ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the centrality of new media in the activism and development of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) by focusing on some digitally enabled acts of participatory politics, each drawing attention to the marginalization of young Black Americans. The value of traditional mass media to activists and social movements, both past and present, is undeniable. The addition of new media to the media landscape has certainly altered the relationships among traditional mass media, activists, and the broader public, and facilitated new means and modes of political engagement, organization, and mobilization. The growing accessibility of new media is facilitating increased opportunities for activists, in groups or as individuals, to engage in various forms of participatory politics. The affordances of new media made it possible for the BYP100 to share this experience with a large audience. On account of the video's release, the BYP100 gained a significant online media presence long before it had established a formal organizational structure.
