Final Paper 1

Runninghead:BlackLivesMatter Campaign
Black Lives Matter
Kent State University
Clay Miller

Black Live Matter Campaign 2
Introduction
Police Brutality is an issue that has plagued America for decades with cases like Rodney
King, Robert Davis, and now Mike Brown. As of recent videos of police brutality have been
spiraling viral everywhere on the internet to television from Facebook to CNN showing the
killings and beatings of black individuals by the hand of the police. These incidents (Trayvon
Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Gardner) sparked an online movement called “#BlackLivesMatter”
which would be read on individuals post on Twitter to march and chanted on the Streets of New
York to Washington D.C. Black Lives Matter is organization with chapters on the East, West,
Mid-West, and South regions of the United States looking to re-build the Black Liberation
Movement.
Social Issues
Across the country there have been many officers having a field day killing U.S. citizens
in particular African Americans. According to the Guardian.com there has been 1048 people
killed in the United States this year to date by the police (2015). Also according to the
Guardian.com blacks are twice as likely to be killed by a police officer when unarmed compared
to whites being that 32% of black were unarmed when killed compared to 15% of whites.
According to mintpressnews.com for every million Black people, police will kill five of them
compared to White’s two (2015).
The deaths of these black individuals killed by white police officer is a snowball effect of
racism which seems to be the leading cause of these misfortunes which is racism (Chaney &
Robertson, 2013). According to Garcia and Sharif (2015) racism is defined as a “system of
structuring opportunity and assigning value based on race, that unfairly disadvantages some

individuals and communities,” and advantages others, affects the daily realities in communities
of color (2015, pg 2).This racism starts in our homes and is transported to work whether that job
is in the court house or police station. The black community must not only suffer from losing
their loved ones to the men that are supposed to protect us, but also watch these crooked cops
walk free with very little consequences and many times none Black people across the United
States are more likely to face discrimination in the criminal justice system and be harassed,
arrested and shot by police, and even the most extreme cases of police excess often end in little
punishment (Mic.com, 2015). In 49 cases (63% of fatalities), the officer was not indicted or
charged (Chaney & Robertson, 2015). That is more than half that will walk free after committing
act of brutality which led to a number of deaths.
This all leads to the idea of white supremacy which is believed to be the main issue
between black citizens and white law enforcement officials. It is seen as white supremacy when
law official seem to ignore the victimization, and humanity of African Americans (Chaney &
Robertson, 2015). It is also considered white supremacy when blacks are seen as naturally
dangerous and sub-human like Darren Wilson statement after he killed Michael Brown stating
“He looked like a demon” (Chaney & Robertson, 2015).
Seeing this as an issued I teamed up with Black Lives Matter and few students at Kent
State University to help bring awareness to police brutality, and spread the message of the black
liberation movement of being unapologetically black. This all resides under the Black Lives
Matter umbrella of what they are about.

Campaign
After I completed my research of the Black Live Matter group I noticed that they were
having a campaign to boycott the Black Friday shopping. Black Lives Matter group says we
(Black people) are spending money we do not have supporting people who do not like us (White
People) (Blacklivesmatter.com, 2015). We should be supporting each other spending money in
our own community and not on commercial retail (BlackLivesMatter.com, 2015). This is when
the idea for my campaign came to light. I will have a Black Lives Matter event that will be a
showcase of black art and poetry depicting life of an African American as a therapy release in
these depressing times of the United States today. This is called art therapy. Art therapy is
therapy through arts of painting or performing poetry is seen as the most effective treatment to
treat depression in recent years (Parsa & Harati, 2013). This event will also provide information
on police brutality while also persuading those to not partake in Black Friday shopping, but
instead support a black owned business to support the community (BlackLivesMatter.com,
2015).
The first thing I needed to do was find the artist that will be willing to donate their art for
display for this event. So I called an old class mate Hailey Carter who is a painter and asked if
she had any old art that she would like to display, or create for this event, and she said yes.
Hailey also made mention that she has friend that is a fashion design Major Candace Parker who
had paintings she was willing to donate.
Secondly, I connected with a local recording artist from Cleveland to come perform a
piece of poetry, or spoken word tailored to the difficulties of African American in living
continuous racial injustices that have been displayed virally. I received confirmation from local
Cleveland artist Brandon Hawkins, and Chidi Norgwarf that they will recite a form of poetry

recognizing the many racial disparities that have plagued our country and honoring the ones that
have left indefinitely due these occurrences.
Thirdly, I had to find a local black owned business that would be willing to be a part of
my campaign. To take a part in the campaign the business must be willing to offer a discount for
their service or product. What I found was local barbershop called Headmaster’s that had a Black
owner named Bradley Robinson. Headmaster’s was willing to offer five dollars of each haircut
for attending the event. There will be an attendance sheet and after signing in you will receive a
ticket with 5 printed for proof of entry to receive the discount cut. The next step to this campaign
would be acquiring an audience to attend the event.
The primary Audience of the Black Lives Matter movement are all African American
men, woman, and children. They have all fell victim to police brutality, and racism in America.
Tamir Rice, 12yrs of age gunned down by a white cop (CNN.com, 2015). Sandra Bland, 28yrs of
age found dead in her jail cell from alleged police brutality from a white cop (CNN.com, 2015).
Now what people want is justice for these officers to be punished as any other American who has
committed a murder. Health officials say that America should be enraged because these acts of
police brutality violates “Healthy People 20/20” a society where all people live healthy long
lives which is simply not the case (Garcia, Sharif, 2015). Garcia and Sharif say it will take a
collect effort to fight against police brutality, and elected health officials need to do more in
community creating
Due to the lack accessibility of tools to reach a broader audience I chose my target
audience to be black college students at Kent State University. A growing body of scholarly
research related to police brutality has revealed that Blacks are more likely than Whites to make
complaints regarding police brutality (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). According to

mintpressnews.com for every million Black people, police will kill five of them compared to
White’s two (2015). This is why it is important to inform the black student body of the alarming
rate black youths are dying by the hand of the police brutality. The average age of a college
student is 18 through 22 and 18% of African Americans killed by the police were under the age
of 21 (usatoday.com).
My primary method to acquire an audience is through Social media (Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram). The reason I am using Social Media is because of its ability to allow messages to
travel which is known as cascading (Boyang, Vos, 2015). Cascading is when the message travels
from the first receiver onto the next one (Boyang, Vos, 2015). This is done through sharing
messages, reposts, or retweets (Boyang, Vos, 2015). According to Pew Research nearly 100% of
college students not only have access but use the internet, and almost 90% of undergraduate and
80% of graduate students use social networking sites (2015). The time that I will advertise on
social media will be at 5pm. According to BusinessInsider.com 5pm is the best time to post on
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (2015).
The secondary method that will be used to acquire an audience will be through word-of-
mouth (WOM). The reason for choosing WOM is because it is simply the best way to advertise.
The majority of advertising now a days is through face to face communication by way of WOM
(Keller, Fay 2012). At Kent State University Oscar Ritchie is the building for Pan-African
Studies that is full of students who are Pan-African Majors, and people interested in black culture
who may be concerned about killings of black people by hands of the police. To advertise my
event I went from class to class informing students about my event asking Pan African
professors and students to spread the word. WOM is also a good tool to use for advertising when
it is linked to a high credibility source (Keller, Fay, 2012). 58% of people describe high

credibility from their source, and 50% said it leads to purchase (Keller, Fay, 2012). This is why
depended on professors and students to spread the word being that they are the most credible
people on campus when dealing with the black community on campus.
To appeal to the black community we placed pictures of Michael Brown, Sandra Bland,
and Tamir Rice in caption asking “What if this was your family member?” The reason for
choosing these images is because black people are drawn to and find more confidence in the ad
when there are other blacks on the ad The reason I used a question for the caption of the ad
because according to MarketingProfs.com questions are still the most general pitch statements
used in advertising because they involve the consumer to pause and think about the answer and
the product (2015).
To appeal to the white community we used guilt. we asked them to attend the event to see
how black students feel eternally living in today’s times of police brutality and by showing up
they would receive five dollars off for supporting a local black business. “Guilt states are
mitigated more effectively by egoistic appeals, because they strengthen the affect forecasting
belief that giving to charity leads to happiness” (Chang, 2014).
It is said that the Black Live Matter Movement is seen as White Supremacy reversed
(USA Today, 2015). The truth is police brutality is a nationwide problem and Black people are
not the only people taking issue. The truth is this issue can only be handled by America coming
together as one. The truth is white support helped us conquer slavery, civil rights, and now we
must band together once again for police brutality (USA Today, 2015).
My goal for this event was to have over 40 students attend. Another goal for my
campaign was to create $100 in discount sales at the barbershop and gain over 20 signatures

vowing to not shop on black Friday. My most important goal is to bring awareness through art of
how black students feel about police brutality.
Due to connections with the athletic department we held the event in MAC center in
room 164.. The art that we received from our volunteers was placed around the room. Upon
entry visitors were passed fact sheets on police brutality statistics. The fact sheet detailed
statistics like in 2010 there was more than 6,000 police misconduct cases (guardian.com).
According Copscrisis.com less than one percent of officers are indicted compared to 90% of
citizens that are indicted.
After 20 minutes of the viewing of art we allowed the poets Brandon Hawkins and Chidi
Norgwaf to recite their written poetry. In their poetry they depicted a violent world that they
were scared to live in base on the ones protecting you harming your life. When the poetry
concluded I urged those that showed to join the Black Lives Matter movement by boycotting
Black Friday. We urged those that came to support a local black business instead of shopping
(BlackLiveMatter.com, 2015). Those that signed the sheet made a vow to shop on Black Friday
and by doing that they will receive five dollars off at Head Master’s Barbershop which is a black
owned and local business owned by master barber Bradley Robinson.
Results
We met our goal of 20 signatures that vowed to not go shopping on Black Friday and 20
discount haircut that were cut from the time November 27th to November 30th. We met our total
viewership of 50 students. There was only 3 white students that attended and one vowed to not
go shopping on Black Friday and received a discounted hair cut at Head Master’s Barbershop. In

total the barber shop totaled $255 excluding tips. Which told by Bradley Robinson, master barber
at Head Master’s Barbershop, which is good for a single day of work at the barbershop.
Most importantly we met our goal allowing black youth to express their feeling towards
police brutality. In the short amount of time we gained 12 paintings illustrating the artist view in
the world we live in. We also had two poets express their art verbally detailing the torment they
feel living in the world today with African Americans dying by hand of the police.
Retrospect
The way my campaign turned out I could not be any happier considering the
circumstances I had to work through from unscheduled football meetings to inopportune
practices, and games. I met all the goals that I have set for the campaign to reach including
attendance and $100 to Head Master’s Barbershop through accounted for discount cuts. Though I
believe it to go well there steps that I could have taken to make my campaign stronger.
Looking back on the campaign I wish that I had more time to collect the art for my
campaign. If I would have found the direction for my campaign earlier I would have more time
to collect more art to present. The art I received was volunteered for display from students at the
university. With more time I would have reached out to more organizations to donate art for
display. I received a total of 12 great paintings which allowed me to have decent display, but to
have art from a true professional painter would have been a more credible source.
With more time I would have also scheduled a credible guest speaker to inform those of
the Black Lives Matter Movement. By doing this my event would have received more coverage
across the university from the newspaper, radio, and blogs. Having a guest speaker from the

Black Lives Matter organization would have also made my event more credible to the public eye
who does not know this is a public event for all in support promote through Black Live Matter
(BlackLivesMatter.com, 2015)
Secondly, I could have used a better venue to house the event. The room we used did not
make for great viewing pleasure. The way the room was set up people where shoulder to
shoulder when viewing each picture. A slightly larger room would have allowed more viewing
space for attendee’s to comfortably look at the artwork. The venue also could have used a stage
to create a proper viewing for the poetry recital. Due to the room being rectangular the audience
were forced to crowd in the very middle of the room with very little room to move around.
Lastly, I would have found a better way ensure that people who signed the attendance
sheet did not participate in Black Friday shopping. Though they vowed to not shop on Black
Friday we had no way of witnessing that they went through with their promise. We forced to take
their word and reward them beforehand with a discount haircut. If I were to redo this step in my
campaign I would host my event during Black Friday at the most busiest time to shop which is
two through four in the afternoon (searchenginewatch.org, 2015).
Conclusion
Police Brutality is not an issue that can be fixed in a day by one single campaign or one
collect group effort. It take all races to come together and bond as one to overcome such a civil
issue. This campaign was created to assist the Black Liver Matter group in their mission to fight
police brutality a stop the deaths of young black youth by hands of the police. By teaming with
the Black Live Matter group I was able to connect to my audience through art representing the
struggles of police brutality.

My team exceeded our goal creating $100 profit for Head Masters Barbershop, and
gaining 20 signatures from the event that vowed not to take part in Black Friday. Our audience
left more informed about police brutality then when they first entered our event.
The goal of this campaign was not eradicate police brutality but, to inform those of the
struggles of African American but, also take action to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
There have been many instances of unarmed African American killed by police with no
indictment. These are the issues we must bring notice to so that we can fight for our human and
civil rights to not have our live judged if we should live or not by the hands of the police.

References
Arian Parsa, N., & Harati, S. (2013). ART THERAPY (POETRY THERAPY) CAN REDUCE
THE EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION. International Journal Of Academic Research, 5(4),
149-152. doi:10.7813/2075-4124.2013/5-4/B.22
Benna, S. (2015, July 29). The best times to post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Retrieved
November 11, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/best-times-to-post-on-
facebook-instagram-twitter-2015-7
Black Lives Matter Freedom & Justice for all Black Lives. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2015,
from http://www.BlackLivesMatter.com
Boyang, Z., & Vos, M. (2015). How and Why Some Issues Spread Fast in Social Media. Online
Journal Of Communication & Media Technologies, 5(1), 90-113.
Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. (2013). Racism and Police Brutality in America. Journal Of
African American Studies, 17(4), 480-505. doi:10.1007/s12111-013-9246-5
Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. (2015). Armed and Dangerous? An Examination of Fatal Shootings
of Unarmed Black People by Police. Journal Of Pan African Studies, 8(4), 45-78.
College students and technology. (2011, July 18). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/07/19/college-students-and-technology/
EMORD, J. W. (2015). EVERY LIFE MATTERS. USA Today Magazine, 144(2844), 48-49.

García, J. J., & Zulfacar Sharif, M. (2015). Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and
Public Health. American Journal Of Public Health, 105(8), e27-e30.
doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302706
Keller, E., & Fay, B. (2012). Word-of-Mouth Advocacy: A New Key to Advertising
Effectiveness. Journal Of Advertising Research, 52(4), 459-464. doi:10.2501/JAR-52-4-
459-464
Tamir Rice shooting is ruled a homicide - CNN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/12/justice/cleveland-tamir-rice/
Tannenbaum, M. B., Hepler, J., Zimmerman, R. S., Saul, L., Jacobs, S., Wilson, K., &
Albarracin, D. (2015). Appealing to Fear: A Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeal Effectiveness
and Theories. Psychological Bulletin, 114(6), 1178-1204. doi:10.1037/a0039729
Warning to Direct Marketers: Asking These Questions Will Kill Your Conversions. (2008,
November 1). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from
http://www.marketingprofs.com/8/warning-direct-marketers-these-questions-kill-
conversions-densa.asp
Yılmaz, R. A., & Ozturk, M. C. (2013). Emotional Appeals are used in Social Advertising:
Content Analysis on Turkish Case. Online Journal Of Communication & Media
Technologies, 3(3), 74-90.

Appendix
Campaign Timeline
 November 12-November 15
o Meetings on 11/12, 11/15,
o Brainstormingphase-choosing what Black Live Matter event was going to
choose.
 Novemember 15-20
O Recruting artwork 11/15
o Find venue to host campaign 11/15
o Met with poetry artist 11/17-
o 3/3-Reachingoutto locations(churches,Women’sCenter,campus
groups (KCS) for help with locations
 November 18 -22
o Oscar Ritchie advertising 11/18
o Created Fact Sheet for police brutality 11/19
 November 23-25
o Rehersal for campaign 11/23
o More face to face advertising in Oscar Ritchie 11/24
 November 26
o Mac Center event

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