Social-Media Activism, Social Capital, and Young African-Americans

Abstract

This proposed study of digital activism among Howard University students will examine the relationship between social media-based digital activism and social capital. At the core of this exploration is the following question: How does social capital effect digital activism among Howard University Students? The study will employ a two-tiered research design that includes (1) a triangulative analysis of Howard University Students’ in terms of how social capital has influenced their digital activism in digital spaces in response to the the Jena 6 case in 2006, the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and, later in 2012, the shooting of Jordan Davis; and (2) case studies to demonstrate how social media served in facilitating coordinated action for political and social efficacy, and disseminated information which might not be easily accessible through mainstream media and governmental sources. The data collection techniques will include surveying Howard University students. This data collection technique will be augmented with a document analysis of books, journal articles, and government reports. The cases to be examined will offer a relevant springboard to examine how social capital plays a role in the manner in which Howard University students use digital technology, specifically social media, to engage in dialogue to collaborate and mobilize in order to address social ad political injustice. It is the hope of this study to tease out how and why social capital plays a factor in Howard University students’ engaging in digital activism in response to the aforementioned cases, and the various technological practices they employed to do so. The study hypothesizes that (a) information disseminated through E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube created social capital among young Howard University students; (b) digital activism in response to the Jena 6 case and the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis created political efficacy for young Howard University students. The major factors to be explored will include social capital and digital activism.