18 year old Michael Brown was shot and killed Saturday by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer.
The shooting death of 18 year old Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson, Missouri police officer has not only shocked a community, but also social media. The most widely used photo of Michael Brown shows the teen throwing up a peace sign. It has been suggested by some news outlets as being gang related.
Sunday night, Twitter went in with the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown. The hashtag included pictures of African American men in their graduation caps and gowns, military uniforms, holding their children, combined with photos of the same men in more aggressive poses.
The tweets all ask, “What picture would be used to identify me in the media, if I were shot and killed?”
Here are some side by side comparisons of this latest example of what’s been called hashtag activism – the use of social media hashtags to bring awareness to a specific issue:
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown which photo would they use? pic.twitter.com/y3y8tFHtPN
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown which pic would they use pic.twitter.com/0GGR2Ec7bS
— Free Nah (@1Amir__) August 11, 2014
— Aug. 25th #AVO (@WhoISdeante) August 11, 2014
This is a rhetorical question. And that makes me sad. #iftheygunnedmedown which picture would they use? pic.twitter.com/86UCAa4QHE — Steve Marmel (@Marmel) August 10, 2014
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown what picture would they use pic.twitter.com/lJ3k3tT63n
— I Am Who I Am (@King_Ghidorah5) August 11, 2014
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown which image would the Media Use??? pic.twitter.com/kmgwITFdky — #INDISSTREE (@BuddhaLeeRaye) August 10, 2014
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown which would they use? pic.twitter.com/sWjkr1Qk2Z — W.E.B. DuGirls (@III_V_VII) August 11, 2014