What Would Jackie Robinson Say About Social Media and Speaking Truth to Power Today?

Social media is a tool I would have given anything to have had. When I was fighting for civil rights, I had to wait for newspapers to print my words, for speaking engagements to be scheduled, for books to be published. The lag between reality and communication meant that narratives got written without our voices in them. Young people today can speak directly to millions instantly. That's extraordinary power.

But—and this is critical—power without discipline becomes noise. I see a lot of people confusing visibility with impact. Posting about injustice isn't the same as dismantling it. Speaking out is important, but it has to be connected to organization, strategy, and sustained action. Social media can amplify a movement, but it can't replace the hard work of building power.

Here's what I'd caution: be deliberate about what you're building. Every word you post contributes to a narrative about who you are and what you stand for. I couldn't have said something I didn't mean or throw out angry words just for engagement. Everything I said had consequences—for my family, for the movement, for people who were counting on me. That's true for anyone with a platform, no matter how large.

I'm concerned about the way social media can fragment movements. We had to work together because we had no choice—we needed each other to survive. Now, everyone can be their own leader, their own commentator, and sometimes that means excellent decentralized organizing, but sometimes it means people talking past each other without building anything together.

Use these tools to tell your truth, to document injustice, to organize, to build community across distances that would have been impossible for my generation. But understand that speaking is the beginning, not the end. The real work is offline—it's in your community, your schools, your local government, your workplace. Social media amplifies the signal. On-the-ground organizing builds the power. You need both. Don't mistake one for the other. And remember: your words matter because you have to live with them. Make them count.