Truth and Power

Episode 1

#blacklivesmatter

Fri, Jan 22, 2016 21 mins

Black Lives Matter is a twenty-first century civil rights movement born and bred on social media. Created by a group of young, female activists in the wake of Trayvon Martin's death, the movement grew as instances of American police brutality were broadcast around the world. Activists at the forefront of the movement soon discovered that their activities had not only sparked a nationwide social justice movement but had also caught the attention of the FBI and local law enforcement who have been using their own sophisticated technology to track them. Their surveillance recalls law enforcement and the FBI's treatment of civil rights movements of the past and controversial programs enacted to dissuade progress. This episode charts the explosive growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, spotlights its key figures and examines the government's tactics to surveill them. How far will law enforcement go in its efforts to track the organization, and what does this mean for democracy?