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Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement[1][2] that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people and to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people.[3][4][5][6][7] The movement began in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. BLM and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes related to black liberation[8] and criminal justice reform. While there are specific organizations that label themselves "Black Lives Matter", such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the overall movement is a decentralized network with no formal hierarchy.[9] As of 2021[update], there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada.[1] The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself has not been trademarked by any group.[10]
In 2013, activists and friends Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi originated the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two more African Americans, Michael Brown—resulting in protests and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri—and Eric Garner in New York City.[11][12] Since the Ferguson protests, participants in the movement have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter activists became involved in the 2016 United States presidential election.[13]
The movement gained international attention during global protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.[14][15] An estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, making it one of the largest protest movements in the country's history.[16] Despite being characterized by opponents as violent, the overwhelming majority of BLM demonstrations have been peaceful.[17]
The popularity of Black Lives Matter has shifted over time, largely due to changing perceptions among white Americans. In 2020, 67% of adults in the United States expressed support for the movement, declining to 51% of U.S. adults in 2023.[18][19][20][21] Support among people of color has, however, held strong, with 81% of African Americans, 61% of Hispanics and 63% of Asian Americans expressing support for Black Lives Matter as of 2023.[18]
The phrase "Black Lives Matter" can refer to a Twitter hashtag, a slogan, a social movement, a political action committee,[22] or a loose confederation of groups advocating for racial justice. As a movement, Black Lives Matter is grassroots and decentralized, and leaders have emphasized the importance of local organizing over national leadership.[23][24] The structure differs from previous black movements, like the Civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Such differences have been the subject of scholarly literature.[25] Activist DeRay McKesson has commented that the movement "encompasses all who publicly declare that black lives matter and devote their time and energy accordingly."[26]
In 2013, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi formed the Black Lives Matter Network. Garza described the network as an online platform that existed to provide activists with a shared set of principles and goals. Local Black Lives Matter chapters are asked to commit to the organization's list of guiding principles but are autonomous,[1]: 124 operating without a central structure or hierarchy. Garza has commented that the Network was not interested in "policing who is and who is not part of the movement."[27][28] As of 2021[update], there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada.[1]: 124
The loose structure of Black Lives Matter has contributed to confusion in the press and among activists, as actions or statements from chapters or individuals are sometimes attributed to "Black Lives Matter" as a whole.[29][30] Matt Pearce, writing for the Los Angeles Times, commented that "the words could be serving as a political rallying cry or referring to the activist organization. Or it could be the fuzzily applied label used to describe a wide range of protests and conversations focused on racial inequality."[31]
On at least one occasion, a person represented as Managing Director of BLM Global Network has released a statement represented to be on behalf of that organization.[32]
Concurrently, a broader movement involving several other organizations and activists emerged under the banner of "Black Lives Matter", as well.[33][34] In 2015, Johnetta Elzie, DeRay Mckesson, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe initiated Campaign Zero, aimed at promoting policy reforms to end police brutality. The campaign released a ten-point plan for reforms to policing, with recommendations including: ending broken windows theory policing, increasing community oversight of police departments, and creating stricter guidelines for the use of force.[35] The New York Times reporter, John Eligon, wrote that some activists expressed concerns that the campaign was overly focused on legislative remedies for police violence.[36]
Black Lives Matter also voices support for various movements and causes beyond police brutality, including LGBTQ activism, feminism, immigration reform, and economic justice.[37]
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The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than 50 groups representing the interests of black communities across the United States.[38] Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.[39] Endorsed by groups such as Color of Change, Race Forward, Brooklyn Movement Center, PolicyLink, Million Women March Cleveland, and ONE DC,[40] the coalition receives communications and tactical support from an organization named Blackbird.[41]
Following the murder of George Floyd, M4BL released the BREATHE Act, which called for sweeping legislative changes surrounding policing; the policy bill included calls to divest from policing and reinvest funds directly in community resources and alternative emergency response models.[42][43]
On July 24, 2015, the movement initially convened at Cleveland State University where between 1,500 and 2,000 activists gathered to participate in open discussions and demonstrations. The conference in Cleveland, Ohio initially attempted to "strategize ways for the Movement for Black Lives to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions on a national level".[44][45][46] However, the conference resulted in the formation of a much more significant social movement. At the end of the three-day conference, on July 26, the Movement for Black Lives initiated a yearlong "process of convening local and national groups to create a United Front".[44] This year long process ultimately resulted in the establishment of an organizational platform that articulates the goals, demands, and policies which the Movement for Black Lives supports in order to achieve the "liberation" of black communities across America.[44]
In 2016, the Ford Foundation announced plans to fund the M4BL Movement for Black Lives in a "six-year investments" plan, further partnering up with others to found the Black-led Movement Fund.[47][48][49] The sum donated by the Ford Foundation and the other donors to M4BL was reported as $100 million by The Washington Times in 2016 (equivalent to $127 million in 2023[50]); another donation of $33 million (equivalent to $42 million[50]) to M4BL was reportedly issued by the Open Society Foundations.[51][52]
In 2016, M4BL called for decarceration in the United States, reparations for harms related to slavery, and more recently, specific remedies for redlining in housing, education policy, mass incarceration and food insecurity.[53] It also called for an end to mass surveillance, investment in public education, not incarceration, and community control of the police: empowering residents in communities of color to hire and fire police officers and issue subpoenas, decide disciplinary consequences and exercise control over city funding of police.[54][55]
Politico reported in 2015 that the Democracy Alliance, a gathering of Democratic-Party donors, planned to meet with leaders of several groups who were endorsing the Black Lives Matter movement.[56] According to Politico, Solidaire, the donor coalition focusing on "movement building" and led by Texas oil fortune heir Leah Hunt-Hendrix, a member of the Democracy Alliance, had donated more than $200,000 to the BLM movement by 2015.[56]
According to The Economist, between May 2020 and December 2020, donations to Black Lives Matter related causes amounted to $10.6 billion (equivalent to $12 billion in 2023[50]).[57] The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, one of the main organizations coordinating organizing and mobilization efforts across the reported raising $90 million in 2020 (equivalent to $106 million in 2023[50]), including a substantial number of individual donations online, with an average donation of $30.76 (equivalent to $36.21[50]).[58][59]
Black Lives Matter originally used various social media platforms—including hashtag activism—to reach thousands of people rapidly.[60] Since then, Black Lives Matter has embraced a diversity of tactics.[61] Black Lives Matter protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful; when violence does occur, it is often committed by counter-protesters.[62][63][64] Despite this, opponents often try to portray the movement as violent.[64][65]
In 2014, the American Dialect Society chose #BlackLivesMatter as their word of the year.[66][67] Yes! Magazine picked #BlackLivesMatter as one of the twelve hashtags that changed the world in 2014.[68] From July 2013 through May 1, 2018, the hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter" had been tweeted over 30 million times, an average of 17,002 times per day.[69] By June 10, 2020, it had been tweeted roughly 47.8 million times,[70] with the period of July 7–17, 2016 having the highest usage, at nearly 500,000 tweets a day.[69] This period also saw an increase in tweets using the hashtags "#BlueLivesMatter" and "#AllLivesMatter".[69] On May 28, 2020, there were nearly 8.8 million tweets with the hashtag, and the average had increased to 3.7 million a day.[70]
The 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers saw the online tone of the movement become more negative than before, with 39% of tweets using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter expressing opposition to the movement.[71] Nearly half in opposition tied the group to violence, with many describing the group as terrorist.[71]
Khadijah White, a professor at Rutgers University, argues that BLM has ushered in a new era of black university student movements. The ease with which bystanders can record graphic videos of police violence and post them onto social media has driven activism all over the world.[72] The hashtag's usage has gained the attention of high-ranking politicians and has sometimes encouraged them to support the movement.[25]
On Wikipedia, a WikiProject dedicated to coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement was created in June 2020.[73]
In 2020, users of the popular app TikTok noticed that the app seemed to be shadow banning posts about BLM or recent police killings of black people. TikTok apologized and attributed the situation to a technical glitch.[74]
BLM generally engages in direct action tactics that make people uncomfortable enough that they must address the issue.[75][76] BLM has been known to build power through protest and rallies.[77] BLM has also staged die-ins and held one during the 2015 Twin Cities Marathon.[78]
Political slogans used during demonstrations include the eponymous "Black Lives Matter", "Hands up, don't shoot" (a later discredited reference attributed to Michael Brown[79]), "I can't breathe"[80][81] (referring to Eric Garner and later George Floyd), "White silence is violence",[82] "No justice, no peace",[83][84] and "Is my son next?",[85] among others.
According to a 2018 study, "Black Lives Matter protests are more likely to occur in localities where more black people have previously been killed by police."[86]
Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter,[87] the movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, television, literature, and the visual arts. A number of media outlets are providing material related to racial injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement. Published books, novels, and TV shows have increased in popularity in 2020.[88] Songs, such as Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" and Kendrick Lamar's "Alright", have been widely used as a rallying call at demonstrations.[89][90]
The short documentary film, Bars4Justice, features brief appearances by various activists and recording artists affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. The film is an official selection of the 24th Annual Pan African Film Festival. Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement is a 2016 American television documentary film, starring Jesse Williams, about the Black Lives Matter movement.[91][92]
The February 2015 issue of Essence magazine and the cover was devoted to Black Lives Matter.[93] In December 2015, BLM was a contender for the Time magazine Person of the Year award, coming in fourth of the eight candidates.[94]
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