Lawson 1

Dante Lawson

CAS 137H 003

Lori Bedell

7 October 2016

The New Face of Law Enforcement

Years following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s monumental I Have a Dream Speech,

racial discourse is still a major obstacle throughout American society. Racial tensions are

increasing, despite the progress made since the 1960s. One example of this is shown through the

current increase in documented cases of police brutality against minorities, Police killed at least

102 unarmed black people in 2015, nearly twice each week (mappingpoliceviolence). These

incidents have elicited a variety of responses that have made the topics of police brutality and

racial injustices the center of national conversation. Time Magazine published a cover in

response to the 2015 Baltimore riots, and the We Are Here movement created a video in

response to all of the recent deaths of unarmed African Americans due to law enforcement.

While the Time Magazine cover and the We Are Here movement video both demonstrate the

use stylistic choices combined with the use of strong intrinsic proofs, the Time Magazine cover

presents a strong challenge to the dominant ideology, during a kairotic moment, that things have

changed since 1968, and the We Are Here movement video creates a call to action for

Americans to make the change society needs.

Before being able to fully grasp the gravity of these artifacts, some historical context is

needed. On April 12th, 2015 a Baltimore, Maryland citizen by the name of Freddie Gray was

taken into police custody. A week later on April 19th, Gray was dead after sustaining a severe

spinal injury and being in a coma for several days. Gray was unjustly arrested, without probable
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cause, and then proceeded to receive extremely brutal mistreatment from the six officers that

arrested him, ultimately leading to his death (Keneally). The circumstances of this incident

brought outrage to the streets of Baltimore resulting in a riot that turned the city upside down.

Time Magazine used this moment in order to make their powerful claim that things are the same

as they were in the 1960s. We Are Here is a movement founded by Alicia Keys whose mission

is to use culture to create change. This group fights for equality and justice, women and children,

and climate and consciousness (weareheremovement). The video they created in 2016, 23 Ways

You Could Be killed If You Are Black in America, strives to leave an emotional impact on all

who watch it in order to call the nation to change the exigence of police brutality against African

Americans.

Time magazine systematically used stylistic choices along with intrinsic proofs to present

their claims. Time magazine is a national company that has been in business since 1928. Their

reputation alone provides them with an enormous amount of ethos. People trust in their

credibility and that is why they are able to make the claim that they do. When looking at the

magazine cover, the most striking choice in style was to use a black and white photo with a bold

headline. By using a black and white picture, Time Magazine causes readers to first think that

this is an older picture from the times when protests on race issues were more prevalent. The

headline also plays along by evoking the intrinsic proof of logos. Time Magazine presents their

argument by saying, America, 1968, and then crossing out 1968 in red and placing 2015 above

it. After that, the magazine goes on to write, What has changed. What hasnt. Another major

choice in style was the picture itself. You see a black male running away from what looks to be

an army of police, which is similar to the pictures you would see in the 1960s during the Civil

Rights movement. Through pathos, Time Magazine arouses the readers emotions because they
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may feel saddened and or angered that this exigence of police brutality against African

Americans still exists. People want to believe things have changed because that would represent

a progressive ideology that means humanity has moved forward.

The video created by the We Are Here movement intricately shaped its call to action by

using all three intrinsic proofs evenly while implementing decisive artistic choices. The video

states 23 situations in which unarmed African Americans were murdered by law enforcement.

Each incident is said by a different prominent figure in pop culture. By using important

celebrities to state each case, this video draws credibility from a wide prospective. Chances are

out of the 23 different people talking in the video, the viewer will know at least one of them

therefore making a connection that causes them to listen closer. From the moment the video

starts to play, the artistic choices made by the producer set the tone. The video is filmed in black

and white with solemn music playing in the background. The viewer is immediately taken into a

mindset where they realize that what they are about to watch is a serious matter. After each case

is presented by the speaker, the picture of the victim is flashed. By connecting a face with the

story, a deep emotional connection is created. This pathetic appeal furthers the impact of the

video. The videos impact is also furthered by the captions that are displayed as each speaker is

speaking. As each case is being presented, the words are there to back it up. This is also how the

video presents its call to action at the end.

As opposed to the We Are Here movements video, Time Magazine strongly contests

the dominant ideology that society has changed since the 1960s through their cover. One of the

main aspects of the cover that supports this is the headline. Time Magazine clearly presents the

words America, 1968; they then proceed to cross it out and write 2015 above it. They are

literally conveying that these two times are so similar that they are almost interchangeable. They
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also wrote, What has changed. What hasnt. Here Time Magazine is asking questions, but they

do not place question marks after them. It is almost as if they already know the answer, which is

that things are still the same. All they are attempting to do is inform the reader. The picture also

plays a big role in backing Time Magazines claim, because without the headline, one may

actually mistake the picture as one from the Civil Rights movement. The stylistic choices made

for this cover create the initial thoughts in the viewer that this is Americas past, but when looked

at deeper level, viewers realize that this is Americas present. Thus, Times claim that things have

not changed is supported.

In contrast to Time Magazines challenge to the dominant ideology that things have

changed since the 1960s, 23 Ways You Could Be killed If You Are Black in America calls

Americans to fulfill their civic duty by making the change America needs. At the conclusion of

the video, Alicia Keys prompts viewers to go to the We Are Here movements website to let

our government know that we as a society need to change now. She declares that the time to end

the systemic racism in our country and create a world where everyone can live equally is now.

Having a united and equal society is one of the fundamental principles of what it means to be

civic. Being civic means that as a society we should be united under a sense of nationalism. That

is one of the main concepts that Alicia is trying to pose. Her credibility as an A-List celebrity

provides her the authority to make this call. She also uses the entire video to build her argument

through logos and emotional appeal. Viewers have been presented with several instances where

unarmed African American were murdered for almost trivial reasons. This video does a great job

of making the audience pay attention to the information it is presenting. The We Are Here

movement created a call to action that is not easily forgotten.

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Despite the fact that Time Magazine presents a strong challenge to the dominant ideology,

during a kairotic moment, that things have changed since the 1960s through its magazine cover,

and the We Are Here movement video creates a call to action for Americans to make the

change society needs, both artifacts use a variety of choice in style combined with intrinsic

proofs. At the core of both artifacts is the same meaning. They both recognize and address the

exigence of police brutality against African Americans in the United States today. Systemic

racism is a real problem, and the only way we can overcome it is together. In the words of Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr., Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot

drive out hate; only love can do that.

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Works Cited

Keneally, Meghan. "Freddie Gray's Death Ruled a Homicide, Officers Face Charges." ABC

News. ABC News Network, 01 May 2015. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://abcnews.go.com

/US/freddie-grays-death-ruled-homicide-statesattorney/story?id=30728026

"Police Killed More than 100 Unarmed Black People in 2015." Mapping Police Violence.

N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed

http://weareheremovement.com/

https://youtu.be/U_VaNhI4CLo