journalist Steve Dyson. Dr Prott said there was a “bitter irony” in “celebrating” the 75th anniversary of the partition and independence of India and Pakistan, granted on 15 August 1947. But he argued that now was the time to overcome divisions in society caused by Britain’s colonial past. He said: “Partition is very much an ambivalent event because, on the one hand, there is indeed grounds for celebration because it meant independence from British colonial rule for India and Pakistan … but at the same time partition was a reason for frustration and then, further on, it was a cause of violence.” Historians have estimated up to 20 million people were displaced in the years following partition, with the death toll “somewhere between 200,000 and two million people”, and possibly hundreds of thousands of girls and women suffering rape and abduction. Partition also led to a lasting long-term conflict between India and Pakistan involving several wars and the break-up of Pakistan in 1971. Dr Prott said Britain had come in for a lot of criticism due to the violence, with various historical studies regarding Indian partition as a “deliberate design” to weaken India and secure long-term British influence. But he argued that Britain was “overtaken by events” in the sense they underestimated “the dynamic for independence” and the huge potential for violence. “That’s the moment they rushed independence and rushed partition … a quick and easy exit option for the British Empire,” he said. As a result, no-one put mechanisms in place for refugee or minority protection, or to draw borders “in a sensible way”. Dr Prott said the partition of India was not an exception, but part of a larger historical pattern throughout the 20th century that also included new borders drawn that split Ireland, Palestine, Korea, Germany, Vietnam and Cyprus. This pattern comprised of three factors – the global expansion of the nation-state, “international stability” involving “fitting populations to borders”, and decolonisation leading to “friction and conflict”. He said: “We shouldn’t blame the British for plotting partition. It wasn’t an evil scheme they came up with.” But he stressed that the British did try to avoid assuming responsibility for more than a century of colonial rule in India, including “colonial violence, economic exploitation, and politicising religious identities of Muslims and Hindus” in particular. Dr Prott said the “starkest example” of a nation taking responsibility for the past was his own country, Germany, which committed the Holocaust, the “most extreme case of genocide in history”. Germany had come to terms with its crime and guilt, and accepted the need to work towards reconciliation. He said this was mostly seen as a historic problem in Germany, “but in Britain the legacy of colonialism is with us every day” with the Black Lives Matter movement, decolonising the curriculum in universities, changing street names, and removing controversial statues. He said: “We should see this dealing with our colonial past as an opportunity to bridge existing divides, to learn from each other. We need an open-ended debate.” Many people, he said, have very extreme views on the partition. Some praised the British Empire and said the violence was all because of racial hatreds, while others claimed people lived in harmony for centuries and problems were only caused by “evil British plotting”. “What we need to do is move away from these simplistic views of the past. History shows us that partitions very often cause more problems than they solve and we should try to find ways to accommodate human diversity rather than pulling people apart.” Aston University is marking the 75th anniversary of Indian partition by taking part in an exhibition at Birmingham New Street Station called ‘Children of the Railway: The Partition of India 75 Years On’, which opens on 6 September for three weeks. Dr Prott is also giving a public talk on partition at 5pm on 25 August at the Hockley Social Club.
Covering the music beat? Then tune in and get in touch with our resident hip-hop expert
Augusta University Professor Adam Diehl is an expert in hip-hop culture, lyrical analysis, rap as a form of literature and specifically, the works of Kendrick Lamar. Diehl gives an update on what's new in hip-hop and of course, answers questions about Lamar and his highly anticipated new album. How has the hip-hop music scene changed over the last 5 years? The hip-hop music scene has changed faster than any other genre the last five years. Whereas country still uses radio play and music videos to gauge success (along with album sales and streaming numbers) and rock uses touring to supplement and offset recording costs, pop and hip-hop have a great advantage in that they can raise people to stardom almost overnight. In fact, several of the biggest pop stars like Billie Eilish and Post Malone made their rapid ascents through the same channel many of the top hip-hop stars did: Soundcloud. Because this platform allowed new artists the chance to put their music alongside heavyweights, it democratized the listening process. What sent Soundcloud soaring? To put it succinctly, Soundcloud was the great reset of the hip-hop world. But when COVID hit and musicians couldn't tour for upwards of two years, the hip-hop community soared past country and rock (which they were already outselling pre-pandemic) because they didn't base their profit model on touring. Even pop stars were at a disadvantage, because the TV appearances and interviews they used to promote their new releases were few and far between for at least a year, and virtual events just couldn't replicate award show appearances and performances. Hip-hop, meanwhile, continued to be "Black America's CNN" and reported on the protests and outrage following the high-profile deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The resurgence of Black Lives Matter brought mainstream media and cultural attention to the Black community, and as such the importance of hip-hop grew, just as it did in the wake of the Rodney King verdict and the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. How has the economy of music changed? Most people under 20 don't own any CDs. What money these kids don't spend on music can now go to a modern cultural institution: the music festival. Increasingly, cities are hosting these previously camping-required concerts, which has been a particular advantage for hip-hop artists, who don't need roadies or sometimes even other people on stage. All they need is a setlist with six to 10 catchy songs, an entrancing light show, a DJ/engineer and a strong stage presence, and they can captivate the audience as easily as some of the all-time greats of any genre. Going forward, the music industry is going to be about return on investment. Instead of developing artists over a five-year period and then letting them blossom for two to three decades, they are looking for someone to explode in popularity instantly, stay in the spotlight and public consciousness consistently for three to five years, and then maybe stick around. TikTok is, in many ways, analogous to this career arc: the videos are short, the makers are -- to some extent -- largely forgettable, and the popularity relies heavily on a "hook." It's no surprise that hip-hop has been the most adopted genre by TikTokers: the genre has been more effective than any other in terms of codifying "catch phrases." And that's what TikTok is going for: something to hook viewers into watching more. Did the Super Bowl appearance by hip-hop artists take the genre to a whole new level as far as mainstream music? If the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022 did anything, it showed that rap and hip-hop are now as household friendly as rock, country and pop. Perhaps because so many best-selling rock acts had already played the halftime show, and perhaps because the pop acts of recent years had failed to maintain the public's attention, the 2022 halftime show featured one of hip-hop's founding fathers: Dr. Dre. His menagerie of artists' careers stretched over 30 years, and the time constraints of the show made hip-hop the ideal soundtrack. In a 13-minute set, six performers all got their moment in the California sun, and the mega-mix model so often used in clubs was perfect to segue from artist to artist. What 30 to 35 years ago was "Parental Advisory" is now the music that parents listen to. The target demo of the Super Bowl would've thought someone like Simon & Garfunkel or The Eagles much more risky picks than Dr. Dre & Co., even if their music was more family-friendly. Many casual music fans thought Kendrick Lamar was the head-scratcher because of his shorter tenure in the spotlight, but the younger generations watching were much more interested in what Kendrick did than "old heads" like Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige. Was this new album by Kendrick Lamar overdue? The new Kendrick Lamar album comes right on time: it is the definitive COVID album. If he had released in spring/summer 2020 when he originally intended (i.e. if the early March 2020 pgLang rollout was foreshadowing his record release), this would be a substantially different work of art. Instead, the project voices what so many people have endured in the pandemic: domestic turmoil. The tracks cover a vast array of topics -- from vaccinations to transgenderism to cancel culture -- but the unifying theme is therapy. As much emphasis as physical health got over the past two years, the pandemic was arguably just as bad if not worse for people's mental health. Accordingly, this album goes into dark valleys in Kendrick's and his family's trials and traumas: child abuse, sex addiction, separation/divorce, deaths, etc. In the two years that society has been persevering through the pandemic, countless marriages and millions of lives have been shaken to their cores. Listening to this double-album adds another tremor to our already-jostled souls. Tracks like "We Cry Together" capture the rapid-fire romantic arguments that can quickly escalate from disappointment to suicidal ideation, and "United in Grief" recreates the sense of a panic attack with its intensifying lyric delivery and drumbeats. Anxiety and depression are the recurring moods of this album, and the track list ranges in sonic textures -- from Lamar's tried-and-true vintage gangsta rap beats to the utterly unpredictable piano flourishes that come straight from a spoken word poetry reading -- to reflect the all-too-familiar combination of monotony and chaos that the world has undergone for the last two years. It is unforgettable -- just like COVID-19 -- but also, perhaps, something we'd rather not relive. Why do some consider Lamar the most influential rapper of our generation? Kendrick Lamar only has two real rivals for most influential rapper of the generation: Kanye West and Drake. Although Kanye is 10 years older, his career overlaps to a large degree with Kendrick's. Kanye's influence certainly comes more in the production of songs than in lyrical delivery, but his subject matter has been very contagious. Kendrick's mentioning of a Birkin bag in "N95" would never have happened if not for Kanye's lyrical (and career) forays into high fashion. Drake, on the other hand, is probably the rapper most influenced by Kanye...who went on to influence the most artists. Without Drake, many rappers wouldn't have had the blueprint for being singers as well as MCs. What Kendrick brings to the conversation is, in a way, more elusive; however, he without a doubt has raised the bar for lyrical delivery and flow, such that rappers have a better chance at success if they are comically basic than if they are merely competent. It's as if Kendrick took Eminem's velocity and used it to speak on bigger picture issues. Kendrick has also proven to be a fashion-forward rapper, collaborating with Reebok, Nike and Converse over the last few years. His influence might be most prominent in the "realness" of his lyrics: without Kendrick's "everyday life music," the emergence and popularization of "Soundcloud rap" might have been significantly limited. Instead, he uses Kodak Black -- one of the most successful of all Soundcloud-era rappers -- on Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. If Kendrick isn't the most influential rapper of his generation, it's because his ambition and execution have placed him with the all-time greats, and oftentimes that puts artists at odds with their contemporaries. In 100 years, people won't remember some big acts because popularity wears off, but they will still celebrate Kendrick because his work is excellent. Looking to know more? Hit up Adam Diehl today -- simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview.
‘The Murder Book: Understanding Homicide Today’
Augusta professor’s latest book is out now The grisly details of murder and true crime fascinate Americans. Whether it’s the current news about the horrific homicide of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, who disappeared while traveling in Wyoming with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, or the unsolved killing of child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey in her home in Boulder, Colorado, almost 25 years ago, people are intrigued by murder. People’s obsession with true crime has also taken the entertainment industry by storm, leading to numerous popular documentaries, movies about murders, television series on cold case investigations and podcasts dedicated to homicide. The genre is so prolific that Hulu’s latest hit — Only Murders In the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez — centers on Upper West Side neighbors and true crime podcast fans who sleuth out a murder podcast on their own. “Murder captures our attention,” said Dr. Kim Davies, dean of Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, who is also a sociologically trained criminologist with an academic focus on homicide and violence. “For a lot of people, I think it’s the idea of solving a mystery. And many people who find murder so fascinating, haven’t ever seen an autopsy and they haven’t seen a death. “When I taught my Sociology of Murder class here at Augusta University, I used to take students to autopsies and it’s gruesome. It’s not like what you see on television or in the movies.” Just last month, Oxford University Press published Davies’ new book, The Murder Book: Understanding Homicide Today. Back in 2007, Prentice Hall published The Murder Book: Examining Homicide by Davies, which was the only comprehensive textbook to focus on homicide. Her new textbook explores additional topics such as the increase in mass murders, the change in Stand Your Ground laws across the country and police shootings as it relates to the Black Lives Matter movement. “Probably the biggest difference in the two books is the chapter on mass murder,” Davies said. “Unfortunately, there have been a number of huge mass murders since the last book such as Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech and the Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people. In fact, our society and our news media has focused on mass murders much more. “When I wrote the last book, students were fascinated by serial murder, and a lot of students still are, but now it seems like we are more focused on mass murder.” The full release about Davies’ book release is attached, and well worth the read. If you’re a journalist covering true crime or any other aspect of this fascinating topic – then let us help with your stories. Dr. Kim Davies is a sociologically trained criminologist with academic focus is on homicide and violence. Kim is available to speak with media about this subject – simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
COVID-19 has raised the stakes for boards, argues Brunswick’s Paddy McGuinness, former UK Deputy National Security Adviser. We now live with COVID-19. Fewer business leaders are making the mistake of talking about “post-COVID” or “when this is over.” The better of them have factored in COVID-19 related constraints to their medium-term plans and are even thinking about how the world may change in the long-term. They are building capacity to take advantage of an early recovery within months, yet they are modeling and encouraging grit for current and indeed harder conditions to last much longer. In the past, when health emergencies—say the Spanish Flu pandemic of a century ago—subsided, there was a greater return to economic normality than had been expected during the crisis. Extreme events often heighten or even distort our perception of wider risks. That old journalistic cliché “one thing is certain, nothing will be the same again” is rarely true. But the pandemic has created the expectation that businesses will be resilient—that they will be able to respond to an event and recover to the state prior to the event, incorporating the lessons learned into business practice. Many business leaders feel they have not done too badly responding to a once-in-a-hundred-years event. Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), which were understandably sketchy for pandemics, were pulled out of second-line risk management and owned and improved in real-time by executive committees. The transition to remote working and, at least in Asia and some of Europe, the gradual return to offices again, has been managed. Services and even vital production have been maintained. Leaders have absorbed the personal and collective strain of this. Good reason then for some satisfaction as they delegate certain COVID-19 responses and focus on the economic tsunami that follows the pandemic. The public seems to largely agree with business leaders’ assessments. While many national and scientific leaders find themselves beset by “blamestorming,” corporate executives have been given more slack. They weren’t expected to have foreseen a pandemic. Their sometimes scrabbling responses are understood. However, behind this lucky pass lurks an expectation that businesses will now be more prepared for crises and foreseeable risks. Resilience cannot be relegated to BCPs and traditional risk-management structures. It is categorically a board issue—regulators, lawyers, politicians and the public say so. The reputations of individual board members and the collective are at stake. Think how fast leaders have been expected to respond to the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. Alacrity will be required. The speed and scale of decisions in response to the pandemic leaves board committees playing catch up to assure themselves that risks have been managed. The move to working from home has been rapid, so too the digitization of the business. Some see these as new, streamlined ways of working, yet the negative consequences are not yet fully apparent. Working from home, for instance, is attractive to some employees as well as chief financial officers, who may relish the chance to reduce fixed costs. Concerns about the impact on the coherence of the business’s culture, its productivity and innovation, the security of data held at home, hardships for those in difficult home conditions, and, indeed, the needs of the younger demographic who seem to favor a return to the office, need to be given due consideration. It may be a case of “decide in haste, repent at leisure.” Resilience is categorically a board issue—regulators, lawyers, politicians and the public say so. The reputations of individual board members and the collective are at stake. Boards also need assurance that the business has regained its balance and can manage parallel or interrelated crises. In recent weeks we have been helping several clients respond to major cyber events unrelated to the COVID-19 outbreak. They have probably needed more external support than otherwise because their leadership capacity was inevitably denuded by pandemic response. And they have benefitted from us already knowing each other and having experience of how to work together in crisis. After the Great Financial Crash there was a heavy focus on balance-sheet resilience and having the requisite finance skills on boards. Business leaders are now beset by advice on the heightened obligation to be resilient in much a broader sense of the word. Regulators, lawyers and risk consultants are sharing checklists of factors for executive committees to take into account when managing risks and for boards to oversee. The challenge here is defining what changes your specific business needs and how to actually bring those about. Shareholders will be expecting a judicious move away from “just in time” systems to ones that can endure foreseeable risks. This isn’t just about potential legal liability or reputational risk. This is about setting your business culture for success. Undermanage risks and the business is wide open to damage from foreseeable shocks with all the loss of confidence and capability that follows. Overmanage and the business losses its competitive edge just when there is opportunity in the recovery. In order to track broader resilience, boards and their committees will need access to a wider set of skills and insight. Board membership emerges as an obvious area of focus. Yet each board will take more time and belonging to too many—“over boarding”—may well be unacceptable. Risk methodology and information flows will also have to be reviewed, alongside how to strengthen board members’ awareness and skills. Before the pandemic, chairs and CEOs were already wrestling with this for their difficult-to-price risks, such as data, technology risks and cyber. Individual experts on boards created siloed responsibility for what should have been a shared risk. A focus on process and method often led to a focus on the management, rather than genuine oversight of, risks. External advice didn’t always help (as we have learned from the plethora of competing advice around COVID-19). No single intervention will meet the new standard for resilience. Nor will simple prescription. A broader and more articulated approach is required if governance is to maintain stakeholder confidence and corporate reputation.
As the persistent turmoil of protests grips America on an almost daily basis, people are becoming more aware of issues, getting engaged and taking sides. Be it around the dinner table debating, marching in the streets or even arguing on a national news panel – topics like Black Lives Matter, masks during COVID, the upcoming election or a host of other hot-topic issues are all part of the American conversation these days. It’s easy and even healthy for people to debate the issues – but for a business to pick a side on a controversial topic, it’s a much different picture. One recent example was Nike’s support of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. However, Nike also had the resources to bolster their support. They had a multi-million-dollar ad budget, a public relations machine generating hours of earned media – and the company was, for the most part playing to its core audience. Though there was push-back, Nike was rewarded with increased sales and its stock surged. For almost a decade now, Chick-fil-A has also boldly taken a stance with its opinion on gay marriage. The restaurant chain has faced mountains of negative press and protests, but the fast-food giant’s bottom lined never suffered. It still sees sales over 10 billion a year. For Nike and Chik-Fil-A and their deep pockets to wade into the fray with an opinion – it’s one thing, but for a small business to share how it feels, there’s a matter of weighing risk versus reward no matter how important the topic might be. “It may well be that it’s harder for entrepreneurs to create a viable business model for their venture in a more polarized context, says Giacomo Negro, a Professor of Organization & Management at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. “If your business is more hybrid—if you’re supportive of a cause without being overtly affiliated with it—then it could be harder to engage other customers or clients who are uncomfortable doing business with a firm that is even vaguely linked to a specific social group or movement. Similarly, the core supporters of the cause can look at the same organization as not authentically engaged with them.” His findings certainly suggest that existing in a “gray zone,” where you take neither one side or the other, is a hard place for organizations to thrive in times of social change. “If protest activates the cultural boundary surrounding a group’s identity, then increasing protest participation will threaten the viability of precisely those organizations trying to engage inside and outside audiences,” Negro said. “At the same time, bridging inside and outside audiences also conveys a confusing identity and a more limited commitment to pursuing goals relevant to either audience.” With a global pandemic impacting all aspects of national and local economies – small businesses are under pressure to sustain and survive like never before. And if you are a journalist looking to cover the state of small businesses in America and whether or not small business has a role to play in protests and politics in America – then let our experts help with your coverage. Giacomo Negro is a Professor of Organization & Management at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and is an expert in the area of economic sociology. His resent research study research study, “Which Side Are You On? The Divergent Effects of Protest Participation on Organizations Affiliated with Identity Groups’ focuses on this very subject. Professor Negro is available to speak with media about this topic – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview today.
The protests inspired by the tragic death of George Floyd have now touched every state in America. The protests have dominated the news and the world has been watching, sometimes in shock. Jennifer E. Cobbina is an associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She has authored books on police protests and is highly regarded as an expert on these issues. Recently, she was interviewed about police tactics, policies and how they might be adding fuel to the fire as opposed to de-escalating the tensions among protestors. Jennifer Cobbina, a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University, told Insider that protest policing in the 1960s and 1970s was "based on the philosophy of escalated force in which increasing violence on the part of protesters was met with increasing force from police. This approach was primarily aggressive and confrontational in nature." "We see protest police resorting to this strategy" in the ongoing George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, she said, even though such tactics "exacerbate tension between police and protesters." Cobbina suggested police adopt the negotiated management approach that was favored from the mid-1970s until the 1990s. This response protects the right to free speech, tolerates some disruption, de-escalates tension, and avoids high levels of police force unless it's absolutely necessary. This would allow demonstrators and police departments to "decrease disruptiveness from protesters and limit the need for police violence," she said. June 02 Insider.com If you are a journalist covering the protests occurring across America and various responses by police and authorities when handling them – let our experts help with your story. Jennifer E. Cobbina is an associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She is an expert in the areas of race, crime, policing, as well as protest movements. Professor Cobbina is available to speak with media – simply click on her icon to arrange an interview today.
Villanova Experts Reflect on the 2010s
The iPad. Hurricane Sandy. Affordable Care Act. #MeToo. Brexit. Streaming services. Since 2010, there have been so many memorable and historic events that have shifted culture and society into unfamiliar territory around the world. Two Villanova experts have put together thoughts on a few of the decade's top stories that will continue to be relevant for the next ten years—and beyond. Stephen Strader, assistant professor of geography and the environment Over the last decade we have seen the issue of anthropogenic or human-induced climate change shift from something discussed between select, interested scientists to the front page of the news on a daily basis. This dramatic change in the importance and coverage of climate change makes complete sense given six of the last ten years globally have been in the top ten warmest on record. Actually, it's very likely, if not certain, that the last five years will be the hottest globally on record. The odds of that happening naturally are very close to zero. Nowhere have the effects of a changing climate been realized more so than in the western United States, where wildfires have wreaked havoc year after year in the 2010s. States such as California, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Washington all experienced record-breaking wildfires over the last decade. Specifically, the Camp Fire in 2018 became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, destroying 18,000-plus homes and killing 85 people in the town of Paradise. Additionally: Hurricanes Dorian, Irma, Harvey, Maria, etc. damaged entire countries (Puerto Rico and Bahamas) so much that there is question whether they will ever recover from the effects. The deadliest tornado season on record occurred in 2011, including the devastating April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak and the deadliest U.S. tornado in modern history, which struck Joplin, Missouri (158 fatalities). Between 2011 and 2017, drought and water shortages impacted the western U.S., with California seeing its worst drought in history (or worst in 1,200 years). The drought killed 100-plus million trees and resulted in water shortages that affected crops and caused municipalities to limit water use. Record-setting rainfall and floods occurred in locations such as Colorado, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, etc., resulting in hundreds dead and millions of dollars in crop losses. If the last 10 years have taught scientists, climatologists, policy makers and the general public anything, it's that we have our work cut out for us if we are to reverse this trend of increasing disasters around the world. The atmosphere continues to warm, and all model projections point to a progressively warmer future Earth if action is not taken. And this action can't be tomorrow or by 2025, 2050 or some other arbitrary year; it has to happen now if we want to reduce future economic and societal losses. Yes, it's easy to be afraid and fearful of the future when all we see as scientists and citizens are rising temperatures, deadlier disasters and a lack of drastic climate action. However, we can't let this fear result in crippling inaction; we have to let it motivate us to fight, not for just our futures but our children's, grandchildren's and great-grandchildren's futures. Let's give them a chance to see the world the way we used to: beautiful. Jerusha Conner, associate professor of education and counseling The latter half of this decade witnessed a resurgence of student activism, sparked by Black Lives Matter protests and the dramatic events at the University of Missouri in the fall of 2015. Highlighting 2015 as a pivotal year for student activism, the authors of the American Freshman National Norms survey deemed the 2015 freshman class "the most ambitious" group in 49 years of the survey's administration in terms of their expectations for participating in protests, connecting to their communities and influencing the political structure; and the numbers of freshmen who report having participated in demonstrations as high school seniors has ticked up every year since. In my own research with college student activists in 2016, I found three striking trends: Nearly half came to college already seeing themselves as activists; only 10% consider themselves single-issue activists (with more than half identifying seven or more issues their activism addressed); and a significant share were not protesting their own institution's policies or practices, but instead concerning themselves with broader social and political issues. They are what I call "outward-facing activists," who use their campuses to stage and mobilize campaigns, rather than as the targets of their change efforts. In the last couple of years, we have seen activism among high school students take off, as students have staged walkouts and school strikes to protest inaction on climate change and gun violence. Although these movements may appear narrowly focused on a single issue, the students involved have intentionally advanced an intersectional perspective, which draws attention to the racialized, economic and gendered dimensions of the multifaceted problems they are seeking to address. Digital natives, these young people have deployed the affordances of social media not only to mobilize their peers in large-scale collective action, but also to attract and sustain the attention of the media, pressure business leaders and politicians and shape public understanding of the issues. One interesting shift with this generation of student activists is that, rather than turning their backs on the system or seeking to upend it, they are focused on enhancing voter registration and turnout, especially among young people. And their efforts appear to be working. Youth turnout in the 2018 midterms was double that of 2014, and record numbers of youth are continuing to register to vote. As the decade comes to a close and the 2020 campaign season revs up, the engagement of student activists in electoral politics will be important to continue to track.
What Is Black Twitter and How Is it Changing the National Conversation? Baylor Expert Explains.
“Black Twitter” is a social media phenomenon that is changing the national conversation, but many people – including professional and strategic communicators – do not understand what it is or how it works, says Baylor University’s Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., professor of journalism, public relations and new media. Moody-Ramirez is a nationally recognized expert on mass media representations of minorities, women and other underrepresented groups. She coauthored the 2018 book From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, & Gender with Janette L. Dates, Ph.D., educator and critical commentator on the images of African-Americans in media. First things first, Moody-Ramirez said, Black Twitter is not a separate entity from Twitter. Black Twitter is a grassroots movement within Twitter that has provided a virtual community of mostly African-American Twitter users a collective voice on a variety of issues, including Black Lives Matter. Black Twitter users often identify themselves using the #blacktwitter hashtag or by focusing on issues related to the black experience. “We conclude [in our book] that alternative spaces, such as Twitter, offer a platform for ideas and concerns from a black perspective about social inequalities, politics and social justice, that were historically prohibited from taking root in other communication venues,” Moody-Ramirez said. In the following Q&A, Moody-Ramirez further explains Black Twitter. Q: When do you see the most Black Twitter activity? A: Much of the content on Black Twitter surfaces during a crisis that impacts black people such as race-related incidents that had less than favorable outcomes for the black community. As the saying goes, if society doesn’t handle it, then Black Twitter will step in to handle it. On a lighter note, Black Twitter users also collectively discuss media content such as TV shows, movies and award ceremonies from the black perspective. Q: How can people monitor what’s happening via Black Twitter? A: "Black Twitter" users often identify themselves using the #blacktwitter hashtag or other hashtags such as #BlackGirlJoy, #blackboyjoy, #blacklivesmatter, or any other hashtag focuses on issues related to the black experience. You can also monitor Black Twitter by following individuals who are known for sharing content about the black experience. Q: If someone outside the African-American community feels passionate about an issue or supports an issue raised by the Black Twitter community, how can they engage? Should they? A: As with any other platform, they should be considerate and proceed with caution. Anyone who is not a regular should make sure what they are sharing is appropriate. Q: Do you see Black Twitter or similar movements emerging on other social media platforms? A: Not to the same extent because Black Twitter is driven by hashtags and certain Twitter users who are trendsetters. Q: Is Black Twitter a reflection or an extension of other historical, social African-American grassroots movements? A: African Americans have used Twitter to share narratives on issues of interest to the black community, particularly in the United States. In her 2015 dissertation, Dr. Meredith Clark writes that African-American Twitter users have emerged as a subset of interest for two reasons – (1) their representation on Twitter has eclipsed that of White U.S. users; (2) because of their representation, they possess a unique ability to dramatically influence Twitter trends. Q: How do you feel Black Twitter will evolve? Will it? A: Scholars such as Feminista Jones and Dr. Meredith Clark have traced the history and content of Black Twitter, noting that the platform is used to share content on timely topics such as racial inequalities, politics, police brutality and women’s rights. In 2013, Feminista Jones described “Black Twitter” as a “collective of active, primarily African-American Twitter users who have created a virtual community that participates in continuous real-time conversations.” ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.
