Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

School of Journalism and Mass Communications

First Advisor

Kenneth Campbell

Abstract

This dissertation explores how digital storytelling on TikTok is used to challenge medical racism, with a particular focus on Black maternal health. Guided by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA), the study examines how TikTok users—ranging from Black mothers to healthcare professionals—create and circulate counter-narratives through two prominent campaigns: #BlackMaternalHealthWeek and #BlackMamasMatter. These digital stories serve as acts of resistance, disrupting dominant medical discourse and amplifying the lived experiences of Black birthing individuals. The research analyzes over 2900 TikTok videos posted between 2021 and 2024, identifying key themes, storytelling strategies, and rhetorical shifts over time. The study introduces the concept of the “digital shame shift,” a genre of storytelling that redirects accountability for maternal health disparities away from individuals and toward systemic and institutional failures. By doing so, it reveals how digital storytelling can cultivate public empathy, mobilize community support, and pressure institutions to enact change. This dissertation argues that TikTok functions as a counterpublic space where historically marginalized voices reclaim visibility, confront algorithmic suppression, and foster coalition-building across audiences. Ultimately, the project contributes to scholarship on digital activism, racial justice, and public health communication by demonstrating the power of social media to amplify Black maternal health advocacy and push for systemic reform in healthcare.

Rights

© 2025, Odera Covenant Ezenna

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