Into America

The Revolution Will Be Digitized

Episode Summary

From the video of George Floyd to 19th-century anti-lynching pamphlets, author Marc Lamont Hill breaks down how technology has shaped the fight for racial justice.

Episode Notes

Where does the video of George Floyd’s murder fit into the long history of the push for racial justice? 

Journalist and professor Marc Lamont Hill has just released a new book, co-authored with historian Todd Brewster. Titled Seen & Unseen, the work explores the ways in which technology and visual media have shaped our understanding of race in the past and how they are being used as tools in the fight for racial justice today. 

The impetus for Hill and Brewster’s book was the murder of George Floyd and the uprising it sparked. Video of Floyd’s murder was captured by Darnella Frazier, using her cell phone’s camera. She posted the video to Facebook, where it quickly went viral, sparking the largest protest movement in U.S. history.

On this episode of Into America, host Trymaine Lee speaks with fellow journalist and author Marc Lamont Hill about his new book, George Floyd, and the uses of technology and social media in the fight for racial justice.

For a transcript, please visit msnbc.com/intoamerica

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