“Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.” 
― Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography

According to its creators, the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag was created after the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin as a response to the anti-Black racism that permeates our society and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression. In response, #AllLivesMatter was created more informally to counter what many felt was an exclusionary focus on Black lives at the expense of others. 

 This is just one example of the debates and competing voices that ensue regarding the causes and consequences of various social justice movements, especially those that are entrenched in discourses about race, gender, sexuality, and other social, cultural, and political markers.  

This course allows students to examine mediated constructions and debates about movements from civil rights to reproductive freedom, their history and narratives, competing perceptions, and what other influences portray of these same movements. This course will allow you to view these perceptions objectively in order for you to determine how various influences can shape a society and the outcomes they create.