Black Lives Matter Protest

Dialogic ethics is a comprehensive examination of the disciplinary study of communication ethics that begins with major conceptual framing of the theoretical diversity of communication ethics. Further, democratic communication ethics is defined as a public “process for discussion of ideas, customs, and rights, protecting and promoting the good of collaborative decision- making” (pg. 44). The democratic ethic in the field of communication is a "public" process for intertwining public mass collaboration on ideas, customs, and rights.

            Throughout the chapter, the author emphasizes that the idea about communication ethics ties the notion of democratic ethics shaping a public speaking platform and later working in interpersonal and organization communication. The connection to organizational communication rests with the idea for democratic participation in the shaping of organizational structures. Including habits to articulate procedures to follow to ensure democratic communication: “(a) the habit of search-openness to new ideas; (b) the habit of justice- seeking factual accuracy; (c) the habit of preferring public to motivations- putting concern for the public good over concern for private preference; (d) the habit of respect for dissent- democracy is renewed through learning from difference” (pg. 48). What are ways to articulate procedures to ensure democratic communication? How would one apply this to a protest?

            For example, since 2013 an international activist movement, originating in the African American community campaigns against violence towards black people. The movement called Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests deaths surrounding black people that stem from the killings by law enforcement officials. More specially, in Minneapolis over the past few weeks BLM has protested the killing of Jamar Clark, who was shot by law enforcement officers. BLM activists who have been protesting the death of Jamar Clark have stopped traffic on interstate 94, protested outside of Minneapolis police headquarters, and laid on the cross-streets of 50^th & France. Activists use mechanisms to raise awareness to their movement of racial profiling, police brutality and racial inequality. Our countries is founded on the right to free speech and expression, but are the protests conducted by BLM drawing the right kind of attention to their cause? How would one implement the procedures used by the authors to ensure democratic communication ethics? What can BLM do to raise more awareness surrounding their cause or are they raising enough attention?