Celebs and Criminal Justice Reform: Social Media Hype or Real Policy Change?

• In Event: Race and Ethnic Politics in the Media and on the Internet

Abstract

The rise of celebrities, such as movie stars, professional athletes, musicians, and reality television stars, influencing politics and participating in a range of issue advocacy has become the norm, from Kim Kardashian influencing the Trump White House to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson or Meek Mill and Lala Anthony advocating for criminal justice reform and lending their time, money, and efforts to change criminal justice policies and fund reentry and rehabilitation programs for those caught in the criminal legal system. Recently, the emergence of Black celebrities and professional athletes taking a public position to advocate for racial justice harkens back to when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in the Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The advocacy by Black celebrities to reform police practices and the criminal legal system, and bring attention to racial injustice, is connected to their lived experiences and feeling linked to those they are advocating for. Using linked faith, this paper explores Black celebrities’ involvement in criminal justice reform in the United States to document how their efforts are impacting political and policy decisions related to the criminal legal system. Using data collected from secondary sources, such as social media platforms and newspaper coverage, this paper uses real-world case studies to highlight specific strategies that have produced positive outcomes (e.g., changes in policy, leniency or clemency), which tactics have changed the conversation (e.g., led to legislative hearings or newly proposed legislation), and which efforts have resulted in lots of social media engagement, laying the foundation for policy changes in the future. The focus of this research is to gain insight into how celebrity, social media, and criminal justice reform influences policy outcomes, and how the role of a celebrity can influence criminal justice reform in a way that is a powerful force that must be reckoned with, especially as it relates to issues of racial justice.

Authors

• Keesha M. Middlemass, Howard University

• Synia alise Taitt, Cornell University

• Malcolm Jalil Shelby, Inclusive Resolutions