Rising For

Change
 Table
TableofofContents
Contents
Title Page #

Letter From The Editor 3

Social Media’s Impact on the Black Lives Matter Movement 4

Stay Woke- The Black Lives Matter Movement 5

The March For Our Lives Movement’s Effect on Society 6-7

“Found/Tonight” 8-9

The Civil Rights Movement And Its Effect On Community and Society 10-11

“I look at the world” 12

(Poem by Langston Hughes)

Work Cited 13-14

By: Gweneth Ke
 Welcome!
Welcome to the Rising For Change Magazine! Our First
Magazine ever written! Just For You! We hope you find interest in it!
We chose our thesis statement by forming inquiries that
were all based between a common interest, community and activism. We
came to a consensus about which question we should base our magazine
off of and rearranged the wording to make it a statement. Our Group
thesis statement came out to be, “Activists play a major role in creating
change in their communities.” Our Individual topics were “Social Media’s
Impact on the Black Lives Matter Movement” and ”The March For Our
Lives Movement’s Effect on Society” and finally, “The Civil Rights
Movement And Its Effect On Community and Society”.
Our group researched about these topics because we all felt we
knew most of the material that we would be researching. Knowing most
of the material would make this a walk in the park.
You should expect to see in James Ortiz’s Article, (“Social Media’s
Impact on the Black Lives Matter Movement”) evidence on how Social
media informed viewers on challenges that African Americans faced and
informed people about the movement. In Gweneth Ke’s Article, (”The
March For Our Lives Movement’s Effect on Society”)you should expect to
see how your opinion about feeling safe sending your child to school
would change after recent reports of school shootings. Also you should
see how a group of survivors wanted to bring change and started a
movement. And for Roberto Garcia Jr’s Article, (“The Civil Rights
Movement And Its Effect On Community and Society”) You should expect
to see how Activists like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Philip
Randolph, and The Little Rock Nine all stood up against challenges and
still were courageous to bring change for the better of African-Americans
changing not only their communities but America and Society itself. You
should also expect to see Artwork, Poems, Videos, or Creative pieces that
us authors chose that related to our research and our articles.
The purpose of the magazine is to be able to understand how
Activism has affected or lead to change in Communities and even Society.
Things around the earth keep changing and it's great to see how far we
have come. Thank you for reading “Rising For Change” and we hope it
sparks an interest,

Sincerely,
Roberto Garcia Jr
Social Media’s Impact on the Black Lives
Matter Movement

Do you have Instagram, Twitter, or even Facebook? If you do, I’m sure you’ve seen an ad
or even a campaign for BLM. What is BLM? BLM stands for Black Lives Matter. Social
media is an important factor in the Black Lives Matter movement. It enhances the impact
of their stories, widened their audience, and informs all viewers of the abuse against
African Americans. Social media spreads the word for the movement and the people it
represents.

On February 26 of 2012, 30-year-old George Zimmerman was doing his job as a volunteer
for the neighborhood watch in Sanford, FL. During which he encountered Trayvon Martin
who was visiting his father and fiancee. They began to fight until George had shot and
killed young Trayvon. After hearing George's side of the story, they decided he was not
guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter.

After the verdict was announced, - members of the black community and activists
everywhere needed an outlet for their frustration, as well as a platform where they could
call for change (Simon, 2018) So they took to social media to share their views. This was
the creation of the activist lead movement, Black Lives Matter.

The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter lit up the social media universe and ignited powerful
dialogue around racial injustice and police brutality (LEI, 2018). The popularity of the
movement grew. The hashtag was a way for the people to share their views and
acknowledge the rights and wrongs of the police and racially biased companies.

An enormous amount of people are responding to this movement everywhere. The small
story a young boys death from five years ago enlightened the beginning of a movement.
Exactly five years later, the Black Lives Matter movement is a quintessential example of a
movement that's found successful amplification through social media. “According to a
newly released Pew study, the hashtag has been used nearly 30 million times on Twitter –
an average of 17,003 times per day” (Simon, 2018). To this day, people remember these
faces and the stories behind them because of the widespread coverage.

“#BlackLivesMatter is emblematic of a wider trend – the blossoming role social media

plays in all kinds of activist movements” (Simon, 2018). The Black Lives Matter
movement will likely go on for years to come. Social media greatly impacts all kinds of
movements including the #MeToo movement for women who have been sexually harassed
by a male co-worker or boss figure.
 STAY WOKE
THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
The online video Stay Woke:
The Black Lives Matter Movement
documentary (2016) Shares details
of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Beliefs behind Activist and the
Creators of the Movement, while
explanations of the stories that lead
up to the protest and its growth on
social media.
The message behind this
video was to acknowledge the
beginning of a movement and inform
the viewers of the actions and
injustice that lead people of race to
fight for a cause against their
oppressors. They wanted people to
react in a way that response to police
brutality. Shown by the views and
personal stories of the people who
were most important to the creation
of the movement. It contains actual
footage of Eric Garner, one of their
examples and the 911 call that
George Zimmerman had made the
day he killed Trayvon Martin.
The mood of the
documentary is serious and
sorrowful.
The creators used a story of
a young black man who was shot
dead by an officer of a different
race. His mother was at the scene
of the unjust and unlawful crime
committed by a white officer. The
officer killed her son whilst his
hands were held above his head
while he began to run away, and
with an added explanation by a
witness, who then enhanced the
story further by stating the
aftermath.
Through this video, the
creators and activist are making
social commentary about police
brutality and racist officers
throughout our country. Explaining
the unfairness of the racial biased
within the government and justice
systems.
- James Ortiz Jr.
“”The March For Our Lives Movement’s Effect on Society”

By: Gweneth Ke

School is supposed to be a place that is set to be a ground of neutrality and safety.

Parents should feel safe sending their kids to a place where they’re meant to learn. With the latest
news of the numerous school shootings, that automatic reassurance might change.
The March For Our Lives movement is a student led movement created by the survivors
of the Parkland, Florida school shooting that left 17 of the students dead. (Gray, 2018) The
students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School came together after a time of calamity to set
aside March 24 to not only remember their fallen peers but to strive for change. These young
activists decided to take it upon themselves to not just sit around and wait for action, but to
create it themselves. These students along with 500,000 others including a myriad of famous
celebrities planned to take the streets of Washington D.C by storm.
It has been roughly nine months since the marches all over the country that awoke the
somewhat sleeping nation. This ongoing movement has made a major impact onto the
community.
After getting the word that this movement is picking up, famous celebrities from all over
have been using their access to reach tons of people quickly to advocate for it. Take the sibling
music group AJR for example. The sibling music trio created their song Burn The House Down
with a political underlying message. According to Spotify, it was able to reach 58 million listens
worldwide, reaching more people globally than the campaign could have done alone. The
influential song has been deemed the MFOL movement’s anthem appearing in campaigns for the
movement. (Rolling Stone, 2018)
Other celebrities have also used their combined power of a large fanbase to advocate for
the movement. Known famous advocates for the cause include wrestler turned actor Dwayne
Johnson, with an accumulating 123 million followers, and actress Reese Witherspoon who has
15.4 million. (Nyren,2018)
By creating a song, something that would get infused into people’s mind easily, that could
reach radical numbers as theirs did would amplify the awareness of their protest. Not only would
it be able to reach more people, but it would almost constantly be in the back of most people’s
minds. It allows for people to change their viewpoint on certain topics such as the MFOL
movement in support or against it so that they could be similar to their celebrity idol. The MFOL
campaign had influenced many well known celebrities to take action which in return caused a
multitude of people, their followers, wanting to take action as well.
 Days after the shooting that set
off the movement, Emma Gonzalez, one
of the key leaders of the movement,
spoke out at an anti-gun rally by calling
out Donald Trump and the NRA
demanding stricter gun laws. It appears
that Gonzalez is not the only one to feel
that way for “results from a Gallup poll
conducted after the Stoneman Douglas
shooting found that support for stricter
laws on gun sales is at its highest since
1993.” (Mejia, 2018)
The expansion of the campaign
has widespread over to reach its
targeted demographic, adult voters. The
aftermath of the marches resulted with
those people who do have the access to
vote using their vote to go and support
the ideals of stronger gun laws.
In the dawn of the technological
age, social media has taken over. It being
where most activism on the common
scale occurs. Since the people who are
orchestrating most of the event are
young high school children who are
under the legal voting age, social media
is the next best place for their voice to
be heard.
Jaclyn Corin was a junior class president at
Stoneman Douglas. “‘People have always say, ‘Get off your
phones,’ but social media is our weapon,’ Corin told Time.”
(Mejia,2018) Without the access to social media then the
movement wouldn’t have been able to be picked up as
quickly as it was.After the events of the Stoneman Douglas
shooting, social media was in an uproar filled with people’s
opinions on a global level. It made people realize how
different gun control laws are in other places in the world
and how we could reform our laws to shape theirs.
March For Our Lives is a movement that is still in
progress but is picking up speed quickly and taking the
world by storm. With social media and such technology, it
has caused the campaign to not just be confined to US
knowledge. The spread of awareness on the topic has
made people demand change in the country and left
people sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for results.
Although the movement is still underway, there is no doubt
that it has greatly affected the way the people of the
country’s view on gun control laws.
 “Found/Tonight”

The musical piece, “Found/Tonight” by

the lyricist and performers, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, and Ben Platt talk about
the importance of the influence that the younger
generation have on our future. The lyrics of the
2018 song talk about how in our modern society
the current situation that we are dealing with
have gotten the younger generation wanting to
take a stand and put their input on the matter. It
also talks about how the actions of the current
young generation are going to stick with them for
forever as their legacies grow.
The team behind the song originally
where Hamilton is worried about having his
created this piece in order to support the March
own legacy remembered, the students of the
For Our Lives movement and the young students
Parkland, Florida school shooting are just
behind it. In a press-statement with Rolling Stone
starting to construct their legacy and that
magazine, one of the members of the team
they would live to tell the tales in the future.
behind the song, Lin-Manuel Miranda, had stated
The repetition of the line is used to
“This song is my way of helping to raise funds
further emphasize how today’s youth are
and awareness for their efforts, and to say Thank
going to shape the future. The creators of the
You, and that we are with you”. There are people
piece used it to ensure that the young student
who believe that the constant movements,
activists of the Parkland School Shooting and
protests, and the young kids supporting them are
their stories won’t fade into the oblivion
going to be forgotten in just a few short years,
known as time. They’ll be able to transfer their
but this song contradicts that by saying that
tales and hardships onto their children and so
these kids will be remembered for years to come.
on.
What stood out in this piece compared
to others was the use of the repetition of the line
“And when the children tell their story,”. It differs
from the line in the original song from the
musical Hamilton, “And when the children tell our
story,”. The change in the two lines represents
how unlike in the original
By: Gweneth Ke
 The overall tone for the lyrics of the song
were wishfulness and determination. This can be
demonstrated in the line “Raise a glass to the all of
us, Tomorrow there’ll be more of us, Telling the
story of tonight, Out of the shadows.” The creators
of the piece created this line in order for their to be
more people to join the movement that the youth
of today has created. They want people to
breakout of the space that they’re in and support
them in their cause.

The line in the paragraph previous depicts

a wishfulness in wanting to inflict change in the
current gun laws. They want more people to join
their side of the argument about gun reform. It was
used to enforce the idea that these people won’t be
forgotten so easily as some had hypothesized.
The musical piece makes a social
commentary on inflicting change on the current
gun control laws. The song intentionally goes
against some people's belief that the movement
and the people behind it are going to be quickly
forgotten. We see this in the multitude of lines
that speak about how their story will be told and
remembered.
The song connects to our magazines
thesis by showing how the stand that the
students are taking are going to make a change
in the future. These young students are
activating for a cause that they believe is
important and are going to inflict a difference in
our society. As time goes on it’s not going to be
easy to forget the stand they took.
 The Civil Rights Movement And Its Effect On
Community and Society
There are many activists out there that have
affected the world in numerous ways, each
unique to one another. One very important
time for America was during the Civil Rights
Movement. Acts of Activism during the Civil
Rights Movement has had a great impact on its
Community. Acts, such as Rosa Parks refusing
negotiation due to her circumstance, Little Rock
Nine and their efforts to begin integration
within the education systems for people of
color, The March On Washington to achieve
Equality within the working community. and
the Fair Housing Act of 1968 moving on to the
ending of discrimination, these all were big
parts within the movement and brought many
together and had a greatly affected the people
for the common good of the community and
better suit a positive future.
On December 1st, 1991, A woman by the name
of Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a
white male who entered the bus and had not
acquired a space for him to seat. the person
who at the time was operating the bus had
instructed for a colored passenger to, against
their will, give their seat to the man. After, two
police officers approached the stopped bus,
assessed the situation and placed Parks in
custody. (History.com Editors, 2009). Rosa
Parks joined the Montgomery chapter NAACP,
and she became chapter secretary
(History.com Editors, 2009). She worked with
Edgar Daniel Nixon who was as an advocate
for blacks who wanted to register to vote
(History.com Editors, 2009).
As the bus driver instructed the people in the
colored section complied and stood up to
withdraw the seats to the man, Rosa Parks
refused and later explained that she didn’t
refuse to yield her seat because she was tired,
she explained, “the only thing tired I was, was
tired of giving in” (History.com Editors, 2009).
After Parks was arrested word of her arrest had
spread quickly (History.com Editors, 2009),
and they planned the Montgomery Bus Boycott
on the day of her trial. Rosa Parks influenced
many and brought more attention to the
problem of equality for people of color.
A group of teenagers who were integrating
Little Rock High School, called The Little Rock
Nine, had known there would be issues when
they attempted to integrate within the walls of
Central high. A few experienced routine
harassment and even violence throughout the
rest of the year (History.com Editors, 2010).
Also One of the young Rock Nine students,
Melba Pattillo, who wrote a book on her
experiences at Little Rock High School. She also
was “kicked, beaten, and had acid thrown in
her face” (History.com Editors, 2010).
Despite the constant violence and harassment
the young teenagers of The Little Rock Nine
faced, they continued to attend the school until
they graduated. One had managed to graduate,
their name was Ernest Green. They became the
only senior among the Little Rock Nine
(History.com Editors, 2010), to graduate before
Little Rock High school closed to prevent
African-American attendance (History.com
Editors, 2010). The rest had gone and
graduated at different schools.
After the school closed the group became
highly recognized for their significant role in
the Civil Rights Movement and were awarded
medals (History.com Editors, 2010) and
personal invitations to attend the inauguration
of President Barack Obama in 2009
(History.com Editors, 2010). They all brought
change to their community and America by
attending an all-white school to end
segregation and bring equality to all people of
color and for equal education.
In 1963 when around 250,000 people gathered
in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
D.C. to bring attention to inequalities faced by
people of color. This event is known as the
March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom
became known as a huge event in “human
history” (History.com Editors, 2009).
Many spoke out during the march. For
example, Philip Randolph led the march with
the first speech with the promise that “We here
today are only the first wave. When we leave, it
will be to carry the civil rights revolution home
with us into every nook and cranny of the land,
and we shall return again and again to
Washington in ever growing numbers until
total freedom is ours” (History.com Editors,
2009).
Speaking last was Martin Luther King Jr.
Although his speech was intended to be four
minutes it went on for sixteen when he finished
and what was spoken was one of the most
famous orations of the civil rights
movement-and of human history (History.com
Editors, 2009). The famous speech had hope as
it does when he states, “And when this
happens…we will be able to speed up that day
when all God’s children, black men and white
men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in
the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at
last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are
free at last!’” (History.com Editors, 2009). This
was one of his famous lines that impacted his
community and drastically impacted society
and is known throughout America. Through his
activism and the activism of others, people
were brought together and it greatly affected
the people for the common good of the
community and better suit a positive future.
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 aided in ending
discrimination. It was passed quickly due to the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. When
he was assassinated on April fourth, the day of
the Senate vote, Amid a wave of
emotion—including riots, burning and looting
in more than 100 cities around the country,
(History.com Editors, 2010). The death of
activist Martin Luther King Jr affected many
and because of this Congress was pressured to
pass the new civil rights legislation
(History.com Editors, 2010).
-Roberto Garcia Jr
 “I look at the world”

The poem, I look at the world created in This also connects to my thesis about
January 2009 by Langston Hughes, is how activists like Rosa Parks, Martin
about how he sees oppression and how it Luther King Jr, and Phillip Randolph
connects to other issues. This piece is speak out to bring change in a
about standing up to oppression and put community by Langston speaking out to
an end to it. people in hopes that his voice is heard
The intention behind creating the piece and change is brought.
was to inform people about the issue and
more behind it like Racism, Inequality,
and Discrimination. Not only that but it
was to get those who read it to come
together against the issue.
Some unique features about this poem
are how it paints a picture in the reader’s
mind about oppression. It compares
oppression to a wall and how these walls
must go meaning we need to stop
oppression. The poem creates a tone that
is hopeful and shows determination.
Langston says, “Then let us hurry,
comrades, The road to find.” which
creates a hopeful tone that people would
rise up, also the tone shows
determination as to the way it was
written makes the author seem certain
about the topic.
This piece says that oppression is an
issue by saying the walls of oppression
are blinding people from seeing the truth
and it should be stopped.
This piece connects to my thesis because
Langston speaks out about issues like
oppression needing to end so other issues
like discrimination, inequality, and
racism also can end.

-Roberto Garcia Jr
Work cited page
James’ sources
Biography; Trayvon Martin Biography
https://www.biography.com/people/trayvon-martin-21283721

How social media has shaped Black Lives Matter, five years later
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/12/black-lives-matter-movement-and-social-media-after-five-years/7
78779002/

Majority Of Black Americans Value Social Media For Amplifying Lesser-Known Issues
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/05/635127389/majority-of-black-americans-value-social-media-for-amplifying-lesser-k
nown-issue

CNN: Trayvon Martin Shooting Fast

Factshttps://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/us/trayvon-martin-shooting-fast-facts/index.html

CNN: George Zimmerman found not guilty of murder in Trayvon Martin's death
https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/justice/zimmerman-trial/index.html
Black Lives Matter
https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Gweneth’s sources

Gray, Sara. “The March For Our Lives Protest is This Saturday. Here’s Everything to Know” February 20, 2018,
http://time.com/5167102/march-for-our-lives-parkland-school-shooting-protest/
Kaplan,Ilana. “AJR on Their March For Our Lives Anthem and the Upside of Being a Sibling Band” June 28,
2018,
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/ajr-on-their-march-for-our-lives-anthem-and-the-upside-of-being-a-s
ibling-band-666999/
Mejia, Zameena. “How the March For Our Lives Gen Z organizers changed gun control conversations when no
one else could” March 24, 2018.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/23/how-the-march-for-our-lives-organizers-changed-the-gun-control-conversation.htm
l
Nyren,Erin. “Celebrities Express Support For March for Our Lives: ‘We Will Help Fan The Flames’” March
24,2018. https://variety.com/2018/politics/news/celebrities-march-for-our-lives-support-1202735654/
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi3vfyz--PfAhUIT98K
HbZZC2EQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2018%2F03%2F24%2Fus%2Fmarch-for-our-lives-wra
p%2Findex.html&psig=AOvVaw3YLRgMajGzNh2qbfS444jA&ust=1547235414523889
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwis-aLJ9uTfAhXMJt8K
HTjwDmoQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2018%2F3%2F14%2F17121958%2Fmarch-for-our-liv
es-next-student-protest&psig=AOvVaw0bYf0wR-dYCeGTQYudukpv&ust=1547264203342223
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi7-JLu-OTfAhUjc98K
HR4RChIQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.houstonpublicmedia.org%2Farticles%2Fshows%2Fparty-politics%2F
2018%2F03%2F29%2F276075%2Fparty-politics-ep-50-whats-next-for-the-march-for-our-lives-movement%2F&psig=AOv
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Work cited page (Continued)
Roberto’s Sources:

History.com Editors, (2009) Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
History.com Editors, (2009) Rosa Parks. Retrieved from:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks
History.com Editors, (2010) Little Rock Nine. Retrieved from:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration
History.com Editors, (2009) March On Washington. Retrieved from:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington
History.com Editors, (2010) Fair Housing Act. Retrieved from:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/fair-housing-act
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. —
Confucius

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that
counts. – Winston Churchill

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear
of failure. ― Paulo Coelho

¨Don't worry if you miss your shot, even if it fails, new opportunities always
appear¨- Us

Thank You For Reading ¨Rising For Change¨

By: James Ortiz Jr, Gweneth Ke, and Roberto
Garcia Jr

Title: James Ortiz Jr (with help from other members)

Table of Contents: Gweneth Ke
Letter From The Editor: Roberto Garcia Jr
Works Cited: Everyone
Final Page/ Back Page: Roberto Garcia Jr
Creators: James Ortiz Jr, Gweneth Ke, Roberto
Garcia Jr