Reparations can take numerous forms, including practical measures such as individual monetary payments; settlements; scholarships and other educational schemes; systemic initiatives to offset injustices; or land-based or housing based compensation related to independence. Other types of reparations include apologies and acknowledgements of the injustices; the removal of monuments and renaming of streets that honour enslavers
and defenders of slavery; or naming a building after an enslaved person
or someone connected with abolition. Development aid is generally not counted as reparations. Some view financial reparations are insufficient, and demand as reparations for slavery opportunity to repatriate to country of origin before slavery and "bringing an end to the current political and economic system".
By region of perpetration
Netherlands
In December 2022, the prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, apologised on behalf of the Dutch Government for its role in slavery at an event at the National Archives in The Hague,
which included representatives of various advocacy organisations. It
also pledged to give €200 million towards "raising awareness,
fostering engagement and addressing the present-day effects of slavery",
and is planning a commemoration of the history of slavery on 1 July
2023, along with Dutch Caribbean nations, Suriname, and other countries.
United Kingdom
By
the 2010s examples of international reparations for slavery consisted
of recognition of the injustice of slavery and apologies for involvement
but no material compensation. In June 2023, the Brattle Group presented a report at an event at the University of the West Indies in which reparations were estimated, for harms both during and after the period of transatlantic chattel slavery at more than 100 trillion dollars. In October 2023, the UK Reparations Conference was held and a joint
declaration issued to the effect that full reparatory justice must be
"pursued and achieved".
The Slave Compensation Act 1837 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on 23 December 1837, to bring about compensated emancipation. Enslavers were paid approximately £20 million in compensation in over
40,000 awards for enslaved people freed in the colonies of the Caribbean, Mauritius and the Cape of Good Hope. This represented around 40 percent of the British Treasury's annual spending budget and has been calculated as equivalent to about £16.5bn in today's terms. Some of the payments were converted into 3.5% government annuities, which caused a drawn-out process.
The Act, formally 1 and 2 Vict. 3, was the world's major statute
of "compensated emancipation". It empowered the Commissioners for the
Reduction of the National Dept to raise the £20 million by issuing
government stocks, effective borrowing against future tax revenues to
pay former enslaves for the "loss of their property."
Abuja Proclamation and ARM (1993)
The Africa Reparations Movement, also known as ARM (UK), was formed in
1993 following the Abuja Proclamation declared at the First Pan-African
Conference on Reparations in Abuja, Nigeria, in the same year. The conference was convened by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Nigerian government.
In early 1993, British MP Bernie Grant toured the country speaking about the need for reparations for slavery. On 10 May 1993 he tabled a motion in the House of Commons
that, the House welcomes the proclamation and recognised that the
proclamation "calls upon the international community to recognise that
the unprecedented moral debt owed to African people has yet to be paid,
and urges all those countries who were enriched by enslavement and
colonisation to review the case for reparations to be paid to Africa and
to Africans in the Diaspora; acknowledges the continuing painful
economic and personal consequences of the exploitation of Africa and
Africans in the Diaspora and the racism
it has generated; and supports the OAU as it intensifies its efforts to
pursue the cause of reparations". The motion was sponsored by Bernie Grant, Tony Benn, Tony Banks, John Austin-Walker, Harry Barnes, and Gerry Bermingham. An additional 46 Labour Party MPs signed to support the motion, including future leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn.
The Abuja Proclamation called for national reparations committees to be set up throughout Africa and the diaspora. Bernie Grant formed ARM UK in December 1993 as the co-founder and chairperson, with a core group including: secretary Sam Walker; treasurer Linda Bellos and trustees Patrick Wilmott, Stephen A. Small (a British academic specialising in slavery), and Hugh Oxley.
ARM aimed:
to use all lawful means to obtain reparations for the enslavement and colonisation of African people in Africa and in the African diaspora
to use all lawful means to secure the return of African artefacts from whichever place they are currently held
to seek an apology from western governments for the enslavement and colonisation of African people
to campaign for an acknowledgement of the contribution of African people to world history and civilisation
to campaign for an accurate portrayal of African history and thus restore dignity and self-respect to African people
to educate and inform African youth, on the continent and in the
diaspora, about the great African cultures, languages and civilisations
Following the death of Bernie Grant in 2000, ARM UK became inactive.
On 27 November 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
issued a statement expressing "deep sorrow" for Britain's role in the
slave trade, saying it had been "profoundly shameful". The statement was
criticised by reparations activists in Britain, with Esther Stanford
stating that Blair should have issued "an apology of substance", which
would then be followed by "various reparative measures including
financial compensation". Blair issued another apology in 2007 after meeting with Ghanaian President John Kufuor.
On 24 August 2007, then-Mayor of LondonKen Livingstone publicly apologised for London's role in the transatlantic slave trade during a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the passing of the 1807 Slave Trade Act. In the speech, Livingston called on the British Government to pass legislation to create a UK-wide Annual Slavery Memorial Day, which would commemorate slavery.
Blair issued another apology in 2007 after meeting with Ghanaian
President John Kufuor during Ghana’s 50th independence anniversary
celebrations. While his remarks again expressed sorrow and described the
transatlantic slave trade as a “stain on history,” they were still
viewed by critics as falling short of acknowledging Britain’s systemic
role and legal responsibility. Advocates for reparations contended that
such language, while symbolic, failed to meet the standards of
restorative justice or to lead to any binding policy change.
Heirs of Slavery
In February 2023, former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan, whose family had owned plantations in Grenada,
travelled to Grenada to make an apology for harm caused and to give
reparations. Her family has also apologised to the island nation for
harm caused by slavery, and the group has called on the British Prime
Minister and King Charles to make a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom.
In April 2023, she co-founded Heirs of Slavery, a group of
descendants of people who had profited from British transatlantic
slavery and want to make amends. Trevelyan's family has donated money
towards education schemes in Grenada via CARICOM, and hopes that Heirs of Slavery will bring similar actions on a greater scale. As of May 2023, the other members of the group are David Lascelles, 8th Earl of Harewood; Charles Gladstone, who is descended from prime minister William Gladstone; journalist Alex Renton; Richard Atkinson; John Dower (of the Trevelyan family); Rosemary Harrison; and Robin Wedderburn.
Slavery ended in the United States in 1865 with the end of the American Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,
which declared that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to
their jurisdiction". At that time, an estimated four million African Americans were set free. There are instances of reparations for slavery, relating to the Atlantic slave trade, dating back to at least 1783 in North America, with a growing list of modern-day examples of reparations for slavery
in the United States in 2020 as the call for reparations in the US has
been bolstered by protests around police brutality and other cases of systemic racism in the US. The call for reparations for racism has also been made alongside calls for reparations for slavery.
Support and opposition
Within the political sphere, a bill demanding slavery reparations has been proposed at the national level, the "Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act", which former Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) reintroduced to the United States Congress every year from 1989 until his resignation in 2017. As its name suggests, the bill recommended the creation of a commission
to study the "impact of slavery on the social, political and economic
life of our nation"; however, there are cities and institutions that have initiated reparations in the US (see § Legislation and other actions for a list).
In 1999, African-American lawyer and activist Randall Robinson, founder of the TransAfrica
advocacy organization, wrote that America's history of race riots,
lynching, and institutional discrimination have "resulted in $1.4
trillion in losses for African Americans". Economist Robert Browne stated that, the ultimate goal of reparations
should be to "restore the black community to the economic position it
would have if it had not been subjected to slavery and discrimination". He estimates a fair reparation value anywhere between $1.4 to $4.7 trillion, or roughly $142,000 (equivalent to $188,000 in 2024) for every black American living today. Other estimates range from $5.7 to $14.2 and $17.1 trillion.
Opposition to slavery reparations is reflected in the general population. In a study conducted by YouGov
in 2014, only 37% of Americans believed that enslaved people should
have been provided compensation in the form of cash after being freed.
Furthermore, only 15% believed that descendants of enslaved people
should receive cash payments. The findings indicated a clear divide
between black and white Americans. The study summarized its findings: "Only 6% of white Americans support cash payments to the descendants of slaves, compared to 59% of black Americans.
Similarly, only 19% of whites – and 63% of blacks – support special
education and job training programs for the descendants of slaves."
In 2014, American journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates published an article titled "The Case for Reparations", which discussed the continued effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws
and made renewed demands for reparations. Coates refers to Rep. John
Conyers Jr.'s H.R.40 Bill, pointing out that Congress's failure to pass
this bill expresses a lack of willingness to right their past wrongs. In response to the article, conservative journalist Kevin D. Williamson
published an article titled "The Case Against Reparations". In it,
Williamson argues: "The people to whom reparations are owed are long
dead."
In September 2016, the United Nations'
Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent encouraged
Congress to pass H.R.40 to study reparations proposals. Still, the
Working Group did not directly endorse any specific reparations
proposal. The report noted that there exists a legacy of racial
inequality in the United States, and explained that "Despite substantial
changes since the end of the enforcement of Jim Crow and the fight for
civil rights, ideology ensuring the domination of one group over
another, continues to negatively impact the civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights of African Americans today." The report notes
that, a "dangerous ideology of systemic racism inhibits social cohesion
among the US population".
The topic of reparations gained renewed attention in 2020 as the Black Lives Matter movement named reparations as one of their policy goals in the United States.
In 2020, rapper T.I. supported reparations that would give every African American US$1million and asserted that slavery caused mass incarcerations, poverty, and other ills.
Caribbean
From the perspective of international law, it is questionable whether slavery, genocide, and other crimes against humanity
had been outlawed at the time they were committed in the Caribbean; for
example, "Although the factual appearance of genocide can be traced
back at least to ancient times, its prohibition by international law
appears to be a phenomenon of the early 20th century". Additionally,
according to internationally established customs, a successor government
is responsible for providing reparative justice.
Under the international principle of intertemporal law,
today's prohibitions cannot be applied retroactively. There is a legal
argument suggesting that, exceptions to intertemporal law apply in cases
of crimes against humanity, as European states and their
representatives could not expect slavery to be legal in the future
(referred to as teleological reduction of the principle). However, it is
a complex area of law.
In 2013, in the first of a series of lectures in Georgetown, Guyana, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the 1763 Berbice Slave Revolt, Principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles
urged the CARICOM countries to emulate the position adopted by the Jews
who were persecuted during the Second World War and have since
organized a Jewish reparations fund. Following Beckles' advice, the CARICOM Reparations Commission was created in September 2013. In 2014, 15 Caribbean nations unveiled
the "CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice", which spelled out
demands for reparations from Europe ...for the enduring suffering
inflicted by the Atlantic slave trade". Among these demands were formal apologies from all nations involved (as opposed to "statements of regret"), repatriation
of displaced Africans to their homeland, programs to help Africans
learn about and share their histories, and institutions to improve
slavery descendants' literacy, physical health, and psychological
health. Representatives of Caribbean states have repeatedly announced their intention to bring the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Antigua and Barbuda
In 2011, Antigua and Barbuda called for reparations at the United Nations,
saying "that segregation and violence against people of African descent
had impaired their capacity for advancement as nations, communities and
individuals". More recently, in 2016, Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, called on Harvard University "to demonstrate its remorse and its debt to unnamed slaves from Antigua and Barbuda". According to Sanders, Isaac Royall Jr., who was the first endowed professor of law at Harvard, relied on the slaves on his plantation in Antigua when establishing Harvard Law School. Sanders recommended these reparations come in the form of annual scholarships for Antiguans and Barbudans.
Barbados
In 2012, the Barbadian government established a twelve-member Reparations Task Force to sustain the local, regional, and international momentum for reparations.[63][64]
Barbados was then leading the way in "calling for reparations from
former colonial powers for the injustices suffered by slaves and their
families".
Barbados was said to be "leading the way" (as of 2021) in calling for the payment of reparations for slavery.
As of January 2023, the Barbados National Task Force on
Reparations, part of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, is seeking
reparations from wealthy British MP Richard Drax
for his ancestors' involvement in slavery. The Drax family still owns a
large estate in Barbados; Richard Drax is said to be worth "at least
£150m". If the Commission's request to return Drax Hall to Barbados is refused,
the government intended as of January 2023 to take the matter to international arbitration.
Guyana
In 2007, Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo formally called on European nations to pay reparations for the slave trade. President Jagdeo stated: "Although some members of the international
community have recognized their active role in this despicable system,
they need to go step further and support reparations." In 2014, the Parliament of Guyana established a "Reparations Committee
of Guyana" to further investigate the impact of slavery and create
formal demands for reparations.
Having attained its independence from France in 1804 through a brutal and costly war, the case for reparations to Haiti
was tenable. Shortly after that, France would demand that the newly
founded Haiti pay the French government and enslavers 90 million francs
for the "theft" of the enslaved people's own lives (compensated emancipation)
and the land that they had turned into profitable sugar and
coffee-producing plantations to recognize the fledgling nation's
independence formally. French banks and Citibank financed this debt and finally paid off in 1947.
In 2003, then-President of HaitiJean-Bertrand Aristide
demanded that France compensate Haiti for more than US$21 billion, the
modern equivalent of the 90 million gold francs Haiti was forced to pay
to gain international recognition. Aristide later accused France and the United States of overthrowing him in a successful coup d'état: he claimed that they did this in retaliation for his demands.
Jamaica
In 2004, a coalition of Jamaican activists, including Rastafari members, demanded that European nations that had participated in the slave trade should fund the resettlement of 500,000 Rastafari in Ethiopia (which they estimated to be 72.5 billion pound sterling, or roughly, $150,000 per person). The British government rejected the demand.
In 2012, the Jamaican Government
revived its reparations commission to consider whether the country
should seek an apology or reparations from Britain for its role in the
slave trade. The opposition cited Britain's role in abolishing the slave trade
as a reason that Britain should issue no reparations. In 2021, the
Jamaican government again revisited the idea of reparations for slavery.
It was reported that the Jamaican government was seeking some 7 billion
pounds sterling in reparations for the damages of slavery, including
the 20,000,000 paid out to former enslavers by the British government.
In 1999, the African World Reparations and Repatriation Truth
Commission called for the West to pay $777 trillion (~$1.37 quadrillion
in 2024) to Africa within five years.
In September 2001, the United Nations sponsored the World
Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa. The Durban Review Conference
sponsored a resolution stating that the West owed reparations to Africa
due to the "racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related
intolerance" that the Atlantic slave trade caused. Leaders of several African nations supported this resolution. The former Minister of Justice of Sudan, Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, stated that the slave trade is responsible for Africa's current problems.
President Cyril Ramaphosa supports reparations for slavery and the slave trade, marking the 20th anniversary of the Durban declaration.
African Union and Caricom Global Reparation Fund
A Global Reparation Fund was established by the African Union and Caricom at a conference in Ghana in November 2023. The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo,
said at the conference that "The entire period of slavery meant that
our progress, economically, culturally, and psychologically, was
stifled. There are legions of stories of families who were torn apart
... You cannot quantify the effects of such tragedies, but they need to
be recognised".
In 2013, activists and friends Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Ayọ Tometi originated the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. The movement 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. 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. The
movement gained international attention during global protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. 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. The vast majority of BLM demonstrations in 2020 were peaceful, but BLM protests from late May to early June 2020 escalated into riots and looting in most major cities.
Support for Black Lives Matter has fluctuated in recent years. In
2020, 67% of American adults expressed support for BLM, declining to
45% of American adults in 2024. 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.
Structure and organization
Decentralization
The phrase "Black Lives Matter" can refer to a Twitterhashtag, a slogan, a social movement, a political action committee, 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.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. Activist DeRay McKesson
has commented that the movement "encompasses all who publicly declare
that black lives matter and devote their time and energy accordingly."
In 2013, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Ayọ 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, 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." As of 2021, there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada.
This has caused confusion in both the media and activists
circles, as actions or statements by individual chapters or members are
often misattributed to "Black Lives Matter" as a whole. 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."
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.
Broader movement
Concurrently, a broader movement involving several other
organizations and activists emerged under the banner of "Black Lives
Matter", as well. 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. 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.
Black Lives Matter also voices support for various movements and
causes beyond police brutality, including LGBTQ activism, feminism,
immigration.
Black Lives Matter protest on September 20, 2015, against police brutality in St. Paul, Minnesota
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than 50 groups representing the interests of black communities across the United States. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Endorsed by groups such as Color of Change, Race Forward, Brooklyn Movement Center, PolicyLink, Million Women March Cleveland, and ONE DC, the coalition receives communications and tactical support from an organization named Blackbird.
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.
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". 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". 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.
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. 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 $131 million in 2024); another donation of $33 million (equivalent to $43 million) to M4BL was reportedly issued by the Open Society Foundations.
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. 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.
Funding
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. 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.
According to The Economist,
between May 2020 and December 2020, donations to Black Lives Matter
related causes amounted to $10.6 billion (equivalent to $13 billion in
2024). 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
$109 million in 2024), including a substantial number of individual donations online, with an average donation of $30.76 (equivalent to $37.37).
Strategies and tactics
Black Lives Matter originally used various social media platforms—including hashtag activism—to reach thousands of people rapidly. Since then, Black Lives Matter has embraced a diversity of tactics. Black Lives Matter protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful; when
violence does occur, it is often committed by counter-protesters. Despite this, opponents often try to portray the movement as violent.
Internet and social media
Analysis of the usage of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter in response to major news events
In 2014, the American Dialect Society chose #BlackLivesMatter as their word of the year. Yes! Magazine picked #BlackLivesMatter as one of the twelve hashtags that changed the world in 2014. From July 2013 through May 1, 2018, the hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter" had
been tweeted more than 30 million times, an average of 17,002 times per
day. By June 10, 2020, it had been tweeted roughly 47.8 million times, with the period of July 7–17, 2016 having the highest usage, at nearly 500,000 tweets a day. This period also saw an increase in tweets using the hashtags "#BlackLivesMatter" and "#Alleviate". 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.
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. Nearly half in opposition tied the group to violence, with many describing the group as terrorist.
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. The hashtag's usage has gained the attention of high-ranking
politicians and has sometimes encouraged them to support the movement.
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.
Direct action
A "Hands up!" sign displayed at a Ferguson protest in August 2014
BLM generally engages in direct action tactics that make people uncomfortable enough that they must address the issue. BLM has been known to build power through protest and rallies. BLM has also staged die-ins and held one during the 2015 Twin Cities Marathon.
Black Lives Matter demonstration in Oakland, California, December 2014
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."
Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, the movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, television, literature, and the visual arts.
Several 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. 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.
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.
The February 2015 issue of Essence magazine and the cover were devoted to Black Lives Matter. In December 2015, BLM was a contender for the Time magazine Person of the Year award, coming in fourth of the eight candidates.
On May 9, 2016, Delrish Moss
was sworn in as the first African-American police chief in Ferguson,
Missouri. He acknowledged that he faces such challenges as diversifying
the police force, improving community relations, and addressing issues
that catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement.
According to a study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics
from 2002 to 2011, among those who had contact with the police, "blacks
(2.8%) were more likely than whites (1.0%) and Hispanics (1.4%) to
perceive the threat or use of nonfatal force was excessive."
According to The Washington Post,
police officers shot and killed 1,001 people in the United States in
2019. About half of those killed were white, and one quarter were black,
making the rate of deaths for black Americans (31 fatal shootings per
million) more than twice as high as the rate for white Americans (13
fatal shootings per million).The Washington Post also counts 13 unarmed black Americans shot dead by police in 2019.
A 2015 study by Cody Ross at UC Davis found "significant bias in
the killing of unarmed black Americans relative to unarmed white
Americans" by police. The study found that unarmed African Americans had
3.49 times the probability of being shot compared to unarmed whites,
although in some jurisdictions the risk could be as much as 20 times
higher. The study found that 2.79 times more armed blacks were shot than
unarmed blacks. The study also found that the documented county-level
racial bias in police shootings could not be explained by differences in
local crime rates.
A 2019 study by Cesario et al. published in Social Psychological and Personality Science
found that after adjusting for crime, there was "no systematic evidence
of anti-black disparities in fatal shootings, fatal shootings of
unarmed citizens, or fatal shootings involving misidentification of
harmless objects". However, a 2020 study by Cody Ross et al. criticizes the data analysis
used in the Cesario et al. study. Using the same data set for police
shootings in 2015 and 2016, Ross et al. conclude that there is
significant racial bias in police shooting cases involving unarmed black
suspects. This bias is not seen when suspects are armed.
Map depicting rates of police killings by state in the United States in 2018
A study by Harvard economist Roland Fryer
found that blacks and Hispanics were 50% more likely to experience
non-lethal force in police interactions, but for officer-involved
shootings there were "no racial differences in either the raw data or
when contextual factors are taken into account".
A 2019 study in PNAS concluded that black people were actually less likely than white people to be killed by police, based on the death rates in police encounters. The authors later retracted the paper because although "our data and
statistical approach were appropriate for investigating whether officer
characteristics are related to the race of civilians fatally shot by
police," the paper had been "cited as providing support for the idea
that there are no racial biases in fatal shootings, or policing in
general" whereas in fact their analyses "are inadequate to address
racial disparities in the probability of being shot."
Another study found that such conclusions were erroneous due to Simpson's paradox.According to the paper, while it was true that white people were more
likely to be killed in a police encounter, overall black people were
still being discriminated against because they were more likely to have
interactions with the police due to structural racism. They are more likely to be stopped for more petty crimes or no crime at
all. Conversely, white people interact with police more rarely, and
often for more serious crimes, such as shootings, where police are more
likely to use force. The same paper also backed up the findings of Ross
and Fryer and concluded that the overall rate of death was a much more
useful statistic than the rate of death in encounters.
Disproportionate policing of Black Lives Matter events
Black Lives Matter protesters are themselves sometimes subject to excessive policing of the kind against which they are demonstrating. In May 2020, in addition to police, 43,350 military troops were deployed against Black Lives Matter protesters nationally. Military surveillance aircraft were deployed against subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Observers, such as U.S. President Joe Biden, have noted that violent far-right mobilizations, including the 2021 United States Capitol attack, attracted smaller and more passive police presences than peaceful Black Lives Matter protests. In November 2015, a police officer in Oregon was removed from street duty following a social media post in which he said he would have to "babysit these fools", in reference to a planned BLM event.
According to a report released by the Movement for Black Lives in August 2021, the United States federal government
deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters in an attempt to
disrupt and discourage the Black Lives Matter movement during the summer
of 2020. According to the report, "The empirical data and findings in
this report largely corroborate what Black organizers have long known
intellectually, intuitively, and from lived experience about the federal
government's disparate policing and prosecution of racial justice
protests and related activity".
Timeline of notable events and demonstrations in the United States
In July, Eric Garner died in New York City after a New York City Police Department officer put him in a banned chokehold
while arresting him. Garner's death has been cited as one of several
police killings of African Americans that sparked the Black Lives Matter
movement.
During the Labor Day weekend in August, Black Lives Matter
organized a "Freedom Ride", that brought more than 500 African-Americans
from across the United States into Ferguson, Missouri, to support the work being done on the ground by local organizations. The movement continued to be involved in the Ferguson protests, following the killing of Michael Brown. The protests at times came into conflict with local and state police
departments, who typically responded in an armed manner. At one point,
the National Guard was called in and a state of emergency was declared.
Also in August, Los Angeles Police Department officers shot and killed Ezell Ford; BLM protested his death in Los Angeles into 2015.
In November, a New York City Police Department officer shot and
killed Akai Gurley, a 28-year-old African-American man. Gurley's death
was later protested by Black Lives Matter in New York City. In Oakland, California, fourteen Black Lives Matter activists were arrested after they stopped a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train for more than an hour on Black Friday,
one of the biggest shopping days of the year. The protest, led by Black
Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, was organized in response to the
grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown.
Also in November, Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy,
was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer. Rice's death has
also been cited as contributing to "sparking" the Black Lives Matter
movement.
In December, two to three thousand people gathered at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota to protest the killings of unarmed black men by police. The police at the mall were equipped with riot gear and bomb-sniffing
dogs; at least twenty members of the protest were arrested.Management said that they were "extremely disappointed that organizers
of Black Lives Matter protest chose to ignore our stated policy and
repeated reminders that political protests and demonstrations are not
allowed on Mall of America property".
Also in December, in response to the decision by the grand jury not to indict Darren Wilson on any charges related to the killing of Michael Brown, a protest march was held in Berkeley,
California. Later, in 2015, protesters and journalists who participated
in that rally filed a lawsuit alleging "unconstitutional police
attacks" on attendees.
A week after the Michael Brown verdict, two police officers were
killed in New York City by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who expressed a desire to
kill police officers in retribution for the deaths of Garner and Brown.
Black Lives Matter condemned the shooting, though some right-wing media
attempted to connect the group to it, with the Patrolman's Benevolent Association
president claiming that there was "blood on [the] hands [of] those that
incited violence on the street under the guise of protests". A conservative television commentator also attempted to connect Black
Lives Matter to protesters chanting that they wanted to see "dead cops,"
at the December "Millions March" which was organized by different
groups.
2015
A demonstrator raising awareness of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, April 2015
In March, BLM protested at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, demanding reforms within the Chicago Police Department. Charley Leundeu Keunang, a 43-year-old Cameroonian national, was
fatally shot by Los Angeles Police Department officers. The LAPD
arrested fourteen following BLM demonstrations.
In April, Black Lives Matter across the United States protested over the death of Freddie Gray which included the 2015 Baltimore protests. The National Guard was called in. After the killing of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, Black Lives Matter protested Scott's death and called for Civilian oversight of police.
In May, a protest by BLM in San Francisco was part of a nationwide protest, SayHerName, decrying the police killing of black women and girls, which included the deaths of Meagan Hockaday, Aiyana Jones, Rekia Boyd, and others. In Cleveland, Ohio, after an officer was acquitted at trial in the Killing of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, BLM protested. In Madison, Wisconsin, BLM protested after the officer was not charged in the killing of Tony Robinson.
In July, BLM activists across the United States began protests over the death of Sandra Bland, an African-American woman, who was allegedly found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas. In Cincinnati, Ohio, BLM rallied and protested the death of Samuel DuBose after he was shot and killed by a University of Cincinnati police officer. In Newark, New Jersey, over a thousand BLM activists marched against police brutality, racial injustice, and economic inequality. Also in July, BLM protested the death of Jonathan Sanders who died while being arrested by police in Mississippi.
In August, BLM organizers held a rally in Washington, D.C., calling for a stop to violence against transgender women. In Charlotte, North Carolina, after a judge declared a mistrial in the trial of a white Charlotte police officer who killed an unarmed black man, Jonathan Ferrell, BLM protested and staged die-ins. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Janelle Monáe, Jidenna, and other BLM activists marched through North Philadelphia to bring awareness to police brutality and Black Lives Matter. Around August 9, the first anniversary of Michael Brown's death, BLM rallied, held vigil and marched in St. Louis and across the country.
Black Lives Matter protest against St. Paul police brutality at Metro Green Line, September 2015
In September, over five hundred BLM protesters in Austin, Texas, rallied against police brutality, and several briefly carried protest banners onto Interstate 35. In Baltimore, Maryland, BLM activists marched and protested as hearings began in the Freddie Gray police brutality case. In Sacramento, California, about eight hundred BLM protesters rallied to support a California State Senate bill that would increase police oversight. BLM protested the killing of Jeremy McDole.
In October, Black Lives Matter activists were arrested during a protest of a police chiefs conference in Chicago. "Rise Up October" straddled the Black Lives Matter Campaign, and brought several protests. Quentin Tarantino and Cornel West, participating in "Rise Up October", decried police violence.
Protest march in response to the Jamar Clark killing, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2015An
activist holds a "Black Lives Matter" sign outside the Minneapolis
Police Fourth Precinct building following the officer-involved killing
of Jamar Clark on November 15, 2015
In November, BLM activists protested after Jamar Clark was shot by Minneapolis Police Department. A continuous protest was organized at the Minneapolis 4th Precinct
Police. During the encamped protest, protesters, and outside agitators
clashed with police, vandalized the station and attempted to ram the
station with an SUV. Later that month a march was organized to honor Jamar Clark, from the
4th Precinct to downtown Minneapolis. After the march, a group of men
carrying firearms and body armor appeared and began calling the protesters racial slurs according to a
spokesperson for Black Lives Matter. After protesters asked the armed
men to leave, the men opened fire, shooting five protesters. All injuries required hospitalization, but were not life-threatening.
The men fled the scene only to be found later and arrested. The three
men arrested were young and white, and observers called them white supremacists. In February 2017, one of the men arrested, Allen Scarsella, was
convicted of a dozen felony counts of assault and riot in connection
with the shooting. Based in part on months of racist messages Scarsella
had sent his friends before the shooting, the judge rejected arguments
by his defense that Scarsella was "naïve" and sentenced him in April
2017 to 15 years out of a maximum 20-year sentence.
From November 2016, BLM protested the Murder of Laquan McDonald,
calling for the resignation of numerous Chicago officials in the wake
of the shooting and its handling. McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago
Police Officer Jason Van Dyke.
In January, hundreds of BLM protesters marched in San Francisco to protest the December 2, 2015, shooting death of Mario Woods, who was shot by San Francisco Police officers. The march was held during a Super Bowl event. BLM held protests, community meetings, teach-ins, and direct actions
across the country with the goal of "reclaim[ing] the radical legacy of Martin Luther King Jr."
In February, Abdullahi Omar Mohamed, a 17-year-old Somali refugee, was shot and injured by Salt Lake City, Utah, police after allegedly being involved in a confrontation with another person. The shooting led to BLM protests.
In June, members of BLM and Color of Change
protested the California conviction and sentencing of Jasmine Richards
for a 2015 incident in which she attempted to stop a police officer from
arresting another woman. Richards was convicted of "attempting to
unlawfully take a person from the lawful custody of a peace officer", a
charge that the state penal code had designated as "lynching" until that word was removed two months prior to the incident.
On July 5, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot
several times at point-blank range while pinned to the ground by two
white Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. On the night of July 5, more than 100 demonstrators in Baton
Rouge shouted, "no justice, no peace," set off fireworks, and blocked
an intersection to protest Sterling's death. On July 6, Black Lives Matter held a candlelight vigil in Baton Rouge, with chants of "We love Baton Rouge" and calls for justice.
On July 6, Philando Castile was fatally shot by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony, Minnesota police officer, after being pulled over in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul.
Castile was driving a car with his girlfriend and her 4-year-old
daughter as passengers when he was pulled over by Yanez and another
officer. According to his girlfriend, after being asked for his license and registration, Castile told the officer he was licensed to carry a weapon and had one in the car. She stated: "The officer said don't move. As he was putting his hands
back up, the officer shot him in the arm four or five times." She live-streamed a video on Facebook
in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Following the fatal
shooting of Castile, BLM protested throughout Minnesota and the United
States.
On July 7, a BLM protest was held in Dallas, Texas, that was
organized to protest the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
At the end of the peaceful protest, Micah Xavier Johnson opened fire in an ambush,
killing five police officers and wounding seven others and two
civilians. The gunman was then killed by a robot-delivered bomb. Before he died, according to police, Johnson said that "he was upset
about Black Lives Matter", and that "he wanted to kill white people,
especially white officers." Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and other conservative lawmakers blamed the shootings on the Black Lives Matter movement. The Black Lives Matter network released a statement denouncing the shootings. On July 8, more than 100 people were arrested at Black Lives Matter protests across the United States.
Protest in response to the Alton Sterling killing, San Francisco, California, July 8, 2016
In the first half of July, there were at least 112 protests in 88 American cities. On July 13, NBA stars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade opened the 2016 ESPY Awards with a Black Lives Matter message. On July 26, Black Lives Matter held a protest in Austin, Texas, to mark the third anniversary of the shooting death of Larry Jackson Jr. On July 28, Chicago Police Department officers shot Paul O'Neal in the back and killed him following a car chase. After the shooting, hundreds marched in Chicago, Illinois.
In Randallstown,
Maryland, near Baltimore, on August 1, police officers shot and killed
Korryn Gaines, a 23-year-old African American woman, also shooting and
injuring her son. Gaines' death was protested in Baltimore.
In August, Black Lives Matter protested in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania the death of Bruce Kelley Jr., who was shot after fatally
stabbing a police dog while trying to escape from police the previous
January.
In August, several professional athletes began participating in National Anthem protests. The protests began in the National Football League (NFL) after Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers sat during the anthem, as opposed to the tradition of standing, before his team's third preseason game of 2016. During a post-game interview he explained his position stating, "I am
not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that
oppresses black people and people of color.
To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part
to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting
paid leave and getting away with murder," a protest widely interpreted as in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The protests have generated mixed reactions and have since spread to other U.S. sports leagues.
In September, BLM protested the shooting deaths by police officers of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina.The Charlotte Observer
reported "The protesters began to gather as night fell, hours after the
shooting. They held themed signs that said 'Stop Killing Us' and 'Black
Lives Matter,' and they chanted 'No justice, no peace.' The scene was
sometimes chaotic and tense, with water bottles and stones chucked at
police lines, but many protesters called for peace and implored their
fellow demonstrators not to act violently." Multiple nights of protests in September and October were held in El Cajon, California, following the killing of Alfred Olango.
2017
During the 2017 Black History Month, a month-long "Black Lives Matter" art exhibition was organized by three Richmond,
Virginia artists at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond
in the Byrd Park area of the city. The show featured more than 30
diverse multicultural artists on a theme exploring racial equality and
justice.
In the same month Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) James Branch Cabell Library focused on a month-long schedule of events relating to African-American history and showed photos from the church's "Black Lives Matter" exhibition on its outdoor screen. The VCU schedule of events also included: the Real Life Film Series The Angry Heart: The Impact of Racism on Heart Disease among African-Americans; Keith Knight presented the 14th Annual VCU Libraries Black History Month lecture; Lawrence Ross, author of the book Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on America's Campuses talked about how his book related to the "Black Lives Matter" movement; and Velma P. Scantlebury,
M.D., the first black female transplant surgeon in the United States,
discussed "Health Equity in Kidney Transplantation: Experiences from a
surgeon's perspective."
Black Lives Matter protested the killing of Jocques Clemmons which occurred in Nashville, Tennessee on February 10, 2017. On May 12, 2017, a day after Glenn Funk, the district attorney of Davidson County decided not to prosecute police officer Joshua Lippert, the Nashville chapter of BLM held a demonstration near the Vanderbilt University campus all the way to the residence of Nashville mayor Megan Barry.
On September 27 at the College of William & Mary, students associated with Black Lives Matter protested an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) event because the ACLU had fought for the right of the Unite the Right rally to be held in Charlottesville, Virginia. William & Mary's president Taylor Reveley responded with a statement defending the college's commitment to open debate.
2018
In February and March 2018, as part of its social justice focus, First Unitarian Church of Richmond, Virginia in Richmond, Virginia presented its Second Annual Black Lives Matter Art Exhibition. Works of art in the exhibition were projected at scheduled hours on the large exterior screen (jumbotron) at Virginia Commonwealth University's
Cabell Library. Artists with art in the exhibition were invited to
discuss their work in the Black Lives Matter show as it was projected at
an evening forum in a small amphitheater at VCU's Hibbs Hall. They were
also invited to exhibit afterward at a local showing of the 1961 film
adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun.
In April, CNN reported that the largest Facebook account claiming
to be a part of the "Black Lives Matter" movement was a "scam" tied to a
white man in Australia. The account, with 700,000 followers, was linked
to fundraisers that raised $100,000 or more, purportedly for U.S. Black
Lives Matter causes; however, some of the money was instead transferred
to Australian bank accounts, according to CNN. Facebook has suspended
the offending page.
2020
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African American man, was murdered while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia. Arbery had been pursued and confronted by three white residents driving
two vehicles, including a father and son who were armed. All three men were indicted on nine counts, including felony murder.
On March 13, Louisville police officers knocked down the
apartment door of 26-year-old African American Breonna Taylor, serving a
no-knock search warrant for drug suspicions. After her boyfriend shot a
police officer in the leg, Police fired several shots which led to her death. Her boyfriend called 911 and said, "someone kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend". Protests were held in Louisville with calls for police reform.
George Floyd protests at Lafayette Square, Washington D.C., May 30, 2020
At the end of May, spurred on by a rash of racially charged events including those above, over 450 major protests were held in cities and towns across the United States and three continents. The breaking point was due primarily to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, eventually charged with second-degree murder after a video circulated
showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while
Floyd pleaded for his life, repeating: "I can't breathe." Following protesters' demands for additional prosecutions, three other
officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Protests in May 2020 after George Floyd's death"Black Lives Matter" on the facade of the Washington National Cathedral, June 10, 2020
Black Lives Matter organized rallies in the United States and worldwide from May 30 onwards, with protesters enacting Floyd's final moments, many lying down in
streets and on bridges, yelling "I can't breathe," while others marched
by the thousands, some carrying signs that read, "Tell your brother in
blue, don't shoot"—"Who do you call when the murderer wears a badge?"
and "Justice for George Floyd." While global and supported by several unassociated organizations, the
Black Lives Matter movement has been inextricably linked to these
monumental protests. Black Lives Matter called to "defund the police", a slogan with varying interpretations from police abolition to divestment from police and prisons to reinvestment in social services in communities of color. In 2020, NPR reported that the Washington D.C. Black Lives Matter chapter's demands were defunding the police, halting the construction of new jails, decriminalizing sex work, removing police from schools, exonerating protesters and abolishing cash bail in Maryland.
On June 7, in the wake of global George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter's call to "defund the police", the Minneapolis City Council
voted to "disband its police department" to shift funding to social
programs in communities of color. City Council President Lisa Bender
said, "Our efforts at incremental reform have failed. Period." The
council vote came after the Minneapolis Public Schools, the University
of Minnesota and Minneapolis Parks and Recreation cut ties with the
Minneapolis Police Department. At the end of 2020, approximately $8 million of the city's $179 million
police budget was reallocated for violence prevention pilot programs
and was considered the type of incremental reform that activists and
politicians had earlier denounced.
On July 20, the Strike for Black Lives, organized in part by Black Lives Matter, featured thousands of workers across the United States performing a walkout to raise awareness of systemic racism following Floyd's murder.
From May 26 to August 22, there were more than 7,750 BLM-linked
demonstrations in over 2,240 locations throughout the United States.
While the majority of protests were peaceful, some escalated into riots, looting, and street skirmishes with police and counter-protesters. By the end of June 2020, at least 14,000 people had been arrested. By June 2020, more than 19 people had died in relation to the unrest.
Arson, vandalism, and looting that occurred between May 26 and June 8
caused approximately $1–2 billion in insured damages nationally, the
highest recorded damage from civil disorder in U.S. history, and surpassing the record set during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
2021
On April 20, 2021, a jury, consisting of six white people and six
people of color, found Chauvin guilty on three counts: unintentional second-degree murder; third-degree murder; and second-degree manslaughter.
2022
In Illinois, Olivia Butts organized an effort to get the elimination of cash bail passed for 2023 under a new bill known as the SAFE-T Act.
A vigil was held for the death of Keenan Anderson,
who was killed by a police officer of the Los Angeles Police
Department. Anderson was the cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors. The releasing of camera footage regarding the death of Tyre Nichols in January 2023 led to protests in Memphis. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network spoke on the matter upon the release of bodycam footage.
A ruling made by the Supreme Court of Alabama continues to prevent most police body camera footage, including that related to Joseph Pettaway, who bled to death in 2018 after being bitten by a police dog, from being released to the public. In December 2022 Judge Jerusha Adams again blocked the release of video footage related to Pettaways' death.
2025
Crews beginning to remove the Black Lives Matter Plaza installation.
In March 2025, Andrew Clyde (R-GA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would withhold certain federal funding from Washington, D.C. unless Black Lives Matter Plaza
is renamed "Liberty Plaza", the mural is removed, and the city removes
all references to "Black Lives Matter" from any official publications. On March 10, 2025, city crews began to remove the installation; Mayor
Bowser stated that the removal was the result of threats of encroachment
from both President Donald Trump
and the Republican-controlled Congress. She stated that "the mural
inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful
period, but now we can't afford to be distracted by meaningless
congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job
cuts must be our number one concern". It was stated that the plaza would
receive new art by students and artists as part of DC's America 250
mural project.
International movement
In 2015, after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, black activists around the world modeled efforts for reform on Black Lives Matter and the Arab Spring. This international movement has been referred to as the "Black Spring". Connections have also been forged with parallel international efforts such as the Dalit rights movement.
Following the death of Ms Dhu in police custody in August 2014, protests often made reference to the BLM movement. In July 2016, a BLM rally was organized in Melbourne, Australia, which 3,500 people attended. The protest also emphasized the issues of mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians by the Australian police and government.
In May 2017, Black Lives Matter was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize, which "honours a nominee who has promoted 'peace with justice', human rights and non-violence".
Blacks in Brazil suffer from economic marginalization, state violence, discrimination, and lower life-expectancy. In June 2020, two Black children, 5-year-old Miguel Otávio Santana da
Silva and 14-year-old João Pedro Matos Pinto, died in Brazil. Miguel Otávio Santana da Silva was under the watch of the white boss of his mother when he fell off the balcony of a building. João Pedro Matos Pinto was shot in the back by police in Rio de Janeiro during a raid where the police discharged seventy shots.He was killed the same week as George Floyd. Their deaths prompted protests in cities across the country. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" was translated to "Vidas Negras Importam" in Portuguese. Protests continued throughout 2020 and were renewed at the end of the year after supermarket security guards beat 40-year-old welder João Alberto Silveira Freitas to death in Porto Alegre.
In July 2015, BLM protesters shut down Allen Road in Toronto, Ontario,
protesting the shooting deaths of two black men in the metropolitan
area—Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby—at the hands of police. In September, BLM activists shut down streets in Toronto, citing police
brutality and solidarity with "marginalized black lives" as reason for
the shutdown. Black Lives Matter was a featured part of the Take Back the Night event in Toronto.
In June 2016, Black Lives Matter was selected by Pride Toronto as the honored group in that year's Pride parade, during which they staged a sit-in to block the parade from moving forward for approximately half an hour. They issued several demands for Pride to adjust its relationship with LGBTQ people of color, including stable funding and a suitable venue for the established Blockorama event, improved diversity in the organization's staff and volunteer base, and that Toronto Police officers be banned from marching in the parade in uniform. Pride executive director Mathieu Chantelois
signed BLM's statement of demand, but later asserted that he had signed
it only to end the sit-in and get the parade moving, and had not agreed
to honor the demands. In late August 2016, the Toronto chapter protested outside the Special Investigations Unit in Mississauga in response to the death of Abdirahman Abdi, who died during an arrest in Ottawa.
In 2020, the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet and the killing of D'Andre Campbell in Canada sparked BLM protests demanding the defunding of police services.
In Denmark, an organization named Black Lives Matter Denmark was founded in 2016 by Bwalya Sørensen [da], a woman from Zambia
who came to Denmark when she was 19 years old. The organization is
centered around Sørensen and mainly focuses on rejected asylum seekers
and criminal foreigners, sentenced to expulsion from Denmark. The connection to the U.S. organization is unclear, but Sørensen has
said she was encouraged by someone in the U.S. to start a Danish
chapter, and that she, in 2017, was visited by the U.S. co-founder, Ayọ Tometi.
In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter Denmark held a demonstration in Copenhagen
that attracted 15,000 participants. Following the demonstration, the
organization and Sørensen, in particular, received much criticism
because the rules separated people by ethnicity: at the demonstration,
only black people could be in front, and white people were disallowed
from participating in some chants. Other controversies included Sørensen refusing to co-host a demonstration with Amnesty International because their employees were white, and illegally raising money, while calling the missing fundraising permit peaceful "civil disobedience". Sørensen herself has been criticized for splitting the movement with her confrontational style.
A new organization, named Afro Danish Collective, was announced in June 2020, with Roger Matthisen [da], a former member of the Folketing for The Alternative,
as spokesperson. The organization has similar goals to Black Lives
Matter Denmark, but will take a more moderate approach, including not
distinguishing between people at demonstrations based on their skin
color.Matthisen said Afro Danish Collective was in part established because
the leadership of Black Lives Matter Denmark had not been professional
enough.
Black Lives Matter protest in Berlin, Germany, May 30, 2020
France
On July 18, 2020, thousands of protesters marched near Paris to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of Adama Traoré.
Traoré, a black man, was arrested in July 2016 and fainted after being
pinned to the ground by police officers. He later died at a police
station; the circumstances of his death are unclear. Racial tensions continued with unrest in 2023 after the killing of teenager Nahel Merzouk.
Germany
On June 6, 2020, tens of thousands of people gathered across Germany to support the Black Lives Matter movement. On July 18, 2020, more than 1,500 protesters participated in an anti-racism march in Berlin to condemn police brutality.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, several demonstrations
took place in Japan, including a 1,000-person demonstration in Osaka on June 7, 2020, and a 3,500-person march through the streets of Shibuya and Harajuku areas of Tokyo on June 14, 2020. The movement has been met with some backlash in the country, notably on the internet, where some users criticized tennis player Naomi Osaka after she encouraged people to join a Black Lives Matter march in the city of Osaka.
New Zealand
Black Lives Matter protest in Aotea Square, Auckland, June 14, 2020
On June 1, 2020, several BLM solidarity protests in response to the murder of George Floyd were held in several New Zealand cities including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Hamilton. The Auckland event, which attracted between 2,000 and 4,000
participants, was organized by several members of New Zealand's African
community. Auckland organizer Mahlete Tekeste, African American
expatriate Kainee Simone, and sportsperson Israel Adesanya compared racism, mass incarceration, and police violence against African Americans to the over-representation of Māori and Pacific Islanders
in New Zealand prisons, the controversial armed police response squad
trials, and existing racism against minorities in New Zealand including
the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. Hip hop artist and music producer Mazbou Q also called on Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern to condemn violence against black Americans.
The left-wing Green Party, a member of the Labour-led coalition government,
has also expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement, linking
the plight of African Americans to the racism, inequality, and higher
incarceration rate experienced by the Māori and Pasifika communities.
The BLM protests in New Zealand attracted criticism from Deputy Prime MinisterWinston Peters for violating the country's COVID-19 pandemic social distancing regulations banning mass gatherings of over 100 people.
Black Lives Matter emerged as a movement in the UK in the summer of 2016. Thousands attended protests against police racism in Manchester on July 11, and a group called Black Lives Matter UK (UKBLM) was set up in the wake of the June 23 Brexit referendum at a meeting addressed by US BLM activist Patrisse Cullors. On August 4, 2016, BLM protesters blocked London City Airport in London, England. Several demonstrators chained themselves together on the airport's runway. Nine people were arrested in connection with the incident. There were
also BLM-themed protests in other English cities, including Birmingham and Nottingham. The UK-held protests marked the fifth anniversary of the shooting death of Mark Duggan.
In 2016, tabloid newspapers ran several stories seeking to expose
and discredit BLM activists, leading the movement to adopt anonymity. On June 25, 2017, BLM supporters protested in Stratford, London over the death of Edson Da Costa, who died in police custody. There were no arrests made at the protest. According to Patrick Vernon, BLM's start in the UK in 2016 was not met with respect. From 2018 onwards, after events like the Grenfell Tower fire and the Windrush scandal, the movement was viewed more favorably by black Britons, in particular senior black Britions. In December 2019, Black Lives Matter UK worked with the coalition Wretched of the Earth to represent the voices of global indigenous peoples and people of color in the climate justice movement.
Protest outside the U.S. Embassy in London, June 7, 2020
In 2020, protests were held in support of the Black Lives Matter
movement in the US. Following the murder of George Floyd, London
protests took place in Trafalgar Square on May 31, Hyde Park on June 3, Parliament Square on June 6, and outside the US Embassy on June 7. Similar protests took place in Manchester, Bristol, and Cardiff. The UK protests not only showed solidarity with U.S. protesters, but
also commemorated black people who have died in the UK, with protesters
chanting, carrying signs, and sharing social media posts with names of
victims including Julian Cole, Belly Mujinga, Nuno Cardoso, and Sarah Reed.
The empty pedestal of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol.
Subject to increasing controversy since the 1990s, when his prior
reputation as a philanthropist came under scrutiny due to a growing
awareness of his slave trading, in June 2020, the statue was toppled,
defaced and pushed into Bristol Harbour.
On June 7, protests continued in many towns and cities. During a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol, the city center statue of Edward Colston,
a late 17th early 18th-century philanthropist, politician and slave
trader, was pulled down by protesters, rolled along the road and pushed
into Bristol Harbour. The act was later condemned by Home SecretaryPriti Patel who said: "This hooliganism is utterly indefensible." In London, after it was defaced a few days earlier, protesters defaced the statue of Winston Churchill, Parliament Square, Westminster with graffiti for a second time. Black spray paint was sprayed over his name, and the words "was a racist" were sprayed underneath. A protester also attempted to burn the Union Jack flag flying at the Cenotaph, a memorial to Britain's war dead. Later in the evening violence broke out between protesters and police. A
total of 49 police officers were injured after demonstrators threw
bottles and fireworks at them. Over the weekend, a total of 135 arrests were made by police. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
commented on the events, saying "those who attack public property or
the police – who injure the police officers who are trying to keep us
all safe – those people will face the full force of the law; not just
because of the hurt and damage they are causing, but because of the
damage they are doing to the cause they claim to represent."
Peaceful protests took place in Leeds' Millennium Square on June 14, 2020 organized by a coalition of organizations: Black Voices Matter', which included Black Lives Matter Leeds. A second protest was held on Woodhouse Moor on June 21, organized by Black Lives Matter Leeds.
On June 28, Black Lives Matter UK faced criticism for making a
series of tweets from their verified Twitter account regarding Israel,
including one that claims "mainstream British politics is gagged of the
right to critique Zionism". The Premier League, who were carrying the Black Lives Matter logo on their football shirts for the rest of the 2019–20 season, subsequently said that attempts by groups to hijack the cause to suit their own political ends are entirely unwelcome. After receiving considerable donations in summer 2020, Black Lives Matter UK formalised its organisation. In September 2020, the group changed its official name to Black
Liberation Movement UK and became legally registered as a community
benefit society. However, the group still uses the Black Lives Matter name in its global cooperative efforts. In January 2021, the Black Liberation Movement began to distribute its
funds to grassroots black-led and anti-racist organisations across the
UK. Activists from a different BLM group, Charles Gordon and Sasha Johnson, founded the Taking The Initiative Party (TTIP) in the summer of 2020 had applied to register as a political party through the Electoral Commission; however, BLM UK said "BLM UK has no intention to set up a political party. This person or group is not affiliated with us."
In September 2021, British businessman and philanthropist Ken Olisa revealed to Channel 4 that Elizabeth II and the British royal family are supporters of Black Lives Matter. In response, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter UK said "We were
surprised to learn the Queen is a BLM supporter. But we welcome anyone
that agrees with our goal of dismantling white supremacy. Of course,
actions speak louder than words. The Queen sits on a throne made from
colonial plunder. Until she gives back all the stolen gold and diamonds
from the Commonwealth and pays reparations, these are nothing more than
warm words."
In October 2021, The Guardian and The Times
reported that a covert police unit in South Wales attempted to recruit a
Black Lives Matter protester to be an informant and supply further
information about far-right activists who had marched in support of
Black Lives Matter. In February 2022, the Swansea
chapter of BLM announced it would be closing due to "attempted
recruitment by the police and threats to its members' physical and
mental safety from far-right activists".
In July 2024, the Black Lives Matter UK Festival of Collective Liberation took place at Friends House, London, attended by more than 600 activists and supporters.2016 United States presidential election
At the Netroots Nation Conference in July 2015, dozens of Black Lives Matter activists took over the stage at an event featuring Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders.
Activists, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors,
asked both candidates for specific policy proposals to address deaths in
police custody. The protesters chanted several slogans, including "if I die in police custody, burn everything down" and "Shut this crap down". The expression "Shut it down" would go on to become a popular phrase in Black Lives Matter protests and on social media.
After conference organizers pleaded with the protesters for
several minutes, O'Malley responded by pledging to release a
wide-ranging plan for criminal justice reform. Protesters later booed
O'Malley when he stated, "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All
lives matter." O'Malley later apologized for his remarks, saying that he did not mean to disrespect the black community.
On August 8, 2015, a speech by Democratic presidential candidate and civil rights activist Bernie Sanders was disrupted by a group who would go on to found the Seattle Chapter of Black Lives Matter including chapter co-founder Marissa Johnson who walked onstage, seized the microphone from him and called his supporters racists and white supremacists.Sanders issued a platform in response. Nikki Stephens, the operator of a Facebook page called "Black Lives
Matter: Seattle" issued an apology to Sanders' supporters, claiming
these actions did not represent her understanding of BLM. She was then
sent messages by members of the Seattle Chapter, which she described as
threatening, and was forced to change the name of her group to "Black in
Seattle". The founders of Black Lives Matter stated that they had not
issued an apology. In August 2015, the Democratic National Committee passed a resolution supporting Black Lives Matter.
In the first Democratic primary debate, the presidential candidates were asked whether black lives matter or all lives matter. In reply, Bernie Sanders stated, "Black lives matter." Martin O'Malley said, "Black lives matter," and that the "movement is
making is a very, very legitimate and serious point, and that is that as
a nation we have undervalued the lives of black lives, people of
color." In response, Hillary Clinton pushed for criminal justice reform, and said, "We need a new New Deal for communities of color." Jim Webb, on the other hand, replied: "As the president of the United States, every life in this country matters." Hillary Clinton
was not directly asked the same question, but was instead asked: "What
would you do for African Americans in this country that President Obama
couldn't?" Clinton had already met with Black Lives Matter representatives, and
emphasized what she described as a more pragmatic approach to enacting
change, stating "Look, I don't believe you change hearts. I believe you
change laws". Without policy change, she felt "we'll be back here in 10
years having the same conversation." In June 2015, Clinton used the phrase "all lives matter" in a speech
about the opportunities of young people of color, prompting backlash
that she may misunderstand the message of "Black Lives Matter."
A week after the first Democratic primary debate was held in Las
Vegas, BLM launched a petition targeted at the DNC and its chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz demanding more debates, and "specifically for a #BlackLivesMatter themed Presidential debate." The petition received over 10,000 signatures within 24 hours of being launched, and had over 33,000 signatures as of October 27, 2015. The DNC said that it would permit presidential candidates to attend a
presidential town hall organized by activists, but that it would not add
another debate to its official schedule. In response, the organization released a press statement on its
Facebook page stating that "[i]n consultation with our chapters, our
communities, allies, and supporters, we remain unequivocal that a
Presidential Town Hall with support from the DNC does not sufficiently
respond to the concerns raised by our members", continuing to demand a
full additional debate.
After the first debate, in October 2015, a speech by Hillary Clinton on criminal justice reform and race at Atlanta University Center was interrupted by BLM activists.
In February 2016, two Black Lives Matter activists protested at a
private fundraiser for Clinton about statements she made in 1996 in
which she referred to young people as "super-predators". One of the
activists wanted Clinton to apologize for "mass incarceration" in
connection with her support for her husband, then-President Bill
Clinton's 1994 criminal reform law.
Republicans
Republican candidates have been mostly critical of BLM. In August 2015, Ben Carson, the only African American vying for the Republican nomination for the presidency, called the movement "silly". Carson also said that BLM should care for all black lives, not just a few. In the first Republican presidential debate, which took place in Cleveland, one question referenced Black Lives Matter. In response to the question, Scott Walker advocated for the proper training of law enforcement and blamed the movement for rising anti-police sentiment, while Marco Rubio was the first candidate to publicly sympathize with the movement's point of view.
In August 2015, activists chanting "Black Lives Matter" interrupted the Las Vegas rally of Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. As Bush exited early, some of his supporters started responding to the
protesters by chanting "white lives matter" or "all lives matter".
Several conservative pundits have labeled the movement a "hate group". Candidate Chris Christie, the New Jersey Governor, criticized President Obama for supporting BLM, stating that the movement calls for the murder of police officers. Christie's statement was condemned by New Jersey chapters of the NAACP and ACLU.
BLM activists also called on the Republican National Committee to have a presidential debate focused on issues of racial justice. The RNC, however, declined to alter their debate schedule, and instead also supported a townhall or forum.
In November 2015, a BLM protester was physically assaulted at a Donald Trump
rally in Birmingham, Alabama. In response, Trump said, "maybe he should
have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was
doing." Trump had previously threatened to fight any Black Lives Matter protesters if they attempted to speak at one of his events.
In March 2016, Black Lives Matter helped organize the 2016 Donald Trump Chicago rally protest that forced Trump to cancel the event. Four individuals were arrested and charged in the incident; two were
"charged with felony aggravated battery to a police officer and
resisting arrest", one was "charged with two misdemeanor counts of
resisting and obstructing a peace officer", and the fourth "was charged
with one misdemeanor count of resisting and obstructing a peace
officer". A CBS reporter was one of those arrested outside the rally. He was charged with resisting arrest.
General election
A group called Mothers of the Movement,
which includes the mothers of Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner,
and other mothers whose "unarmed African American children have been
killed by law enforcement or due to gun violence," addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 26.
Commenting on the first of 2016 presidential debates
between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, some media outlets
characterized Clinton's references to implicit bias and systemic racism as speaking "the language of the Black Lives Matter movement," while others pointed out neither Clinton nor Trump used the words "Black Lives Matter."
In a Washington Post op-ed, DeRay Mckesson endorsed
Hillary Clinton, because her "platform on racial justice is strong". He
articulated that voting alone is not the only way to bring about
"transformational change". He said that "I voted my entire life, and I
was still tear-gassed in the streets of St. Louis and Baltimore. I voted
my entire life, and those votes did not convict the killers of Sandra
Bland, Freddie Gray or Michael Brown".
2024 United States presidential election
In July 2024, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation released a statement opposing the Democratic Party's decision to nominate Kamala Harris for president without a primary election, describing the process as "anointing" Harris as the nominee without a public vote. The organization argued that installing Harris as the Democratic nominee without a primary vote undermined democratic principles, stating that such a move "would make the modern Democratic Party a party of hypocrites." BLM called on the Democratic National Committee to host a virtual primary to allow voter participation in the nomination process.
BLM's stance sparked discussions about transparency and democratic engagement within the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The organization reiterated its call for a more open process,
expressing concerns about the potential lack of representation and
accountability in the nomination procedure.
Reactions and legacy
The United States population's perception of Black Lives Matter has
varied consistently and considerably by race and political affiliation. A majority of Americans disapproved of the movement through 2018, after
which it started gaining wider support. Black Lives Matter's popularity
surged and reached its highest levels yet in the summer of 2020, when a
Pew Research Center
poll found that 60% of white, 77% of Hispanic, 75% of Asian and 86% of
African-Americans either strongly supported or somewhat supported BLM. However, its popularity had declined considerably in September of the
same year, when another Pew Research Center poll showed that its overall
approval ratings among all American adults had gone down by 12
percentage points to 55%, and that 45% of whites, 66% of Hispanics and
69% of Asians now approved of it. Support remained widespread among black-American adults at 87%.
A Politico-Morning Consult poll done in September 2020, as well as a Civiqs poll conducted in November 2021, had also found declining support for the movement. A 2022 YouGov poll found declining support for BLM among African-Americans. An April 2023 Pew Research Center poll found that only 51% of Americans
supported the BLM movement, while 46% opposed the movement. In the same
poll, 81% of African Americans said they still supported the movement. A May 2024 Harvard/Harris poll showed that only 45% of Americans had favorable opinions of BLM.
The phrase "All Lives Matter"
sprang up as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement, but has
been criticized for dismissing or misunderstanding the message of "Black
Lives Matter". Following the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, the hashtag
Blue Lives Matter was created by supporters of the police. A few civil rights leaders have disagreed with tactics used by Black Lives Matter activists. Public and academic debate at large has arisen over the structure and tactics used.
While the vast majority of Democrats have voiced support for
Black Lives Matter, few Republicans have done the same. President Donald
Trump has been a vocal critic of Black Lives Matter, citing incidents
of violence and looting at some Black Lives Matter protests. He has also
used the protests as a means to promote law and order rhetoric and appealed to the grievances of some white people. Joe Biden, who ran against Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, supported Black Lives Matter.
In the weeks following the murder of George Floyd, many corporations came out in support of the movement, donating and enacting policy changes per the group's ethos.
The phrase "All Lives Matter" sprang up as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement, shortly after the movement gained national attention. Several notable individuals have supported All Lives Matter. Its proponents include Senator Tim Scott. NFL cornerback Richard Sherman supports the All Lives Matter message, saying "I stand by what I said that All Lives Matter and that we are human beings." According to an August 2015 telephone poll, 78% of likely American
voters said that the statement "all lives matter" was closest to their
own personal views when compared to "black lives matter" or neither.
Only 11% said that the statement "black lives matter" was closest. Nine
percent said that neither statement reflected their own personal point
of view.
According to professor David Theo Goldberg, "All Lives Matter" reflects a view of "racial dismissal, ignoring, and denial". Professor Charles "Chip" Linscott said that "All Lives Matter" promotes
the "erasure of structural anti-black racism and black social death in
the name of formal and ideological equality and post-racial
colorblindness".
Co-founder Alicia Garza has responded to criticism of the movement's
exclusivity, writing, "#BlackLivesMatter doesn't mean your life isn't
important – it means that Black lives, which are seen without value
within White supremacy, are important to your liberation." President Barack Obama spoke about the debate between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter. Obama said, "I think that the reason that the organizers used the
phrase Black Lives Matter was not because they were suggesting that no
one else's lives matter ... rather what they were suggesting was there
is a specific problem that is happening in the African American
community that's not happening in other communities." He also said "that
is a legitimate issue that we've got to address."
Blue Lives Matter is a countermovement in the United States
supporting law enforcement officers and advocating that those who are
prosecuted and convicted of killing law enforcement officers should be sentenced under hate crime statutes. It was started in response to Black Lives Matter after the homicides of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn, New York on December 20, 2014. Following the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson and in response to BLM, the hashtag #BlueLivesMatter was created by supporters of the police. Following this, Blue Lives Matter became a pro-police officer movement in the United States, expanding after the killings of five police officers by a sniper in Dallas, Texas, who cited police shootings of Black people as his motive.
Criticized by the ACLU and others, the movement inspired a state
law in Louisiana that made it a hate crime to target police officers,
firefighters, and emergency medical service personnel.
The movement has been strongly criticized after the 2021 United States Capitol attack
after pro-Trump rioters were seen showing support for the movement,
with some bringing Blue Lives Matter flags to the protest. Many have
called the movement hypocritical, as people in the mob assaulted Capitol
police officers. One African American Capitol police officer, Harry Dunn, described being beaten with a Blue Lives Matter flag while rioters shouted racial slurs at him. This has led some to argue that Blue Lives Matter is more about suppressing minorities than supporting law enforcement.
The Anti-Defamation League
reports numerous attempts to spread disinformation about BLM, citing as
examples mid-June 2020 posts "featuring a sticker instructing people to
'kill a white on sight' spread on Facebook and Twitter. The sticker
included the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #Antifa." On Telegram, a "white supremacist channel encouraged members to distribute the propaganda." Another disinformation campaign, originating in June 2020 on 4chan, had the "goal of getting the hashtags #AllWhitesAreNazis (#AWAN) trending on Twitter.
Organizers hoped to commandeer hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #BLM
with a high volume of tweets—purportedly from Black activist
accounts—containing the #AWAN hashtag." According to the ADL, the
campaign's supporters hoped to sow tension and promote white supremacist
accelerationism.
Conservative pundits such as Ryan Fournier and Candace Owens have falsely claimed that ActBlue
funnels donations intended for Black Lives Matter to Democratic
candidates, with some going so far as to allege the organization is a money laundering scam.
According to scholars, Russian operatives associated with the Internet Research Agency have engaged in a sustained campaign
to simultaneously promote the Black Lives Matter movement as well as to
oppose it. In some cases, Russian operatives encouraged antagonism and
violence toward BLM members.
Fake manifesto
In June 2020, an unknown party created a website at BLMManifesto.com
purporting to be the manifesto of the BLM movement. The text mimics a
1919 Italian Fascist Manifesto, modified to relate to racial injustice. According to Snopes, the website appears intended to discredit the BLM movement.
Statistics
The United States population's perception of Black Lives Matter
varies considerably by race. According to a September 2015 poll on race
relations, nearly two-thirds of African Americans mostly agree with
Black Lives Matter, while 30% of black Americans and 37% of white
Americans do not have an opinion about Black Lives Matter. Of white people surveyed, 41% thought that Black Lives Matter advocated
violence, and 59% of whites thought that Black Lives Matter distracted
attention from the real issues of racial discrimination. By comparison,
82% of black people polled thought that Black Lives Matter was a
nonviolent movement, and 26% of black people thought that Black Lives
Matter distracted attention from the real issues of racial
discrimination. On the question of whether "Black Lives Matter" was
mostly a movement or mostly a slogan, 46% of whites and 67% of blacks
thought that it is mostly a movement. A nationally representative internet survey conducted by the Center for
the Study of Diversity and
Democracy at Northwestern University found that 82 percent of African
Americans believe that the movement is at least moderately effective at
achieving its stated goals, although 64 percent of the respondents
believed that the movement would be more effective if it had a more
centralized leadership structure.
A poll in June 2016 found that 65% of black American adults
supported Black Lives Matter, and 40% of white American adults supported
it. Fifty-nine percent of black Americans thought that Black Lives
Matter would "be effective, in the long run, in helping blacks achieve
equality" and 34% of white Americans thought so. A 2017 Harvard-Harris survey found that 35% of whites and 83% of blacks have a favorable view of the movement.
According to an analysis by The Guardian
of statistics collected by the US Crisis Monitor, during most of 2020
"US law enforcement agencies have used teargas, pepper spray, rubber
bullets, and beatings at a much higher percentage at Black Lives Matter
demonstrations than at pro-Trump or other rightwing protests", regardless of whether the protest was violent or peaceful. The analysis
also notes that "the vast majority of the thousands of protests across
the United States in the past year have been peaceful, and [...] most
protests by both the left and the right were not met with any violent
response by law enforcement."
With the resurgence of Black Lives Matter in national headlines amid
global protests, the movement saw an increase in support in 2020. Although they began from different perspectives, as per the New York Times' The Upshot,
"all kinds of voters moved sharply in the direction of supporting the
movement" just within the two weeks between late May and early June "as
much as [they] had in the preceding two years." The Pew Research Center reported that "[m]ost Americans express[ed] support for the Black Lives Matter movement" during this period.
According to Terrance Woodbury, a researcher of attitudes among
young adults, "[the] movement has evolved from Black people vs. the
police to young people vs. racism." An online survey of people aged from 18 to 34 by the Global Strategy Group found broad support from the participants, except by those who identified as pro-Trump Republicans.
Ayọ Tometi theorizes that increased support was the result of
economic anxiety and contempt for the American government's handling of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Protests led by Black Lives Matter throughout the summer eventually developed into one of the larger movements in U.S. history.
However, the movement's momentum and popularity began to decline,
with a Pew Research Center poll showing that support for Black Lives
Matter had fallen by 12 percentage points to 55% of all American adults
by September, and had returned to a net negative approval rating among
white Americans as well as significantly declining in popularity among
Hispanic Americans. Support remained widespread among black American adults (up 1% from June to 87%).
Nobel Peace Prize nomination
Black Lives Matter was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in January
2021. The nomination was submitted by Norwegian activist and Member of
Parliament Petter Eide. The award eventually went to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov.
Criticisms
Ideology
Some conservatives, such as Mike Gonzalez of the Heritage Foundation, have accused Black Lives Matter of being a Marxist movement based on a comment by one of its co-founders saying that she and another co-founder "are trained Marxists." However, PolitiFact
noted that "Black Lives Matter has grown into a national anti-racism
movement broadly supported by Americans, few of whom would identify
themselves as Marxist."
Cultural critic Fredrik deBoer placed blame on "idea-generating" individuals and institutions for the perceived failures of BLM as a social movement.
Tactics
Some black civil rights leaders such as Cecil "Chip" Murray, Najee Ali, and Earl Ofari Hutchinson have criticized BLM as disrespectful and ineffective, with Ali claiming "all they can do is disrupt and make noise." Economist Glenn Loury,
while supportive of the fundamentals of the movement, has criticized
backlash against "White politicians who state All Lives Matter" and the
apparent polarizing effects of the movement.
In his 2018 book The Once and Future Liberal, Mark Lilla criticizes Black Lives Matter as part of his broader left-wing critique of identity politics.
Though he agreed with their aims, he called their rhetoric "a textbook
example in how to not build solidarity", arguing that the campaign
alienates people with their negative attitude toward American society
and law enforcement and with their overbearing tactics. He also compared
them unfavorably to the civil rights movement leaders, who were
"consciously appealing to what we share" instead of emphasizing
differences of race and other identities.Lilla has in turn been criticized for "trolling disguised as erudition" and of "making white supremacy respectable, again".
Academic freedom
Some academics, including John McWhorter, John Ellis, Marybeth Gasman, and Glenn Loury have criticized some Black Lives Matter activists as silencing speech and repressing academic freedom. They claim that the result is self-censorship, reduced academic inquiry, and research bias.Critics claim academics have been hesitant to speak out against repression for fear of retribution.
In particular, high-profile academics have spoken out against the
use of "diversity statements" in admission, hiring, and tenure
decisions, including Jeffrey Flier, Dean of the Harvard Medical School, and Abigail Thompson, Vice President of the American Mathematical Society. Thompson drew comparisons to McCarthy-era loyalty oaths. When schools receive state funding, scholars have criticized Black Lives Matter pledges as unconstitutional.
Views on law enforcement
Some critics accuse Black Lives Matter of being anti-police and endorsing violence against the police. Sgt. Demetrick Pennie of the Dallas Police Department filed an
unsuccessful lawsuit against Black Lives Matter in September 2016, which
accused the group of inciting a "race war.Marchers using a BLM banner were recorded in a video chanting, "Pigs in
a blanket, fry 'em like bacon" at the Minnesota State Fair. Law
enforcement groups claim the chant promotes death to police. The protest
organizer disputed that interpretation, saying: "What we are promoting
is that if black people who kill police officers are going to fry, then
we want police officers to face the same treatment that we face as
civilians for killing officers."
Ferguson, Missouri, August 17, 2014
Disconnect from underprivileged communities
Some black community leaders have come out against the movement as disconnected from the people it claims to represent. In opposing August 2020 budget cuts, New York City Councilman I. Daneek Miller,
co-chairman of the council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, opposed
reducing police funding and stated, "Black folks want to be safe like
everyone else...we can't allow folks from outside our community to
lecture us about Black lives." Vanessa Gibson
of the Bronx's 16th Council District stated that, "My working-class
people, my homeowners, my tenants, my neighbors—they are not out there
screaming and yelling, because they have to work." Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, called "defund the police" a "bourgeois liberal" solution to racism.
Women from within the Black Lives Matter movement, including
professor and civil rights advocate Treva B. Lindsey, have argued that
BLM has sidelined black women's experiences in favor of black men's
experiences. For example, more demonstrations have been organized to
protest the killings of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin than the killings of Pamela Turner, Kayla Moore or Rekia Boyd.
In response, Say Her Name
was founded to focus specifically on the killing of black women by
police and to bring their names into the Black Lives Matter protest.
Their stated goal is to offer a more complete, but non-competitive,
narrative of the overall Black Lives Matter movement.
Mismanagement of funds
Allegations of mismanagement of funds by the organization Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
were raised after funds were used to purchase a home that cost $6
million in southern California to be used as a facility for a Black
artists fellowship. The property included six bedrooms, a recording studio, and a swimming pool.
Lack of focus on unsolved murders and missing persons cases
Since its founding, the Black Lives Matter movement has faced
significant criticism for its inherent lack of focus on unsolved murders
and missing persons cases. For example, some researchers have confirmed that murders of Black victims disproportionately go unsolved.
According to FBI statistics, 40% of missing persons across the US
are people of color. Kyle Pope, an editor and researcher of the Columbia Journalism Review, noticed a lack of media attention when it comes to these crimes. In 2008, Derrica and Natalie Wilson launched the Black and Missing
Foundation, a non-profit to find unsolved Black murder victims across
the country. In a 2021 interview, they found that unsolved murders of
Black people have been disproportionately overlooked by both law
enforcement and national media outlets.
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