Stream of sadness: young black women’s racial trauma, police brutality and social media

Abstract

ABSTRACT Representations of police brutalization of Black Americans saturated social media in recent years. These images sparked protests and policy change. They also put Black death and anti-Black state violence on constant display for all to see and potentially introduce or trigger racial trauma. This qualitative study explores how representations of violent and fatal police brutalization of Black Americans on social media inflict racial trauma on young Black women. In-depth interviews with 15 Black women enrolled in college explore their experiences related to viewing violent and fatal police brutality of Black people on social media between 2014 and 2017. Cultivation theory and the concept resonance are used to understand the impact of viewing these violent and deadly images over time.