🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 161 (from laksa056)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa161.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://participedia.net/case/4415\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://participedia.net/case/4415\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415","crawl_time":1775870143,"first_indexed_time":1559638808,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"net,participedia!\/case\/4415 s443","src_root_hash":"5636497485235310361","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Black Lives Matter (BLM) – Participedia","meta_descriptions":[],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality and the end of police brutality towards African Americans and the institutionalized oppression and marginalization of Black people in the United States and around the world.\nProblems and Purpose\nCo-founded in 2013 in the United States by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality, the end of police brutality against African Americans, and the dismantling of international oppression of Black people. The movement employs multiple methods of deliberation and engagement, from activism that takes place primarily online, to offline protesting, community organizing, and\npromoting political participation to realize racial justice\n.\nActivists in the movement have revived the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and are calling for action in response to what they see as virulent racism in the US. Characterized as the \"largest movement in U.S. history\" by the New York Times, the main purpose of the movement is to broaden the conversation around state violence to include the myriad ways African Americans are intentionally marginalized and denied equal rights.[1] BLM presents itself as a political and ideological intervention to end state violence that takes the form of systematic and intentional targeting of Black communities by police. The movement's supporters do not argue that Black lives are more important than others, but that in a society where the fundamental rights of Black people are denied, their liberation is fundamental to the freedom of all.\nThe movement also aims to spread awareness and information on the plight of Black communities so that ignorance is no longer an excuse for non-action. Activists have found social networks and independent media—provided they are free from censorship, disinformation, and obfuscation—to be the best tools for mobilization and knowledge sharing. In more recent years, the movement's targeting of racial violence has widened to emphasize state oppression of women, transsexuals, self-identified queer individuals, and other minorities. The ultimate goal of BLM is to affirm the value of Black lives and to free themselves from the White, straight, male elite who continue to set social standards and norms across the country.\nBackground History and Context\nIssues of violence toward young Black men and institutional racism within the United States’ criminal justice system were heightened with the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch\ncoordinator who fatally shot Martin while he was visiting his relatives\n. News of the event and the people involved circulated quickly online, fueling community tensions and leading to widespread protests and accusations that the American criminal justice system is fundamentally biased against people of color, especially Black men [2].\nIndeed, while African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they represent 26.4% of victims of deadly police actions [3]. There are more Black people killed by the police today than there were Black people lynched in the late 19th century, an era when strict racial segregation was still enforced. Although segregation was abolished in 1954, Black people in the United States remain politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged compared to their White counterparts [4].\nDespite advances in civil rights, institutional violence persists and is targeted primarily at young Black men between the ages of 15 and 35. A British study found that young Black men in the United States are five times more likely to be killed by a police officer than White men of the same age. Moreover, in almost all spheres of American society, African Americans are at a disadvantage: 42% of Black children live in high-poverty communities [5], 40% of homeless people in the country are Black [6], and Black people (especially children) are overrepresented in the national prison population [7].\nThese realities have fueled people’s sense of indignation and anger at state institutions as a source of the constant threat of violence against Black Americans. \nOutraged at Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal of Martin's death, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag across numerous online social networks. Remaining largely unnoticed for several months, the hashtag was finally taken up by millions of Internet users as the murders of unarmed African Americans continued. What began as a hashtag soon grew into a broader movement—first, in the United States and then internationally. In 2014, the BLM movement—now distinct from the hashtag—initiated an urgent, national call to action and dialogue on the issue of police killings of unarmed African American youth. BLM broke into the mainstream, gaining millions of supporters and followers internationally after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked reported civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri [8]\nIn 2020, following George Floyd's murder by police officers, BLM support grew drastically with nation-wide demonstrations protesting police brutality and the racism entrenched in the policing and justice systems.[9]\nOrganizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities\nOne of the unique features of Black Lives Matter, besides its innovative and extensive use of\nsocial media\n, is its relative decentralization and dispersed leadership. Unlike the African American liberation movements led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, BLM does not rely on a single person or figurehead to speak on behalf of the Black community. According to the movement’s founders, no voice in the movement can claim to fully represent another's views. In this sense, multiple leaders are seen as modern-day revolutionaries, directing a new civil rights movement. However, it was the three women who first launched the hashtag who took the protest to the next level, organizing it as a social movement with staying power.\nSome researchers on the issue of movement leaders have, however, pointed out that although BLM was created by three women, the most influential people are still men for the vast majority of the movement’s actions and decision of individual chapters. Moreover, partially due to social biases, men in the movement remain those with the greatest ability to connect individuals with each other [10].\nThe sources of BLM’s funding are difficult to ascertain. It would seem that the information shared on social networks does not require special funding since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Many of the events generated by the online organization and its supporters likewise do not require funds, as they are generally either online meetups or in-person get togethers and protests.\nHowever, conferences and more traditional means of participation and community mobilization and management require funding. BLM has raised thousands of dollars through its website and online platforms like GoFundMe. The movement has also set up online funding channels allowing supporters to offer direct donations to the families of the victims, prisoners believed to be innocent, lawsuits, and the overall movement. Fundraisers and charity events are also organized by independent activists and NGOs across the country.\nParticipant Recruitment and Selection\nBLM ensures that localized power structures are combined with an inclusive process that consciously integrates women activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized or disenfranchised groups. For example, one of the\nmost ‘followed’ BLM Twitter activists\nis a Black, gay man, and one of the movement’s founders identifies as queer and is married to a transgender man [11]. Based primarily\nonline\n, the movement is open and accessible to all, while remaining aware and sensitive to the divisions and diverse identities within the black community. \nAlthough it is framed in racial terms, BLM does not exclude White ‘allies’ who wish to take part. While defending Black lives and rights, activists within the movement are aware that many White people are knowledgeable and actively interested in improving the living conditions and inequalities of African Americans. Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, Black celebrities, conservatives against the abuse of power by police officers, Democrats, and a considerable number of young people continue to support and participate in the movement. The aim is to maximize participation so that the stories of diverse individuals can be heard and so that no one group within the movement can claim superiority over another.\nThanks to the low barriers to entry, BLM has been able to move their online activity to the streets. Being a Black, multiracial, feminist, non-denominational, and youth movement, it allows a broad section of the Black and allied population to join BLM in various forms, both online and offline. Unlike more insular movements or protest groups like Anonymous and “\nblack blocs\n,” BLM supporters dress in everyday clothes and show their faces in public, reinforcing the idea that anyone can and should be part of the movement.\nTo open access to all, activists used newly developed social media that quickly reached thousands of like-minded people across the country, rejecting the traditional movement structure centered on a charismatic male and a top-down decision-making process. Black people marginalized by institutions and their own community have thus played a central and highly visible role in the formation of BLM and in the ongoing work of the movement. In this sense, BLM does not select participants. Rather, they all struggle for social justice in general, and against the discrimination experienced by Black people, particularly young victims of violence and police abuse.\nMethods and Tools Used\nBLM is a powerful but diffuse movement, linked not by physical proximity or political consensus, but by the mobilizing force of\nsocial media\n. A single word, hashtag, or video on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter connects the stories of victims of police violence and transcends geographic boundaries. Even a single, shared image on Facebook has been shown to mobilize a large number of people in just a few minutes. Events are no longer invisible and disparate, but visible to the general public and interrelated.\nDeliberation\nand information sharing is first and foremost\nonline\n. Activists communicate online and build solidarity through virtual networks that give their distinct voices national attention and mass power. Deliberation and decision-making take place on the internet—an extension of the public sphere—thanks to the massive sharing of openly accessible information by Internet users.\nIn terms of in-person activities and interaction aside from street\nprotests\n, participants have pursued advocacy work using mainstream media and dialogue with politicians, which are key elements of policy change. Indeed, political and social realities have shown that it is not enough to participate online; it is also necessary to act and meet those with the decision-making power to advance the movement’s cause through policy and institutional change. As a result, the movement has increased its visibility and begun a powerful, national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality. \nBLM members’ engagement with politicians and the press varies between the conventional—letters to representatives, open dialogues, and\npetitions\n—and the confrontational—litigation and protest. Its tactics continuously evolve, shifting from large to small scale, and from periodic or time-limited events to long-term, sustained action.\nWhat Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation\nFollowing the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, protest movements calling for reform of the criminal justice system spread quickly within online social networks. As an extension of the public sphere, the Internet provides the BLM movement with a political forum to publicly share and preserve personal stories of abuse and the memory of the victims. In using the Internet, Black Lives Matter taps into an existing space to mobilize and share information in the struggle for the liberation of Black communities. Through social networks and phone calls, BLM have been able to connect and unite people across the country. The original online movement and the use of #BlackLivesMatter was a celebration and humanization of Black lives that would eventually coalesce into a more sustained, organized attempt to change political institutions.\nInfluence, Outcomes, and Effects \nAs the movement has matured, deliberation and information sharing have remained largely online. Depending on how they are managed or moderated,\no\nnline deliberations\nand interaction can be conflictual or constructive, given participants’ diverse backgrounds. Even if the causes are not seen and experienced as being the same, individuals—often younger members of the Black community and adherents to conservative ideologies—can still find common ground if dialogue is centered on the common goal of ending police or state abuse.\nThe movement's most resourceful activists believe that the whole organization cannot remain online and that in-person action and face-to-face engagement are essential. There is thus a need to at least unite around a common message, under a common cause, to effectively present as a collective and to exercise the persuasive power needed to bring about institution-level changes toward the goal of racial equity.\nThe slogan Black Lives Matter became attractive, especially during the protests that followed the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown and murder of Floyd, because they created a common cause with martyrs to organize around. At that point, the movement was able to move from virtual, online life to the streets. One of the reasons online interaction and the use of a hashtag spread so quickly and easily is that the medium forces organizers to distill the complexities of police brutality, racial inequality, and social justice into a simple, easy-to-remember slogan. Offering an umbrella for dispersed social justice campaigns and individuals to unite under creates the opportunity to address a variety of issues and demands. Alternatively, it can cause fracturing down the road and lead to the dismantling of the social movement before any life-changing alterations to the existing political, social, and economic system can be achieved. \nNevertheless, BLM continues to use social media to connect people who share the same struggles and values, and to organize and mobilize participants for in-person marches and demonstrations. The movement relies on the ability of social media to act as a deliberative arena for the exchange, collaboration, and strategizing of BLM’s actions and goals. It is yet to be seen whether social media can sustain a coherent, collective political agenda and develop the capacities necessary to achieve its goals. At the very least, social media has allowed those unable to participate in physical, in-person events to show their support, engage in conversation, donate money to the cause, and share knowledge and information on a serious socio-political issue.\nAnalysis and Lessons Learned \nWant to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us\ncomplete this section!\nSee Also \nProtest\nThe show must be paused \/ Blackout Tuesday\nGeorge Floyd Protests\nBlack Lives Matter Global Network\nReferences\n[1]\nLarry Buchanan\n, \nQuoctrung Bui\n and \nJugal K. Patel\n\"\nBlack Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.\"\nNew York Times\n3 July 2020,\nBlack Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)\n[2] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement.\nblackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement\n.\n[3] Beer, T. 2020. Police Killing of Blacks: Do Black Lives Matter? The Society Pages.\nthesocietypages.org\/toolbox\/police-killing-of-blacks\/\n[4] Hanks, A., Solomon, D., and Weller, C.E. 2020. Systematic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap. American Progress.\namericanprogress.org\/issues\/race\/reports\/2018\/02\/21\/447051\/systematic-inequality\/\n[5] Patten, E. and Krogstad, J.M. 2015. Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Pew Research.\npewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/07\/14\/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines\/\n[6] Moses, J. 2019. Demographic Data Project: Race, Ethnicity, and Homelessness. Homelessness Research Institute.\nendhomelessness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf\n[7]\nNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 2020. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet.\nhttps:\/\/www.naacp.org\/criminal-justice-fact-sheet\/\n[8] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement.\nblackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement\n[9]\nLarry Buchanan\n, \nQuoctrung Bui\n and \nJugal K. Patel\n\"\nBlack Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.\"\nNew York Times\n3 July 2020,\nBlack Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)\n[10] Demby, Gene. 2014. Combining through 41 million tweets to show how #blacklives matter exploded. NPR.\nnpr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded\n[10] Green Jr, D.B. 2019. Hearing the Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter. National Center for Institutional Diversity.\nmedium.com\/national-center-for-institutional-diversity\/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd\nBlackLivesMatter. 2014. The creation of a movement.\nblacklivesmatter.com\/herstory\/\nBlueLivesMatter. 2017. Beyond the line.\nbluelivesmatternyc.org\/pages\/frontpage\nDay, E. 2015. BlackLivesMatter : the birth of a new civil rights movement. The Guardian.\ntheguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement\nFinley, T. 2016. 8 activists who demand the world knows that Black Lives Matter. Huffington Post.\nhuffingtonpost.ca\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b\nFreelon, D., McIlwain, C. and Clark, M. 2016. Beyond the Hashtag: #Ferguson, #BlackLivesMatter and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media and Social Impact.\narchive.cmsimpact.org\/sites\/default\/files\/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf\nGuynn, J. 2015. Meet the women who coined #Black Lives Matter. USA Today.\nusatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/\nHalstead, J. 2016. The real reason why white people say ‘All Lives Matter’. Huffington Post.\nhuffingtonpost.com\/john-halstead\/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html\nKeeanga-Yamahtta ,T. 2015. États-Unis, une rébellion aussi contre l’establishment politique noir. A l’encontre [French].\nalencontre.org\/laune\/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html\nLaffargue, O. 2016. Aux États-Unis, trois personnes sont tuées chaque jour par un agent de police. BFMTV [French].\nbfmtv.com\/international\/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html\nExternal Links\nhttps:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/\nhttps:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/what-matters-2020\/\nhttp:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-soci...\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/Blklivesmatter\nhttp:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-kno...\nhttp:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-m...\nhttp:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-thro...\nhttp:\/\/cmsimpact.org\/resource\/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-...\nhttp:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civi...\nNotes","attrs_markdown":"# Dynamic modal content\nOK\n\n- [Home](https:\/\/participedia.net\/)\n- [Search](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search)\n- [About](https:\/\/participedia.net\/about)\n- [Teaching](https:\/\/participedia.net\/teaching)\n- [Participedia School](https:\/\/participedia.net\/participediaschool)\n- [Research](https:\/\/participedia.net\/research)\n- [Getting Started](https:\/\/participedia.net\/getting-started)\n- [News](https:\/\/medium.com\/@participediaproject)\n- [Help & Contact](https:\/\/participedia.net\/help-faq-contact)\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/participedia.net\/legal)\n\n- [Quick Submit](https:\/\/participedia.net\/content-chooser)\n- [Login](https:\/\/participedia.net\/login)\n- [Newsletter Sign Up](https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/participedia\/subscribe)\n- [Visit Participedia.org](https:\/\/participedia.org\/)\n\n[close menu](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415#sidebar-menu)\n\n[open menu](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415)\n\n[Participedia](https:\/\/participedia.net\/)\n\n[Visit Participedia.org](https:\/\/participedia.org\/)  [Login](https:\/\/participedia.net\/login)\n\n## Data\nGeneral Issues\n\n[Human Rights & Civil Rights](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=human)\n\n[Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice & Corrections](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=law)\n\n[Identity & Diversity](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=identity)\n\nSpecific Topics\n\nEthnic\/Racial Equality & Equity\n\nCommunity & Police Relations\n\nEthnic\/Racial Relations\n\nCollections\n\n[Public Participation for Racial Justice](https:\/\/participedia.net\/collection\/6580)\n\nLocation\n\nUnited States\n\nScope of Influence\n\n[No Geographical Limits](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&scope_of_influence=no_geo)\n\nComponents of this Case\n\n[Black Lives Matter mural on the road to the White House in Washington, DC](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/6587)\n\n[Black Lives Matter (BLM) and repercussions in Brazil](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/12520)\n\n[Vidas Negras Importam (BLM) e repercussões no Brasil](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/12419)\n\nLinks\n\n[Black Lives Matter (\\#BlackLivesMatter) website](https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/)\n\n[M4BL (Movement for Black Lives) website](https:\/\/m4bl.org\/)\n\nVideos\n\n[Global Citizen video about the Black Lives Matter movement](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c1IopsKY0dY)\n\nStart Date\n\nJuly 14, 2013\n\nOngoing\n\nYes\n\nTime Limited or Repeated?\n\nRepeated over time\n\nPurpose\/Goal\n\n[Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make)\n\n[Make, influence, or challenge decisions of private organizations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make_influence)\n\n[Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and\/or civil society organizations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=develop)\n\nApproach\n\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=protest)\n\n[Social mobilization](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=social)\n\n[Advocacy](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=advocacy)\n\nSpectrum of Public Participation\n\n[Inform](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&public_spectrum=inform)\n\nOpen to All or Limited to Some?\n\n[Open to All With Special Effort to Recruit Some Groups](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&open_limited=open_to)\n\nTargeted Demographics\n\nRacial\/Ethnic Groups\n\nLesbian\/Gay\/Bisexual\/Transgender\n\nLow-Income Earners\n\nGeneral Types of Methods\n\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=protest)\n\n[Community development, organizing, and mobilization](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=community)\n\n[Informal conversation spaces](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=informal)\n\nGeneral Types of Tools\/Techniques\n\n[Inform, educate and\/or raise awareness](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&tools_techniques_types=inform)\n\nSpecific Methods, Tools & Techniques\n\n[Social Media](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4939)\n\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4426)\n\nLegality\n\nYes\n\nFacilitators\n\nYes\n\nFacilitator Training\n\nUntrained, Nonprofessional Facilitators\n\nFace-to-Face, Online, or Both\n\n[Both](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&facetoface_online_or_both=both)\n\nTypes of Interaction Among Participants\n\nExpress Opinions\/Preferences Only\n\nDiscussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation\n\nInformal Social Activities\n\nInformation & Learning Resources\n\nWritten Briefing Materials\n\nVideo Presentations\n\nTeach-ins\n\nDecision Methods\n\nNot Applicable\n\nCommunication of Insights & Outcomes\n\nTraditional Media\n\nNew Media\n\nProtests\/Public Demonstrations\n\nType of Organizer\/Manager\n\n[Activist Network](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=activist)\n\n[Individual](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=individual)\n\n[Social Movement](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=social)\n\nType of Funder\n\n[Social Movement](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&funder_types=social)\n\nStaff\n\nNo\n\nVolunteers\n\nYes\n\nEvidence of Impact\n\nYes\n\nTypes of Change\n\n[Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes)\n\n[Changes in public policy](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes_public)\n\nImplementers of Change\n\nLay Public\n\nStakeholder Organizations\n\nFormal Evaluation\n\nYes\n\nEvaluation Report Links\n\n[Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and Public Health](https:\/\/ajph.aphapublications.org\/doi\/abs\/10.2105\/AJPH.2015.302706)\n\n[Black Lives Matter: Toward a Modern Practice of Mass Struggle](http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/1095796015620171?journalCode=nlfa)\n\n## CASE\n# Black Lives Matter (BLM)\n\n- [Copy](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415)\n- [Remove Bookmark Add Bookmark](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415)\n\n[Demilitarize the Police, Black Lives Matter](https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/participedia.prod\/6b76db8a-7496-493f-99d9-0e142d0b7761_28476745294_3f9e28e373_b.jpg)  –\n\nCredit: Johnny Silvercloud\n\nWiki Contributor History\n\n|   |   |\n|---|---|\n| **October 25, 2021** | [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/25) |\n| **October 25, 2021** | [Quinn Anderson, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/420818) |\n| **December 20, 2020** | [Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/417734) |\n| **June 17, 2020** | [Lucy J Parry, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/134860) |\n| **June 5, 2020** | [Alanna Scott, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/417754) |\n| **June 5, 2020** | [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/25) |\n| **June 4, 2020** | [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/25) |\n| **June 4, 2020** | [Lucy J Parry, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/134860) |\n| **June 3, 2020** | [Jesi Carson, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/1189) |\n| **April 23, 2020** | [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/25) |\n| **December 22, 2019** | [Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/417734) |\n| **April 3, 2019** | [Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/417734) |\n| **March 6, 2019** | [Scott Fletcher Bowlsby](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/110904) |\n| **July 19, 2018** | [Scott Fletcher Bowlsby](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/110904) |\n| **September 16, 2017** | [Isadora](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/121822) |\n| **June 5, 2016** | [Isadora](https:\/\/participedia.net\/user\/121822) |\n\nCase Data\n\nGeneral Issues\n\n[Human Rights & Civil Rights](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=human)\n\n[Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice & Corrections](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=law)\n\n[Identity & Diversity](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=identity)\n\nSpecific Topics\n\nEthnic\/Racial Equality & Equity\n\nCommunity & Police Relations\n\nEthnic\/Racial Relations\n\nCollections\n\n[Public Participation for Racial Justice](https:\/\/participedia.net\/collection\/6580)\n\nLocation\n\nUnited States\n\nScope of Influence\n\n[No Geographical Limits](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&scope_of_influence=no_geo)\n\nComponents of this Case\n\n[Black Lives Matter mural on the road to the White House in Washington, DC](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/6587)\n\n[Black Lives Matter (BLM) and repercussions in Brazil](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/12520)\n\n[Vidas Negras Importam (BLM) e repercussões no Brasil](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/12419)\n\nLinks\n\n[Black Lives Matter (\\#BlackLivesMatter) website](https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/)\n\n[M4BL (Movement for Black Lives) website](https:\/\/m4bl.org\/)\n\nVideos\n\n[Global Citizen video about the Black Lives Matter movement](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c1IopsKY0dY)\n\nStart Date\n\nJuly 14, 2013\n\nOngoing\n\nYes\n\nTime Limited or Repeated?\n\nRepeated over time\n\nPurpose\/Goal\n\n[Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make)\n\n[Make, influence, or challenge decisions of private organizations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make_influence)\n\n[Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and\/or civil society organizations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=develop)\n\nApproach\n\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=protest)\n\n[Social mobilization](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=social)\n\n[Advocacy](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=advocacy)\n\nSpectrum of Public Participation\n\n[Inform](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&public_spectrum=inform)\n\nOpen to All or Limited to Some?\n\n[Open to All With Special Effort to Recruit Some Groups](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&open_limited=open_to)\n\nTargeted Demographics\n\nRacial\/Ethnic Groups\n\nLesbian\/Gay\/Bisexual\/Transgender\n\nLow-Income Earners\n\nGeneral Types of Methods\n\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=protest)\n\n[Community development, organizing, and mobilization](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=community)\n\n[Informal conversation spaces](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=informal)\n\nGeneral Types of Tools\/Techniques\n\n[Inform, educate and\/or raise awareness](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&tools_techniques_types=inform)\n\nSpecific Methods, Tools & Techniques\n\n[Social Media](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4939)\n\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4426)\n\nLegality\n\nYes\n\nFacilitators\n\nYes\n\nFacilitator Training\n\nUntrained, Nonprofessional Facilitators\n\nFace-to-Face, Online, or Both\n\n[Both](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&facetoface_online_or_both=both)\n\nTypes of Interaction Among Participants\n\nExpress Opinions\/Preferences Only\n\nDiscussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation\n\nInformal Social Activities\n\nInformation & Learning Resources\n\nWritten Briefing Materials\n\nVideo Presentations\n\nTeach-ins\n\nDecision Methods\n\nNot Applicable\n\nCommunication of Insights & Outcomes\n\nTraditional Media\n\nNew Media\n\nProtests\/Public Demonstrations\n\nType of Organizer\/Manager\n\n[Activist Network](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=activist)\n\n[Individual](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=individual)\n\n[Social Movement](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=social)\n\nType of Funder\n\n[Social Movement](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&funder_types=social)\n\nStaff\n\nNo\n\nVolunteers\n\nYes\n\nEvidence of Impact\n\nYes\n\nTypes of Change\n\n[Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes)\n\n[Changes in public policy](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes_public)\n\nImplementers of Change\n\nLay Public\n\nStakeholder Organizations\n\nFormal Evaluation\n\nYes\n\nEvaluation Report Links\n\n[Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and Public Health](https:\/\/ajph.aphapublications.org\/doi\/abs\/10.2105\/AJPH.2015.302706)\n\n[Black Lives Matter: Toward a Modern Practice of Mass Struggle](http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/1095796015620171?journalCode=nlfa)\n\nBlack Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality and the end of police brutality towards African Americans and the institutionalized oppression and marginalization of Black people in the United States and around the world.\n\n## **Problems and Purpose**\nCo-founded in 2013 in the United States by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality, the end of police brutality against African Americans, and the dismantling of international oppression of Black people. The movement employs multiple methods of deliberation and engagement, from activism that takes place primarily online, to offline protesting, community organizing, and [promoting political participation to realize racial justice](https:\/\/participedia.net\/collection\/6580).\n\nActivists in the movement have revived the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and are calling for action in response to what they see as virulent racism in the US. Characterized as the \"largest movement in U.S. history\" by the New York Times, the main purpose of the movement is to broaden the conversation around state violence to include the myriad ways African Americans are intentionally marginalized and denied equal rights.\\[1\\] BLM presents itself as a political and ideological intervention to end state violence that takes the form of systematic and intentional targeting of Black communities by police. The movement's supporters do not argue that Black lives are more important than others, but that in a society where the fundamental rights of Black people are denied, their liberation is fundamental to the freedom of all.\n\nThe movement also aims to spread awareness and information on the plight of Black communities so that ignorance is no longer an excuse for non-action. Activists have found social networks and independent media—provided they are free from censorship, disinformation, and obfuscation—to be the best tools for mobilization and knowledge sharing. In more recent years, the movement's targeting of racial violence has widened to emphasize state oppression of women, transsexuals, self-identified queer individuals, and other minorities. The ultimate goal of BLM is to affirm the value of Black lives and to free themselves from the White, straight, male elite who continue to set social standards and norms across the country.\n\n## **Background History and Context**\nIssues of violence toward young Black men and institutional racism within the United States’ criminal justice system were heightened with the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who fatally shot Martin while he was visiting his relatives. News of the event and the people involved circulated quickly online, fueling community tensions and leading to widespread protests and accusations that the American criminal justice system is fundamentally biased against people of color, especially Black men \\[2\\].\n\nIndeed, while African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they represent 26.4% of victims of deadly police actions \\[3\\]. There are more Black people killed by the police today than there were Black people lynched in the late 19th century, an era when strict racial segregation was still enforced. Although segregation was abolished in 1954, Black people in the United States remain politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged compared to their White counterparts \\[4\\].\n\nDespite advances in civil rights, institutional violence persists and is targeted primarily at young Black men between the ages of 15 and 35. A British study found that young Black men in the United States are five times more likely to be killed by a police officer than White men of the same age. Moreover, in almost all spheres of American society, African Americans are at a disadvantage: 42% of Black children live in high-poverty communities \\[5\\], 40% of homeless people in the country are Black \\[6\\], and Black people (especially children) are overrepresented in the national prison population \\[7\\].These realities have fueled people’s sense of indignation and anger at state institutions as a source of the constant threat of violence against Black Americans.\n\nOutraged at Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal of Martin's death, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the \\#BlackLivesMatter hashtag across numerous online social networks. Remaining largely unnoticed for several months, the hashtag was finally taken up by millions of Internet users as the murders of unarmed African Americans continued. What began as a hashtag soon grew into a broader movement—first, in the United States and then internationally. In 2014, the BLM movement—now distinct from the hashtag—initiated an urgent, national call to action and dialogue on the issue of police killings of unarmed African American youth. BLM broke into the mainstream, gaining millions of supporters and followers internationally after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked reported civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri \\[8\\]\n\nIn 2020, following George Floyd's murder by police officers, BLM support grew drastically with nation-wide demonstrations protesting police brutality and the racism entrenched in the policing and justice systems.\\[9\\]\n\n## **Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities**\nOne of the unique features of Black Lives Matter, besides its innovative and extensive use of [social media](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4939), is its relative decentralization and dispersed leadership. Unlike the African American liberation movements led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, BLM does not rely on a single person or figurehead to speak on behalf of the Black community. According to the movement’s founders, no voice in the movement can claim to fully represent another's views. In this sense, multiple leaders are seen as modern-day revolutionaries, directing a new civil rights movement. However, it was the three women who first launched the hashtag who took the protest to the next level, organizing it as a social movement with staying power.\n\nSome researchers on the issue of movement leaders have, however, pointed out that although BLM was created by three women, the most influential people are still men for the vast majority of the movement’s actions and decision of individual chapters. Moreover, partially due to social biases, men in the movement remain those with the greatest ability to connect individuals with each other \\[10\\].\n\nThe sources of BLM’s funding are difficult to ascertain. It would seem that the information shared on social networks does not require special funding since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Many of the events generated by the online organization and its supporters likewise do not require funds, as they are generally either online meetups or in-person get togethers and protests.\n\nHowever, conferences and more traditional means of participation and community mobilization and management require funding. BLM has raised thousands of dollars through its website and online platforms like GoFundMe. The movement has also set up online funding channels allowing supporters to offer direct donations to the families of the victims, prisoners believed to be innocent, lawsuits, and the overall movement. Fundraisers and charity events are also organized by independent activists and NGOs across the country.\n\n## **Participant Recruitment and Selection**\nBLM ensures that localized power structures are combined with an inclusive process that consciously integrates women activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized or disenfranchised groups. For example, one of the [most ‘followed’ BLM Twitter activists](https:\/\/twitter.com\/deray?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) is a Black, gay man, and one of the movement’s founders identifies as queer and is married to a transgender man \\[11\\]. Based primarily [online](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4328), the movement is open and accessible to all, while remaining aware and sensitive to the divisions and diverse identities within the black community.\n\nAlthough it is framed in racial terms, BLM does not exclude White ‘allies’ who wish to take part. While defending Black lives and rights, activists within the movement are aware that many White people are knowledgeable and actively interested in improving the living conditions and inequalities of African Americans. Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, Black celebrities, conservatives against the abuse of power by police officers, Democrats, and a considerable number of young people continue to support and participate in the movement. The aim is to maximize participation so that the stories of diverse individuals can be heard and so that no one group within the movement can claim superiority over another.\n\nThanks to the low barriers to entry, BLM has been able to move their online activity to the streets. Being a Black, multiracial, feminist, non-denominational, and youth movement, it allows a broad section of the Black and allied population to join BLM in various forms, both online and offline. Unlike more insular movements or protest groups like Anonymous and “[black blocs](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_bloc),” BLM supporters dress in everyday clothes and show their faces in public, reinforcing the idea that anyone can and should be part of the movement.\n\nTo open access to all, activists used newly developed social media that quickly reached thousands of like-minded people across the country, rejecting the traditional movement structure centered on a charismatic male and a top-down decision-making process. Black people marginalized by institutions and their own community have thus played a central and highly visible role in the formation of BLM and in the ongoing work of the movement. In this sense, BLM does not select participants. Rather, they all struggle for social justice in general, and against the discrimination experienced by Black people, particularly young victims of violence and police abuse.\n\n## **Methods and Tools Used**\nBLM is a powerful but diffuse movement, linked not by physical proximity or political consensus, but by the mobilizing force of [social media](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4939). A single word, hashtag, or video on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter connects the stories of victims of police violence and transcends geographic boundaries. Even a single, shared image on Facebook has been shown to mobilize a large number of people in just a few minutes. Events are no longer invisible and disparate, but visible to the general public and interrelated. [Deliberation](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/560) and information sharing is first and foremost [online](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4328). Activists communicate online and build solidarity through virtual networks that give their distinct voices national attention and mass power. Deliberation and decision-making take place on the internet—an extension of the public sphere—thanks to the massive sharing of openly accessible information by Internet users.\n\nIn terms of in-person activities and interaction aside from street [protests](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4426), participants have pursued advocacy work using mainstream media and dialogue with politicians, which are key elements of policy change. Indeed, political and social realities have shown that it is not enough to participate online; it is also necessary to act and meet those with the decision-making power to advance the movement’s cause through policy and institutional change. As a result, the movement has increased its visibility and begun a powerful, national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality.\n\nBLM members’ engagement with politicians and the press varies between the conventional—letters to representatives, open dialogues, and [petitions](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/387)—and the confrontational—litigation and protest. Its tactics continuously evolve, shifting from large to small scale, and from periodic or time-limited events to long-term, sustained action.\n\n## **What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation**\nFollowing the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, protest movements calling for reform of the criminal justice system spread quickly within online social networks. As an extension of the public sphere, the Internet provides the BLM movement with a political forum to publicly share and preserve personal stories of abuse and the memory of the victims. In using the Internet, Black Lives Matter taps into an existing space to mobilize and share information in the struggle for the liberation of Black communities. Through social networks and phone calls, BLM have been able to connect and unite people across the country. The original online movement and the use of \\#BlackLivesMatter was a celebration and humanization of Black lives that would eventually coalesce into a more sustained, organized attempt to change political institutions.\n\n## **Influence, Outcomes, and Effects**\nAs the movement has matured, deliberation and information sharing have remained largely online. Depending on how they are managed or moderated, [o](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4232)[nline deliberations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4232) and interaction can be conflictual or constructive, given participants’ diverse backgrounds. Even if the causes are not seen and experienced as being the same, individuals—often younger members of the Black community and adherents to conservative ideologies—can still find common ground if dialogue is centered on the common goal of ending police or state abuse.\n\nThe movement's most resourceful activists believe that the whole organization cannot remain online and that in-person action and face-to-face engagement are essential. There is thus a need to at least unite around a common message, under a common cause, to effectively present as a collective and to exercise the persuasive power needed to bring about institution-level changes toward the goal of racial equity.\n\nThe slogan Black Lives Matter became attractive, especially during the protests that followed the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown and murder of Floyd, because they created a common cause with martyrs to organize around. At that point, the movement was able to move from virtual, online life to the streets. One of the reasons online interaction and the use of a hashtag spread so quickly and easily is that the medium forces organizers to distill the complexities of police brutality, racial inequality, and social justice into a simple, easy-to-remember slogan. Offering an umbrella for dispersed social justice campaigns and individuals to unite under creates the opportunity to address a variety of issues and demands. Alternatively, it can cause fracturing down the road and lead to the dismantling of the social movement before any life-changing alterations to the existing political, social, and economic system can be achieved.\n\nNevertheless, BLM continues to use social media to connect people who share the same struggles and values, and to organize and mobilize participants for in-person marches and demonstrations. The movement relies on the ability of social media to act as a deliberative arena for the exchange, collaboration, and strategizing of BLM’s actions and goals. It is yet to be seen whether social media can sustain a coherent, collective political agenda and develop the capacities necessary to achieve its goals. At the very least, social media has allowed those unable to participate in physical, in-person events to show their support, engage in conversation, donate money to the cause, and share knowledge and information on a serious socio-political issue.\n\n## **Analysis and Lessons Learned**\n*Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us*[*complete this section\\!*](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415\/edit?full=1)\n\n## **See Also**\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4426)\n\n[The show must be paused \/ Blackout Tuesday](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/6586)\n\n[George Floyd Protests](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/6590)\n\n[Black Lives Matter Global Network](https:\/\/participedia.net\/organization\/6595)\n\n## **References**\n\\[1\\] [Larry Buchanan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/jugal-k-patel) \"Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.\" *New York Times* 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/07\/03\/us\/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html)\n\n\\[2\\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) .\n\n\\[3\\] Beer, T. 2020. Police Killing of Blacks: Do Black Lives Matter? The Society Pages. [thesocietypages.org\/toolbox\/police-killing-of-blacks\/](https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/toolbox\/police-killing-of-blacks\/)\n\n\\[4\\] Hanks, A., Solomon, D., and Weller, C.E. 2020. Systematic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap. American Progress. [americanprogress.org\/issues\/race\/reports\/2018\/02\/21\/447051\/systematic-inequality\/](https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/issues\/race\/reports\/2018\/02\/21\/447051\/systematic-inequality\/)\n\n\\[5\\] Patten, E. and Krogstad, J.M. 2015. Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Pew Research. [pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/07\/14\/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines\/](https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/07\/14\/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines\/)\n\n\\[6\\] Moses, J. 2019. Demographic Data Project: Race, Ethnicity, and Homelessness. Homelessness Research Institute. [endhomelessness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf](https:\/\/endhomelessness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf)\n\n\\[7\\] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 2020. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. <https:\/\/www.naacp.org\/criminal-justice-fact-sheet\/>\n\n\\[8\\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement)\n\n\\[9\\][Larry Buchanan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/jugal-k-patel) \"Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.\" *New York Times* 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/07\/03\/us\/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html)\n\n\\[10\\] Demby, Gene. 2014. Combining through 41 million tweets to show how \\#blacklives matter exploded. NPR. [npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded](http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded)\n\n\\[10\\] Green Jr, D.B. 2019. Hearing the Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter. National Center for Institutional Diversity. [medium.com\/national-center-for-institutional-diversity\/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd](https:\/\/medium.com\/national-center-for-institutional-diversity\/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd)\n\nBlackLivesMatter. 2014. The creation of a movement. [blacklivesmatter.com\/herstory\/](http:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/herstory\/)\n\nBlueLivesMatter. 2017. Beyond the line. [bluelivesmatternyc.org\/pages\/frontpage](https:\/\/bluelivesmatternyc.org\/pages\/frontpage)\n\nDay, E. 2015. BlackLivesMatter : the birth of a new civil rights movement. The Guardian. [theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement)\n\nFinley, T. 2016. 8 activists who demand the world knows that Black Lives Matter. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.ca\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter\\_us\\_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b](http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.ca\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b)\n\nFreelon, D., McIlwain, C. and Clark, M. 2016. Beyond the Hashtag: \\#Ferguson, \\#BlackLivesMatter and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media and Social Impact. [archive.cmsimpact.org\/sites\/default\/files\/beyond\\_the\\_hashtags\\_2016.pdf](http:\/\/archive.cmsimpact.org\/sites\/default\/files\/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf)\n\nGuynn, J. 2015. Meet the women who coined \\#Black Lives Matter. USA Today. [usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/](https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/)\n\nHalstead, J. 2016. The real reason why white people say ‘All Lives Matter’. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.com\/john-halstead\/dear-fellow-white-people-\\_b\\_11109842.html](http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/john-halstead\/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html)\n\nKeeanga-Yamahtta ,T. 2015. États-Unis, une rébellion aussi contre l’establishment politique noir. A l’encontre \\[French\\]. [alencontre.org\/laune\/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html](https:\/\/alencontre.org\/laune\/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html)\n\nLaffargue, O. 2016. Aux États-Unis, trois personnes sont tuées chaque jour par un agent de police. BFMTV \\[French\\]. [bfmtv.com\/international\/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html](http:\/\/www.bfmtv.com\/international\/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html)\n\n## **External Links**\n<https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/>\n\n<https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/what-matters-2020\/>\n\n[http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-soci...](http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement)\n\n<https:\/\/twitter.com\/Blklivesmatter>\n\n[http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-kno...](http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b)\n\n[http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-m...](https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/)\n\n[http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-thro...](http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded)\n\n[http:\/\/cmsimpact.org\/resource\/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-...](http:\/\/cmsimpact.org\/resource\/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-online-struggle-offline-justice\/)\n\n[http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civi...](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement)\n\n## **Notes**\n\n- [Copy](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415)\n- [Remove Bookmark Add Bookmark](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415)\n\n[Edit case](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415\/edit \"Edit case\")\n\n- [Home](https:\/\/participedia.net\/)\n- [Search](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search)\n- [Research](https:\/\/participedia.net\/research)\n- [Teaching](https:\/\/participedia.net\/teaching)\n- [Getting Started](https:\/\/participedia.net\/getting-started)\n\n- [Cases](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=case)\n- [Methods](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=method)\n- [Organizations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=organizations)\n- [Collections](https:\/\/participedia.net\/search?selectedCategory=collections)\n\n- [About](https:\/\/participedia.net\/about)\n- [News](https:\/\/medium.com\/@participediaproject)\n- [Help & Contact](https:\/\/participedia.net\/help)\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/participedia.net\/legal)\n\n### Participedia\nA global crowdsourcing platform for researchers, activists, practitioners, and anyone interested in public participation and democratic innovations.\n\n- [Particpedia Blog on Medium](https:\/\/medium.com\/@participediaproject)\n- [Particpedia on GitHub](https:\/\/github.com\/participedia)\n- [Particpedia on Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Participedia\/)\n- [Participedia on Twitter](https:\/\/twitter.com\/participedia)\n- [Participedia on LinkedIn](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/participedia)\n- [Participedia on Instagram](https:\/\/instagram.com\/participedia)\n\n### Participedia Help\n[open help in new page](https:\/\/participedia.net\/help-faq-contact)\n\nclose FAQ pop over\n\n### Contact Us\n[Email Support Team](https:\/\/participedia.net\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#183871767e775868796a6c717b71687d7c717936767d6c)\n\n### FAQ\n- [What is a case?](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415#faq_q1)\n  Entries about [cases](https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/19Pc9qL3H1SxSByuQY1HxLOgbbMQpnnxlicdMGuC78Wg\/edit?usp=sharing) document specific examples of how various methods of participatory politics and governance are implemented. 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Please excuse any errors, as the bot is still being tested, and be sure to review responses for accuracy.\n\nSend","attrs_readable_markdown":"Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality and the end of police brutality towards African Americans and the institutionalized oppression and marginalization of Black people in the United States and around the world.\n\n## **Problems and Purpose**\nCo-founded in 2013 in the United States by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality, the end of police brutality against African Americans, and the dismantling of international oppression of Black people. The movement employs multiple methods of deliberation and engagement, from activism that takes place primarily online, to offline protesting, community organizing, and [promoting political participation to realize racial justice](https:\/\/participedia.net\/collection\/6580).\n\nActivists in the movement have revived the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and are calling for action in response to what they see as virulent racism in the US. Characterized as the \"largest movement in U.S. history\" by the New York Times, the main purpose of the movement is to broaden the conversation around state violence to include the myriad ways African Americans are intentionally marginalized and denied equal rights.\\[1\\] BLM presents itself as a political and ideological intervention to end state violence that takes the form of systematic and intentional targeting of Black communities by police. The movement's supporters do not argue that Black lives are more important than others, but that in a society where the fundamental rights of Black people are denied, their liberation is fundamental to the freedom of all.\n\nThe movement also aims to spread awareness and information on the plight of Black communities so that ignorance is no longer an excuse for non-action. Activists have found social networks and independent media—provided they are free from censorship, disinformation, and obfuscation—to be the best tools for mobilization and knowledge sharing. In more recent years, the movement's targeting of racial violence has widened to emphasize state oppression of women, transsexuals, self-identified queer individuals, and other minorities. The ultimate goal of BLM is to affirm the value of Black lives and to free themselves from the White, straight, male elite who continue to set social standards and norms across the country.\n\n## **Background History and Context**\nIssues of violence toward young Black men and institutional racism within the United States’ criminal justice system were heightened with the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who fatally shot Martin while he was visiting his relatives. News of the event and the people involved circulated quickly online, fueling community tensions and leading to widespread protests and accusations that the American criminal justice system is fundamentally biased against people of color, especially Black men \\[2\\].\n\nIndeed, while African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they represent 26.4% of victims of deadly police actions \\[3\\]. There are more Black people killed by the police today than there were Black people lynched in the late 19th century, an era when strict racial segregation was still enforced. Although segregation was abolished in 1954, Black people in the United States remain politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged compared to their White counterparts \\[4\\].\n\nDespite advances in civil rights, institutional violence persists and is targeted primarily at young Black men between the ages of 15 and 35. A British study found that young Black men in the United States are five times more likely to be killed by a police officer than White men of the same age. Moreover, in almost all spheres of American society, African Americans are at a disadvantage: 42% of Black children live in high-poverty communities \\[5\\], 40% of homeless people in the country are Black \\[6\\], and Black people (especially children) are overrepresented in the national prison population \\[7\\].These realities have fueled people’s sense of indignation and anger at state institutions as a source of the constant threat of violence against Black Americans.\n\nOutraged at Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal of Martin's death, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the \\#BlackLivesMatter hashtag across numerous online social networks. Remaining largely unnoticed for several months, the hashtag was finally taken up by millions of Internet users as the murders of unarmed African Americans continued. What began as a hashtag soon grew into a broader movement—first, in the United States and then internationally. In 2014, the BLM movement—now distinct from the hashtag—initiated an urgent, national call to action and dialogue on the issue of police killings of unarmed African American youth. BLM broke into the mainstream, gaining millions of supporters and followers internationally after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked reported civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri \\[8\\]\n\nIn 2020, following George Floyd's murder by police officers, BLM support grew drastically with nation-wide demonstrations protesting police brutality and the racism entrenched in the policing and justice systems.\\[9\\]\n\n## **Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities**\nOne of the unique features of Black Lives Matter, besides its innovative and extensive use of [social media](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4939), is its relative decentralization and dispersed leadership. Unlike the African American liberation movements led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, BLM does not rely on a single person or figurehead to speak on behalf of the Black community. According to the movement’s founders, no voice in the movement can claim to fully represent another's views. In this sense, multiple leaders are seen as modern-day revolutionaries, directing a new civil rights movement. However, it was the three women who first launched the hashtag who took the protest to the next level, organizing it as a social movement with staying power.\n\nSome researchers on the issue of movement leaders have, however, pointed out that although BLM was created by three women, the most influential people are still men for the vast majority of the movement’s actions and decision of individual chapters. Moreover, partially due to social biases, men in the movement remain those with the greatest ability to connect individuals with each other \\[10\\].\n\nThe sources of BLM’s funding are difficult to ascertain. It would seem that the information shared on social networks does not require special funding since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Many of the events generated by the online organization and its supporters likewise do not require funds, as they are generally either online meetups or in-person get togethers and protests.\n\nHowever, conferences and more traditional means of participation and community mobilization and management require funding. BLM has raised thousands of dollars through its website and online platforms like GoFundMe. The movement has also set up online funding channels allowing supporters to offer direct donations to the families of the victims, prisoners believed to be innocent, lawsuits, and the overall movement. Fundraisers and charity events are also organized by independent activists and NGOs across the country.\n\n## **Participant Recruitment and Selection**\nBLM ensures that localized power structures are combined with an inclusive process that consciously integrates women activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized or disenfranchised groups. For example, one of the [most ‘followed’ BLM Twitter activists](https:\/\/twitter.com\/deray?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) is a Black, gay man, and one of the movement’s founders identifies as queer and is married to a transgender man \\[11\\]. Based primarily [online](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4328), the movement is open and accessible to all, while remaining aware and sensitive to the divisions and diverse identities within the black community.\n\nAlthough it is framed in racial terms, BLM does not exclude White ‘allies’ who wish to take part. While defending Black lives and rights, activists within the movement are aware that many White people are knowledgeable and actively interested in improving the living conditions and inequalities of African Americans. Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, Black celebrities, conservatives against the abuse of power by police officers, Democrats, and a considerable number of young people continue to support and participate in the movement. The aim is to maximize participation so that the stories of diverse individuals can be heard and so that no one group within the movement can claim superiority over another.\n\nThanks to the low barriers to entry, BLM has been able to move their online activity to the streets. Being a Black, multiracial, feminist, non-denominational, and youth movement, it allows a broad section of the Black and allied population to join BLM in various forms, both online and offline. Unlike more insular movements or protest groups like Anonymous and “[black blocs](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_bloc),” BLM supporters dress in everyday clothes and show their faces in public, reinforcing the idea that anyone can and should be part of the movement.\n\nTo open access to all, activists used newly developed social media that quickly reached thousands of like-minded people across the country, rejecting the traditional movement structure centered on a charismatic male and a top-down decision-making process. Black people marginalized by institutions and their own community have thus played a central and highly visible role in the formation of BLM and in the ongoing work of the movement. In this sense, BLM does not select participants. Rather, they all struggle for social justice in general, and against the discrimination experienced by Black people, particularly young victims of violence and police abuse.\n\n## **Methods and Tools Used**\nBLM is a powerful but diffuse movement, linked not by physical proximity or political consensus, but by the mobilizing force of [social media](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4939). A single word, hashtag, or video on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter connects the stories of victims of police violence and transcends geographic boundaries. Even a single, shared image on Facebook has been shown to mobilize a large number of people in just a few minutes. Events are no longer invisible and disparate, but visible to the general public and interrelated. [Deliberation](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/560) and information sharing is first and foremost [online](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4328). Activists communicate online and build solidarity through virtual networks that give their distinct voices national attention and mass power. Deliberation and decision-making take place on the internet—an extension of the public sphere—thanks to the massive sharing of openly accessible information by Internet users.\n\nIn terms of in-person activities and interaction aside from street [protests](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4426), participants have pursued advocacy work using mainstream media and dialogue with politicians, which are key elements of policy change. Indeed, political and social realities have shown that it is not enough to participate online; it is also necessary to act and meet those with the decision-making power to advance the movement’s cause through policy and institutional change. As a result, the movement has increased its visibility and begun a powerful, national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality.\n\nBLM members’ engagement with politicians and the press varies between the conventional—letters to representatives, open dialogues, and [petitions](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/387)—and the confrontational—litigation and protest. Its tactics continuously evolve, shifting from large to small scale, and from periodic or time-limited events to long-term, sustained action.\n\n## **What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation**\nFollowing the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, protest movements calling for reform of the criminal justice system spread quickly within online social networks. As an extension of the public sphere, the Internet provides the BLM movement with a political forum to publicly share and preserve personal stories of abuse and the memory of the victims. In using the Internet, Black Lives Matter taps into an existing space to mobilize and share information in the struggle for the liberation of Black communities. Through social networks and phone calls, BLM have been able to connect and unite people across the country. The original online movement and the use of \\#BlackLivesMatter was a celebration and humanization of Black lives that would eventually coalesce into a more sustained, organized attempt to change political institutions.\n\n## **Influence, Outcomes, and Effects**\nAs the movement has matured, deliberation and information sharing have remained largely online. Depending on how they are managed or moderated, [o](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4232)[nline deliberations](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4232) and interaction can be conflictual or constructive, given participants’ diverse backgrounds. Even if the causes are not seen and experienced as being the same, individuals—often younger members of the Black community and adherents to conservative ideologies—can still find common ground if dialogue is centered on the common goal of ending police or state abuse.\n\nThe movement's most resourceful activists believe that the whole organization cannot remain online and that in-person action and face-to-face engagement are essential. There is thus a need to at least unite around a common message, under a common cause, to effectively present as a collective and to exercise the persuasive power needed to bring about institution-level changes toward the goal of racial equity.\n\nThe slogan Black Lives Matter became attractive, especially during the protests that followed the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown and murder of Floyd, because they created a common cause with martyrs to organize around. At that point, the movement was able to move from virtual, online life to the streets. One of the reasons online interaction and the use of a hashtag spread so quickly and easily is that the medium forces organizers to distill the complexities of police brutality, racial inequality, and social justice into a simple, easy-to-remember slogan. Offering an umbrella for dispersed social justice campaigns and individuals to unite under creates the opportunity to address a variety of issues and demands. Alternatively, it can cause fracturing down the road and lead to the dismantling of the social movement before any life-changing alterations to the existing political, social, and economic system can be achieved.\n\nNevertheless, BLM continues to use social media to connect people who share the same struggles and values, and to organize and mobilize participants for in-person marches and demonstrations. The movement relies on the ability of social media to act as a deliberative arena for the exchange, collaboration, and strategizing of BLM’s actions and goals. It is yet to be seen whether social media can sustain a coherent, collective political agenda and develop the capacities necessary to achieve its goals. At the very least, social media has allowed those unable to participate in physical, in-person events to show their support, engage in conversation, donate money to the cause, and share knowledge and information on a serious socio-political issue.\n\n## **Analysis and Lessons Learned**\n*Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us*[*complete this section\\!*](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/4415\/edit?full=1)\n\n## **See Also**\n[Protest](https:\/\/participedia.net\/method\/4426)\n\n[The show must be paused \/ Blackout Tuesday](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/6586)\n\n[George Floyd Protests](https:\/\/participedia.net\/case\/6590)\n\n[Black Lives Matter Global Network](https:\/\/participedia.net\/organization\/6595)\n\n## **References**\n\\[1\\] [Larry Buchanan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/jugal-k-patel) \"Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.\" *New York Times* 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/07\/03\/us\/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html)\n\n\\[2\\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) .\n\n\\[3\\] Beer, T. 2020. Police Killing of Blacks: Do Black Lives Matter? The Society Pages. [thesocietypages.org\/toolbox\/police-killing-of-blacks\/](https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/toolbox\/police-killing-of-blacks\/)\n\n\\[4\\] Hanks, A., Solomon, D., and Weller, C.E. 2020. Systematic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap. American Progress. [americanprogress.org\/issues\/race\/reports\/2018\/02\/21\/447051\/systematic-inequality\/](https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/issues\/race\/reports\/2018\/02\/21\/447051\/systematic-inequality\/)\n\n\\[5\\] Patten, E. and Krogstad, J.M. 2015. Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Pew Research. [pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/07\/14\/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines\/](https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2015\/07\/14\/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines\/)\n\n\\[6\\] Moses, J. 2019. Demographic Data Project: Race, Ethnicity, and Homelessness. Homelessness Research Institute. [endhomelessness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf](https:\/\/endhomelessness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf)\n\n\\[7\\] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 2020. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. <https:\/\/www.naacp.org\/criminal-justice-fact-sheet\/>\n\n\\[8\\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement)\n\n\\[9\\][Larry Buchanan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/jugal-k-patel) \"Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.\" *New York Times* 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/07\/03\/us\/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html)\n\n\\[10\\] Demby, Gene. 2014. Combining through 41 million tweets to show how \\#blacklives matter exploded. NPR. [npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded](http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded)\n\n\\[10\\] Green Jr, D.B. 2019. Hearing the Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter. National Center for Institutional Diversity. [medium.com\/national-center-for-institutional-diversity\/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd](https:\/\/medium.com\/national-center-for-institutional-diversity\/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd)\n\nBlackLivesMatter. 2014. The creation of a movement. [blacklivesmatter.com\/herstory\/](http:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/herstory\/)\n\nBlueLivesMatter. 2017. Beyond the line. [bluelivesmatternyc.org\/pages\/frontpage](https:\/\/bluelivesmatternyc.org\/pages\/frontpage)\n\nDay, E. 2015. BlackLivesMatter : the birth of a new civil rights movement. The Guardian. [theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement)\n\nFinley, T. 2016. 8 activists who demand the world knows that Black Lives Matter. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.ca\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter\\_us\\_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b](http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.ca\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b)\n\nFreelon, D., McIlwain, C. and Clark, M. 2016. Beyond the Hashtag: \\#Ferguson, \\#BlackLivesMatter and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media and Social Impact. [archive.cmsimpact.org\/sites\/default\/files\/beyond\\_the\\_hashtags\\_2016.pdf](http:\/\/archive.cmsimpact.org\/sites\/default\/files\/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf)\n\nGuynn, J. 2015. Meet the women who coined \\#Black Lives Matter. USA Today. [usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/](https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/)\n\nHalstead, J. 2016. The real reason why white people say ‘All Lives Matter’. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.com\/john-halstead\/dear-fellow-white-people-\\_b\\_11109842.html](http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/john-halstead\/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html)\n\nKeeanga-Yamahtta ,T. 2015. États-Unis, une rébellion aussi contre l’establishment politique noir. A l’encontre \\[French\\]. [alencontre.org\/laune\/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html](https:\/\/alencontre.org\/laune\/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html)\n\nLaffargue, O. 2016. Aux États-Unis, trois personnes sont tuées chaque jour par un agent de police. BFMTV \\[French\\]. [bfmtv.com\/international\/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html](http:\/\/www.bfmtv.com\/international\/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html)\n\n## **External Links**\n<https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/>\n\n<https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/what-matters-2020\/>\n\n[http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-soci...](http:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/perspectives\/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement)\n\n<https:\/\/twitter.com\/Blklivesmatter>\n\n[http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-kno...](http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b)\n\n[http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-m...](https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2015\/03\/04\/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter\/24341593\/)\n\n[http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-thro...](http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2016\/03\/02\/468704888\/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded)\n\n[http:\/\/cmsimpact.org\/resource\/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-...](http:\/\/cmsimpact.org\/resource\/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-online-struggle-offline-justice\/)\n\n[http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civi...](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/jul\/19\/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement)\n\n## **Notes**","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality and the end of police brutality towards African Americans and the institutionalized oppression and marginalization of Black people in the United States and around the world. Problems and Purpose Co-founded in 2013 in the United States by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality, the end of police brutality against African Americans, and the dismantling of international oppression of Black people. The movement employs multiple methods of deliberation and engagement, from activism that takes place primarily online, to offline protesting, community organizing, and promoting political participation to realize racial justice . Activists in the movement have revived the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and are calling for action in response to what they see as virulent racism in the US. Characterized as the "largest movement in U.S. history" by the New York Times, the main purpose of the movement is to broaden the conversation around state violence to include the myriad ways African Americans are intentionally marginalized and denied equal rights.[1] BLM presents itself as a political and ideological intervention to end state violence that takes the form of systematic and intentional targeting of Black communities by police. The movement's supporters do not argue that Black lives are more important than others, but that in a society where the fundamental rights of Black people are denied, their liberation is fundamental to the freedom of all. The movement also aims to spread awareness and information on the plight of Black communities so that ignorance is no longer an excuse for non-action. Activists have found social networks and independent media—provided they are free from censorship, disinformation, and obfuscation—to be the best tools for mobilization and knowledge sharing. In more recent years, the movement's targeting of racial violence has widened to emphasize state oppression of women, transsexuals, self-identified queer individuals, and other minorities. The ultimate goal of BLM is to affirm the value of Black lives and to free themselves from the White, straight, male elite who continue to set social standards and norms across the country. Background History and Context Issues of violence toward young Black men and institutional racism within the United States’ criminal justice system were heightened with the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who fatally shot Martin while he was visiting his relatives . News of the event and the people involved circulated quickly online, fueling community tensions and leading to widespread protests and accusations that the American criminal justice system is fundamentally biased against people of color, especially Black men [2]. Indeed, while African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they represent 26.4% of victims of deadly police actions [3]. There are more Black people killed by the police today than there were Black people lynched in the late 19th century, an era when strict racial segregation was still enforced. Although segregation was abolished in 1954, Black people in the United States remain politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged compared to their White counterparts [4]. Despite advances in civil rights, institutional violence persists and is targeted primarily at young Black men between the ages of 15 and 35. A British study found that young Black men in the United States are five times more likely to be killed by a police officer than White men of the same age. Moreover, in almost all spheres of American society, African Americans are at a disadvantage: 42% of Black children live in high-poverty communities [5], 40% of homeless people in the country are Black [6], and Black people (especially children) are overrepresented in the national prison population [7]. These realities have fueled people’s sense of indignation and anger at state institutions as a source of the constant threat of violence against Black Americans. Outraged at Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal of Martin's death, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag across numerous online social networks. Remaining largely unnoticed for several months, the hashtag was finally taken up by millions of Internet users as the murders of unarmed African Americans continued. What began as a hashtag soon grew into a broader movement—first, in the United States and then internationally. In 2014, the BLM movement—now distinct from the hashtag—initiated an urgent, national call to action and dialogue on the issue of police killings of unarmed African American youth. BLM broke into the mainstream, gaining millions of supporters and followers internationally after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked reported civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri [8] In 2020, following George Floyd's murder by police officers, BLM support grew drastically with nation-wide demonstrations protesting police brutality and the racism entrenched in the policing and justice systems.[9] Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities One of the unique features of Black Lives Matter, besides its innovative and extensive use of social media , is its relative decentralization and dispersed leadership. Unlike the African American liberation movements led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, BLM does not rely on a single person or figurehead to speak on behalf of the Black community. According to the movement’s founders, no voice in the movement can claim to fully represent another's views. In this sense, multiple leaders are seen as modern-day revolutionaries, directing a new civil rights movement. However, it was the three women who first launched the hashtag who took the protest to the next level, organizing it as a social movement with staying power. Some researchers on the issue of movement leaders have, however, pointed out that although BLM was created by three women, the most influential people are still men for the vast majority of the movement’s actions and decision of individual chapters. Moreover, partially due to social biases, men in the movement remain those with the greatest ability to connect individuals with each other [10]. The sources of BLM’s funding are difficult to ascertain. It would seem that the information shared on social networks does not require special funding since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Many of the events generated by the online organization and its supporters likewise do not require funds, as they are generally either online meetups or in-person get togethers and protests. However, conferences and more traditional means of participation and community mobilization and management require funding. BLM has raised thousands of dollars through its website and online platforms like GoFundMe. The movement has also set up online funding channels allowing supporters to offer direct donations to the families of the victims, prisoners believed to be innocent, lawsuits, and the overall movement. Fundraisers and charity events are also organized by independent activists and NGOs across the country. Participant Recruitment and Selection BLM ensures that localized power structures are combined with an inclusive process that consciously integrates women activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized or disenfranchised groups. For example, one of the most ‘followed’ BLM Twitter activists is a Black, gay man, and one of the movement’s founders identifies as queer and is married to a transgender man [11]. Based primarily online , the movement is open and accessible to all, while remaining aware and sensitive to the divisions and diverse identities within the black community. Although it is framed in racial terms, BLM does not exclude White ‘allies’ who wish to take part. While defending Black lives and rights, activists within the movement are aware that many White people are knowledgeable and actively interested in improving the living conditions and inequalities of African Americans. Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, Black celebrities, conservatives against the abuse of power by police officers, Democrats, and a considerable number of young people continue to support and participate in the movement. The aim is to maximize participation so that the stories of diverse individuals can be heard and so that no one group within the movement can claim superiority over another. Thanks to the low barriers to entry, BLM has been able to move their online activity to the streets. Being a Black, multiracial, feminist, non-denominational, and youth movement, it allows a broad section of the Black and allied population to join BLM in various forms, both online and offline. Unlike more insular movements or protest groups like Anonymous and “ black blocs ,” BLM supporters dress in everyday clothes and show their faces in public, reinforcing the idea that anyone can and should be part of the movement. To open access to all, activists used newly developed social media that quickly reached thousands of like-minded people across the country, rejecting the traditional movement structure centered on a charismatic male and a top-down decision-making process. Black people marginalized by institutions and their own community have thus played a central and highly visible role in the formation of BLM and in the ongoing work of the movement. In this sense, BLM does not select participants. Rather, they all struggle for social justice in general, and against the discrimination experienced by Black people, particularly young victims of violence and police abuse. Methods and Tools Used BLM is a powerful but diffuse movement, linked not by physical proximity or political consensus, but by the mobilizing force of social media . A single word, hashtag, or video on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter connects the stories of victims of police violence and transcends geographic boundaries. Even a single, shared image on Facebook has been shown to mobilize a large number of people in just a few minutes. Events are no longer invisible and disparate, but visible to the general public and interrelated. Deliberation and information sharing is first and foremost online . Activists communicate online and build solidarity through virtual networks that give their distinct voices national attention and mass power. Deliberation and decision-making take place on the internet—an extension of the public sphere—thanks to the massive sharing of openly accessible information by Internet users. In terms of in-person activities and interaction aside from street protests , participants have pursued advocacy work using mainstream media and dialogue with politicians, which are key elements of policy change. Indeed, political and social realities have shown that it is not enough to participate online; it is also necessary to act and meet those with the decision-making power to advance the movement’s cause through policy and institutional change. As a result, the movement has increased its visibility and begun a powerful, national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality. BLM members’ engagement with politicians and the press varies between the conventional—letters to representatives, open dialogues, and petitions —and the confrontational—litigation and protest. Its tactics continuously evolve, shifting from large to small scale, and from periodic or time-limited events to long-term, sustained action. What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation Following the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, protest movements calling for reform of the criminal justice system spread quickly within online social networks. As an extension of the public sphere, the Internet provides the BLM movement with a political forum to publicly share and preserve personal stories of abuse and the memory of the victims. In using the Internet, Black Lives Matter taps into an existing space to mobilize and share information in the struggle for the liberation of Black communities. Through social networks and phone calls, BLM have been able to connect and unite people across the country. The original online movement and the use of #BlackLivesMatter was a celebration and humanization of Black lives that would eventually coalesce into a more sustained, organized attempt to change political institutions. Influence, Outcomes, and Effects As the movement has matured, deliberation and information sharing have remained largely online. Depending on how they are managed or moderated, o nline deliberations and interaction can be conflictual or constructive, given participants’ diverse backgrounds. Even if the causes are not seen and experienced as being the same, individuals—often younger members of the Black community and adherents to conservative ideologies—can still find common ground if dialogue is centered on the common goal of ending police or state abuse. The movement's most resourceful activists believe that the whole organization cannot remain online and that in-person action and face-to-face engagement are essential. There is thus a need to at least unite around a common message, under a common cause, to effectively present as a collective and to exercise the persuasive power needed to bring about institution-level changes toward the goal of racial equity. The slogan Black Lives Matter became attractive, especially during the protests that followed the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown and murder of Floyd, because they created a common cause with martyrs to organize around. At that point, the movement was able to move from virtual, online life to the streets. One of the reasons online interaction and the use of a hashtag spread so quickly and easily is that the medium forces organizers to distill the complexities of police brutality, racial inequality, and social justice into a simple, easy-to-remember slogan. Offering an umbrella for dispersed social justice campaigns and individuals to unite under creates the opportunity to address a variety of issues and demands. Alternatively, it can cause fracturing down the road and lead to the dismantling of the social movement before any life-changing alterations to the existing political, social, and economic system can be achieved. Nevertheless, BLM continues to use social media to connect people who share the same struggles and values, and to organize and mobilize participants for in-person marches and demonstrations. The movement relies on the ability of social media to act as a deliberative arena for the exchange, collaboration, and strategizing of BLM’s actions and goals. It is yet to be seen whether social media can sustain a coherent, collective political agenda and develop the capacities necessary to achieve its goals. At the very least, social media has allowed those unable to participate in physical, in-person events to show their support, engage in conversation, donate money to the cause, and share knowledge and information on a serious socio-political issue. Analysis and Lessons Learned Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us complete this section! See Also Protest The show must be paused / Blackout Tuesday George Floyd Protests Black Lives Matter Global Network References [1] Larry Buchanan , Quoctrung Bui and Jugal K. Patel " Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History." New York Times 3 July 2020, Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com) [2] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement . [3] Beer, T. 2020. Police Killing of Blacks: Do Black Lives Matter? The Society Pages. thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/ [4] Hanks, A., Solomon, D., and Weller, C.E. 2020. Systematic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap. American Progress. americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/ [5] Patten, E. and Krogstad, J.M. 2015. Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Pew Research. pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/ [6] Moses, J. 2019. Demographic Data Project: Race, Ethnicity, and Homelessness. Homelessness Research Institute. endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf [7] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 2020. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/ [8] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement [9] Larry Buchanan , Quoctrung Bui and Jugal K. Patel " Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History." New York Times 3 July 2020, Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com) [10] Demby, Gene. 2014. Combining through 41 million tweets to show how #blacklives matter exploded. NPR. npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded [10] Green Jr, D.B. 2019. Hearing the Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter. National Center for Institutional Diversity. medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd BlackLivesMatter. 2014. The creation of a movement. blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/ BlueLivesMatter. 2017. Beyond the line. bluelivesmatternyc.org/pages/frontpage Day, E. 2015. BlackLivesMatter : the birth of a new civil rights movement. The Guardian. theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement Finley, T. 2016. 8 activists who demand the world knows that Black Lives Matter. Huffington Post. huffingtonpost.ca/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b Freelon, D., McIlwain, C. and Clark, M. 2016. Beyond the Hashtag: #Ferguson, #BlackLivesMatter and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media and Social Impact. archive.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf Guynn, J. 2015. Meet the women who coined #Black Lives Matter. USA Today. usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/ Halstead, J. 2016. The real reason why white people say ‘All Lives Matter’. Huffington Post. huffingtonpost.com/john-halstead/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html Keeanga-Yamahtta ,T. 2015. États-Unis, une rébellion aussi contre l’establishment politique noir. A l’encontre [French]. alencontre.org/laune/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html Laffargue, O. 2016. Aux États-Unis, trois personnes sont tuées chaque jour par un agent de police. BFMTV [French]. bfmtv.com/international/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html External Links https://blacklivesmatter.com/ https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-matters-2020/ http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-soci... https://twitter.com/Blklivesmatter http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-kno... http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-m... http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-thro... http://cmsimpact.org/resource/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-... http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civi... Notes
Markdown	# Dynamic modal content OK - [Home](https://participedia.net/) - [Search](https://participedia.net/search) - [About](https://participedia.net/about) - [Teaching](https://participedia.net/teaching) - [Participedia School](https://participedia.net/participediaschool) - [Research](https://participedia.net/research) - [Getting Started](https://participedia.net/getting-started) - [News](https://medium.com/@participediaproject) - [Help & Contact](https://participedia.net/help-faq-contact) - [Terms of Use](https://participedia.net/legal) - [Quick Submit](https://participedia.net/content-chooser) - [Login](https://participedia.net/login) - [Newsletter Sign Up](https://mailchi.mp/participedia/subscribe) - [Visit Participedia.org](https://participedia.org/) [close menu](https://participedia.net/case/4415#sidebar-menu) [open menu](https://participedia.net/case/4415) [Participedia](https://participedia.net/) [Visit Participedia.org](https://participedia.org/) [Login](https://participedia.net/login) ## Data General Issues [Human Rights & Civil Rights](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=human) [Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice & Corrections](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=law) [Identity & Diversity](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=identity) Specific Topics Ethnic/Racial Equality & Equity Community & Police Relations Ethnic/Racial Relations Collections [Public Participation for Racial Justice](https://participedia.net/collection/6580) Location United States Scope of Influence [No Geographical Limits](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&scope_of_influence=no_geo) Components of this Case [Black Lives Matter mural on the road to the White House in Washington, DC](https://participedia.net/case/6587) [Black Lives Matter (BLM) and repercussions in Brazil](https://participedia.net/case/12520) [Vidas Negras Importam (BLM) e repercussões no Brasil](https://participedia.net/case/12419) Links [Black Lives Matter (\#BlackLivesMatter) website](https://blacklivesmatter.com/) [M4BL (Movement for Black Lives) website](https://m4bl.org/) Videos [Global Citizen video about the Black Lives Matter movement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1IopsKY0dY) Start Date July 14, 2013 Ongoing Yes Time Limited or Repeated? Repeated over time Purpose/Goal [Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make) [Make, influence, or challenge decisions of private organizations](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make_influence) [Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=develop) Approach [Protest](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=protest) [Social mobilization](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=social) [Advocacy](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=advocacy) Spectrum of Public Participation [Inform](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&public_spectrum=inform) Open to All or Limited to Some? [Open to All With Special Effort to Recruit Some Groups](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&open_limited=open_to) Targeted Demographics Racial/Ethnic Groups Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Low-Income Earners General Types of Methods [Protest](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=protest) [Community development, organizing, and mobilization](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=community) [Informal conversation spaces](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=informal) General Types of Tools/Techniques [Inform, educate and/or raise awareness](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&tools_techniques_types=inform) Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques [Social Media](https://participedia.net/method/4939) [Protest](https://participedia.net/method/4426) Legality Yes Facilitators Yes Facilitator Training Untrained, Nonprofessional Facilitators Face-to-Face, Online, or Both [Both](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&facetoface_online_or_both=both) Types of Interaction Among Participants Express Opinions/Preferences Only Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation Informal Social Activities Information & Learning Resources Written Briefing Materials Video Presentations Teach-ins Decision Methods Not Applicable Communication of Insights & Outcomes Traditional Media New Media Protests/Public Demonstrations Type of Organizer/Manager [Activist Network](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=activist) [Individual](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=individual) [Social Movement](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=social) Type of Funder [Social Movement](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&funder_types=social) Staff No Volunteers Yes Evidence of Impact Yes Types of Change [Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes) [Changes in public policy](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes_public) Implementers of Change Lay Public Stakeholder Organizations Formal Evaluation Yes Evaluation Report Links [Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and Public Health](https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302706) [Black Lives Matter: Toward a Modern Practice of Mass Struggle](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1095796015620171?journalCode=nlfa) ## CASE # Black Lives Matter (BLM) - [Copy](https://participedia.net/case/4415) - [Remove Bookmark Add Bookmark](https://participedia.net/case/4415) [Demilitarize the Police, Black Lives Matter](https://s3.amazonaws.com/participedia.prod/6b76db8a-7496-493f-99d9-0e142d0b7761_28476745294_3f9e28e373_b.jpg) – Credit: Johnny Silvercloud Wiki Contributor History \| \| \| \|---\|---\| \| October 25, 2021 \| [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/25) \| \| October 25, 2021 \| [Quinn Anderson, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/420818) \| \| December 20, 2020 \| [Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/417734) \| \| June 17, 2020 \| [Lucy J Parry, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/134860) \| \| June 5, 2020 \| [Alanna Scott, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/417754) \| \| June 5, 2020 \| [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/25) \| \| June 4, 2020 \| [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/25) \| \| June 4, 2020 \| [Lucy J Parry, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/134860) \| \| June 3, 2020 \| [Jesi Carson, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/1189) \| \| April 23, 2020 \| [Patrick L Scully, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/25) \| \| December 22, 2019 \| [Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/417734) \| \| April 3, 2019 \| [Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team](https://participedia.net/user/417734) \| \| March 6, 2019 \| [Scott Fletcher Bowlsby](https://participedia.net/user/110904) \| \| July 19, 2018 \| [Scott Fletcher Bowlsby](https://participedia.net/user/110904) \| \| September 16, 2017 \| [Isadora](https://participedia.net/user/121822) \| \| June 5, 2016 \| [Isadora](https://participedia.net/user/121822) \| Case Data General Issues [Human Rights & Civil Rights](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=human) [Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice & Corrections](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=law) [Identity & Diversity](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&general_issues=identity) Specific Topics Ethnic/Racial Equality & Equity Community & Police Relations Ethnic/Racial Relations Collections [Public Participation for Racial Justice](https://participedia.net/collection/6580) Location United States Scope of Influence [No Geographical Limits](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&scope_of_influence=no_geo) Components of this Case [Black Lives Matter mural on the road to the White House in Washington, DC](https://participedia.net/case/6587) [Black Lives Matter (BLM) and repercussions in Brazil](https://participedia.net/case/12520) [Vidas Negras Importam (BLM) e repercussões no Brasil](https://participedia.net/case/12419) Links [Black Lives Matter (\#BlackLivesMatter) website](https://blacklivesmatter.com/) [M4BL (Movement for Black Lives) website](https://m4bl.org/) Videos [Global Citizen video about the Black Lives Matter movement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1IopsKY0dY) Start Date July 14, 2013 Ongoing Yes Time Limited or Repeated? Repeated over time Purpose/Goal [Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make) [Make, influence, or challenge decisions of private organizations](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=make_influence) [Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&purposes=develop) Approach [Protest](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=protest) [Social mobilization](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=social) [Advocacy](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&approaches=advocacy) Spectrum of Public Participation [Inform](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&public_spectrum=inform) Open to All or Limited to Some? [Open to All With Special Effort to Recruit Some Groups](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&open_limited=open_to) Targeted Demographics Racial/Ethnic Groups Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Low-Income Earners General Types of Methods [Protest](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=protest) [Community development, organizing, and mobilization](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=community) [Informal conversation spaces](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&method_types=informal) General Types of Tools/Techniques [Inform, educate and/or raise awareness](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&tools_techniques_types=inform) Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques [Social Media](https://participedia.net/method/4939) [Protest](https://participedia.net/method/4426) Legality Yes Facilitators Yes Facilitator Training Untrained, Nonprofessional Facilitators Face-to-Face, Online, or Both [Both](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&facetoface_online_or_both=both) Types of Interaction Among Participants Express Opinions/Preferences Only Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation Informal Social Activities Information & Learning Resources Written Briefing Materials Video Presentations Teach-ins Decision Methods Not Applicable Communication of Insights & Outcomes Traditional Media New Media Protests/Public Demonstrations Type of Organizer/Manager [Activist Network](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=activist) [Individual](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=individual) [Social Movement](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&organizer_types=social) Type of Funder [Social Movement](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&funder_types=social) Staff No Volunteers Yes Evidence of Impact Yes Types of Change [Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes) [Changes in public policy](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case&change_types=changes_public) Implementers of Change Lay Public Stakeholder Organizations Formal Evaluation Yes Evaluation Report Links [Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and Public Health](https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302706) [Black Lives Matter: Toward a Modern Practice of Mass Struggle](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1095796015620171?journalCode=nlfa) Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality and the end of police brutality towards African Americans and the institutionalized oppression and marginalization of Black people in the United States and around the world. ## Problems and Purpose Co-founded in 2013 in the United States by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality, the end of police brutality against African Americans, and the dismantling of international oppression of Black people. The movement employs multiple methods of deliberation and engagement, from activism that takes place primarily online, to offline protesting, community organizing, and [promoting political participation to realize racial justice](https://participedia.net/collection/6580). Activists in the movement have revived the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and are calling for action in response to what they see as virulent racism in the US. Characterized as the "largest movement in U.S. history" by the New York Times, the main purpose of the movement is to broaden the conversation around state violence to include the myriad ways African Americans are intentionally marginalized and denied equal rights.\[1\] BLM presents itself as a political and ideological intervention to end state violence that takes the form of systematic and intentional targeting of Black communities by police. The movement's supporters do not argue that Black lives are more important than others, but that in a society where the fundamental rights of Black people are denied, their liberation is fundamental to the freedom of all. The movement also aims to spread awareness and information on the plight of Black communities so that ignorance is no longer an excuse for non-action. Activists have found social networks and independent media—provided they are free from censorship, disinformation, and obfuscation—to be the best tools for mobilization and knowledge sharing. In more recent years, the movement's targeting of racial violence has widened to emphasize state oppression of women, transsexuals, self-identified queer individuals, and other minorities. The ultimate goal of BLM is to affirm the value of Black lives and to free themselves from the White, straight, male elite who continue to set social standards and norms across the country. ## Background History and Context Issues of violence toward young Black men and institutional racism within the United States’ criminal justice system were heightened with the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who fatally shot Martin while he was visiting his relatives. News of the event and the people involved circulated quickly online, fueling community tensions and leading to widespread protests and accusations that the American criminal justice system is fundamentally biased against people of color, especially Black men \[2\]. Indeed, while African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they represent 26.4% of victims of deadly police actions \[3\]. There are more Black people killed by the police today than there were Black people lynched in the late 19th century, an era when strict racial segregation was still enforced. Although segregation was abolished in 1954, Black people in the United States remain politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged compared to their White counterparts \[4\]. Despite advances in civil rights, institutional violence persists and is targeted primarily at young Black men between the ages of 15 and 35. A British study found that young Black men in the United States are five times more likely to be killed by a police officer than White men of the same age. Moreover, in almost all spheres of American society, African Americans are at a disadvantage: 42% of Black children live in high-poverty communities \[5\], 40% of homeless people in the country are Black \[6\], and Black people (especially children) are overrepresented in the national prison population \[7\].These realities have fueled people’s sense of indignation and anger at state institutions as a source of the constant threat of violence against Black Americans. Outraged at Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal of Martin's death, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the \#BlackLivesMatter hashtag across numerous online social networks. Remaining largely unnoticed for several months, the hashtag was finally taken up by millions of Internet users as the murders of unarmed African Americans continued. What began as a hashtag soon grew into a broader movement—first, in the United States and then internationally. In 2014, the BLM movement—now distinct from the hashtag—initiated an urgent, national call to action and dialogue on the issue of police killings of unarmed African American youth. BLM broke into the mainstream, gaining millions of supporters and followers internationally after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked reported civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri \[8\] In 2020, following George Floyd's murder by police officers, BLM support grew drastically with nation-wide demonstrations protesting police brutality and the racism entrenched in the policing and justice systems.\[9\] ## Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities One of the unique features of Black Lives Matter, besides its innovative and extensive use of [social media](https://participedia.net/method/4939), is its relative decentralization and dispersed leadership. Unlike the African American liberation movements led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, BLM does not rely on a single person or figurehead to speak on behalf of the Black community. According to the movement’s founders, no voice in the movement can claim to fully represent another's views. In this sense, multiple leaders are seen as modern-day revolutionaries, directing a new civil rights movement. However, it was the three women who first launched the hashtag who took the protest to the next level, organizing it as a social movement with staying power. Some researchers on the issue of movement leaders have, however, pointed out that although BLM was created by three women, the most influential people are still men for the vast majority of the movement’s actions and decision of individual chapters. Moreover, partially due to social biases, men in the movement remain those with the greatest ability to connect individuals with each other \[10\]. The sources of BLM’s funding are difficult to ascertain. It would seem that the information shared on social networks does not require special funding since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Many of the events generated by the online organization and its supporters likewise do not require funds, as they are generally either online meetups or in-person get togethers and protests. However, conferences and more traditional means of participation and community mobilization and management require funding. BLM has raised thousands of dollars through its website and online platforms like GoFundMe. The movement has also set up online funding channels allowing supporters to offer direct donations to the families of the victims, prisoners believed to be innocent, lawsuits, and the overall movement. Fundraisers and charity events are also organized by independent activists and NGOs across the country. ## Participant Recruitment and Selection BLM ensures that localized power structures are combined with an inclusive process that consciously integrates women activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized or disenfranchised groups. For example, one of the [most ‘followed’ BLM Twitter activists](https://twitter.com/deray?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) is a Black, gay man, and one of the movement’s founders identifies as queer and is married to a transgender man \[11\]. Based primarily [online](https://participedia.net/method/4328), the movement is open and accessible to all, while remaining aware and sensitive to the divisions and diverse identities within the black community. Although it is framed in racial terms, BLM does not exclude White ‘allies’ who wish to take part. While defending Black lives and rights, activists within the movement are aware that many White people are knowledgeable and actively interested in improving the living conditions and inequalities of African Americans. Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, Black celebrities, conservatives against the abuse of power by police officers, Democrats, and a considerable number of young people continue to support and participate in the movement. The aim is to maximize participation so that the stories of diverse individuals can be heard and so that no one group within the movement can claim superiority over another. Thanks to the low barriers to entry, BLM has been able to move their online activity to the streets. Being a Black, multiracial, feminist, non-denominational, and youth movement, it allows a broad section of the Black and allied population to join BLM in various forms, both online and offline. Unlike more insular movements or protest groups like Anonymous and “[black blocs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bloc),” BLM supporters dress in everyday clothes and show their faces in public, reinforcing the idea that anyone can and should be part of the movement. To open access to all, activists used newly developed social media that quickly reached thousands of like-minded people across the country, rejecting the traditional movement structure centered on a charismatic male and a top-down decision-making process. Black people marginalized by institutions and their own community have thus played a central and highly visible role in the formation of BLM and in the ongoing work of the movement. In this sense, BLM does not select participants. Rather, they all struggle for social justice in general, and against the discrimination experienced by Black people, particularly young victims of violence and police abuse. ## Methods and Tools Used BLM is a powerful but diffuse movement, linked not by physical proximity or political consensus, but by the mobilizing force of [social media](https://participedia.net/method/4939). A single word, hashtag, or video on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter connects the stories of victims of police violence and transcends geographic boundaries. Even a single, shared image on Facebook has been shown to mobilize a large number of people in just a few minutes. Events are no longer invisible and disparate, but visible to the general public and interrelated. [Deliberation](https://participedia.net/method/560) and information sharing is first and foremost [online](https://participedia.net/method/4328). Activists communicate online and build solidarity through virtual networks that give their distinct voices national attention and mass power. Deliberation and decision-making take place on the internet—an extension of the public sphere—thanks to the massive sharing of openly accessible information by Internet users. In terms of in-person activities and interaction aside from street [protests](https://participedia.net/method/4426), participants have pursued advocacy work using mainstream media and dialogue with politicians, which are key elements of policy change. Indeed, political and social realities have shown that it is not enough to participate online; it is also necessary to act and meet those with the decision-making power to advance the movement’s cause through policy and institutional change. As a result, the movement has increased its visibility and begun a powerful, national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality. BLM members’ engagement with politicians and the press varies between the conventional—letters to representatives, open dialogues, and [petitions](https://participedia.net/method/387)—and the confrontational—litigation and protest. Its tactics continuously evolve, shifting from large to small scale, and from periodic or time-limited events to long-term, sustained action. ## What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation Following the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, protest movements calling for reform of the criminal justice system spread quickly within online social networks. As an extension of the public sphere, the Internet provides the BLM movement with a political forum to publicly share and preserve personal stories of abuse and the memory of the victims. In using the Internet, Black Lives Matter taps into an existing space to mobilize and share information in the struggle for the liberation of Black communities. Through social networks and phone calls, BLM have been able to connect and unite people across the country. The original online movement and the use of \#BlackLivesMatter was a celebration and humanization of Black lives that would eventually coalesce into a more sustained, organized attempt to change political institutions. ## Influence, Outcomes, and Effects As the movement has matured, deliberation and information sharing have remained largely online. Depending on how they are managed or moderated, [o](https://participedia.net/method/4232)[nline deliberations](https://participedia.net/method/4232) and interaction can be conflictual or constructive, given participants’ diverse backgrounds. Even if the causes are not seen and experienced as being the same, individuals—often younger members of the Black community and adherents to conservative ideologies—can still find common ground if dialogue is centered on the common goal of ending police or state abuse. The movement's most resourceful activists believe that the whole organization cannot remain online and that in-person action and face-to-face engagement are essential. There is thus a need to at least unite around a common message, under a common cause, to effectively present as a collective and to exercise the persuasive power needed to bring about institution-level changes toward the goal of racial equity. The slogan Black Lives Matter became attractive, especially during the protests that followed the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown and murder of Floyd, because they created a common cause with martyrs to organize around. At that point, the movement was able to move from virtual, online life to the streets. One of the reasons online interaction and the use of a hashtag spread so quickly and easily is that the medium forces organizers to distill the complexities of police brutality, racial inequality, and social justice into a simple, easy-to-remember slogan. Offering an umbrella for dispersed social justice campaigns and individuals to unite under creates the opportunity to address a variety of issues and demands. Alternatively, it can cause fracturing down the road and lead to the dismantling of the social movement before any life-changing alterations to the existing political, social, and economic system can be achieved. Nevertheless, BLM continues to use social media to connect people who share the same struggles and values, and to organize and mobilize participants for in-person marches and demonstrations. The movement relies on the ability of social media to act as a deliberative arena for the exchange, collaboration, and strategizing of BLM’s actions and goals. It is yet to be seen whether social media can sustain a coherent, collective political agenda and develop the capacities necessary to achieve its goals. At the very least, social media has allowed those unable to participate in physical, in-person events to show their support, engage in conversation, donate money to the cause, and share knowledge and information on a serious socio-political issue. ## Analysis and Lessons Learned Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us[complete this section\!](https://participedia.net/case/4415/edit?full=1) ## See Also [Protest](https://participedia.net/method/4426) [The show must be paused / Blackout Tuesday](https://participedia.net/case/6586) [George Floyd Protests](https://participedia.net/case/6590) [Black Lives Matter Global Network](https://participedia.net/organization/6595) ## References \[1\] [Larry Buchanan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https://www.nytimes.com/by/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https://www.nytimes.com/by/jugal-k-patel) "Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History." New York Times 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html) \[2\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) . \[3\] Beer, T. 2020. Police Killing of Blacks: Do Black Lives Matter? The Society Pages. [thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/](https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/) \[4\] Hanks, A., Solomon, D., and Weller, C.E. 2020. Systematic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap. American Progress. [americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/](https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/) \[5\] Patten, E. and Krogstad, J.M. 2015. Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Pew Research. [pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/) \[6\] Moses, J. 2019. Demographic Data Project: Race, Ethnicity, and Homelessness. Homelessness Research Institute. [endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf](https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf) \[7\] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 2020. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. <https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/> \[8\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) \[9\][Larry Buchanan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https://www.nytimes.com/by/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https://www.nytimes.com/by/jugal-k-patel) "Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History." New York Times 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html) \[10\] Demby, Gene. 2014. Combining through 41 million tweets to show how \#blacklives matter exploded. NPR. [npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded](http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded) \[10\] Green Jr, D.B. 2019. Hearing the Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter. National Center for Institutional Diversity. [medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd](https://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd) BlackLivesMatter. 2014. The creation of a movement. [blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/](http://blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/) BlueLivesMatter. 2017. Beyond the line. [bluelivesmatternyc.org/pages/frontpage](https://bluelivesmatternyc.org/pages/frontpage) Day, E. 2015. BlackLivesMatter : the birth of a new civil rights movement. The Guardian. [theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement) Finley, T. 2016. 8 activists who demand the world knows that Black Lives Matter. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.ca/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter\_us\_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b) Freelon, D., McIlwain, C. and Clark, M. 2016. Beyond the Hashtag: \#Ferguson, \#BlackLivesMatter and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media and Social Impact. [archive.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond\_the\_hashtags\_2016.pdf](http://archive.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf) Guynn, J. 2015. Meet the women who coined \#Black Lives Matter. USA Today. [usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/) Halstead, J. 2016. The real reason why white people say ‘All Lives Matter’. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.com/john-halstead/dear-fellow-white-people-\_b\_11109842.html](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-halstead/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html) Keeanga-Yamahtta ,T. 2015. États-Unis, une rébellion aussi contre l’establishment politique noir. A l’encontre \[French\]. [alencontre.org/laune/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html](https://alencontre.org/laune/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html) Laffargue, O. 2016. Aux États-Unis, trois personnes sont tuées chaque jour par un agent de police. BFMTV \[French\]. [bfmtv.com/international/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html](http://www.bfmtv.com/international/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html) ## External Links <https://blacklivesmatter.com/> <https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-matters-2020/> [http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-soci...](http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) <https://twitter.com/Blklivesmatter> [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-kno...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b) [http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-m...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/) [http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-thro...](http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded) [http://cmsimpact.org/resource/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-...](http://cmsimpact.org/resource/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-online-struggle-offline-justice/) [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civi...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement) ## Notes - [Copy](https://participedia.net/case/4415) - [Remove Bookmark Add Bookmark](https://participedia.net/case/4415) [Edit case](https://participedia.net/case/4415/edit "Edit case") - [Home](https://participedia.net/) - [Search](https://participedia.net/search) - [Research](https://participedia.net/research) - [Teaching](https://participedia.net/teaching) - [Getting Started](https://participedia.net/getting-started) - [Cases](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=case) - [Methods](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=method) - [Organizations](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=organizations) - [Collections](https://participedia.net/search?selectedCategory=collections) - [About](https://participedia.net/about) - [News](https://medium.com/@participediaproject) - [Help & Contact](https://participedia.net/help) - [Terms of Use](https://participedia.net/legal) ### Participedia A global crowdsourcing platform for researchers, activists, practitioners, and anyone interested in public participation and democratic innovations. - [Particpedia Blog on Medium](https://medium.com/@participediaproject) - [Particpedia on GitHub](https://github.com/participedia) - [Particpedia on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Participedia/) - [Participedia on Twitter](https://twitter.com/participedia) - [Participedia on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/participedia) - [Participedia on Instagram](https://instagram.com/participedia) ### Participedia Help [open help in new page](https://participedia.net/help-faq-contact) close FAQ pop over ### Contact Us [Email Support Team](https://participedia.net/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#183871767e775868796a6c717b71687d7c717936767d6c) ### FAQ - [What is a case?](https://participedia.net/case/4415#faq_q1) Entries about [cases](https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Pc9qL3H1SxSByuQY1HxLOgbbMQpnnxlicdMGuC78Wg/edit?usp=sharing) document specific examples of how various methods of participatory politics and governance are implemented. 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Readable Markdown	Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality and the end of police brutality towards African Americans and the institutionalized oppression and marginalization of Black people in the United States and around the world. ## Problems and Purpose Co-founded in 2013 in the United States by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement for racial equality, the end of police brutality against African Americans, and the dismantling of international oppression of Black people. The movement employs multiple methods of deliberation and engagement, from activism that takes place primarily online, to offline protesting, community organizing, and [promoting political participation to realize racial justice](https://participedia.net/collection/6580). Activists in the movement have revived the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and are calling for action in response to what they see as virulent racism in the US. Characterized as the "largest movement in U.S. history" by the New York Times, the main purpose of the movement is to broaden the conversation around state violence to include the myriad ways African Americans are intentionally marginalized and denied equal rights.\[1\] BLM presents itself as a political and ideological intervention to end state violence that takes the form of systematic and intentional targeting of Black communities by police. The movement's supporters do not argue that Black lives are more important than others, but that in a society where the fundamental rights of Black people are denied, their liberation is fundamental to the freedom of all. The movement also aims to spread awareness and information on the plight of Black communities so that ignorance is no longer an excuse for non-action. Activists have found social networks and independent media—provided they are free from censorship, disinformation, and obfuscation—to be the best tools for mobilization and knowledge sharing. In more recent years, the movement's targeting of racial violence has widened to emphasize state oppression of women, transsexuals, self-identified queer individuals, and other minorities. The ultimate goal of BLM is to affirm the value of Black lives and to free themselves from the White, straight, male elite who continue to set social standards and norms across the country. ## Background History and Context Issues of violence toward young Black men and institutional racism within the United States’ criminal justice system were heightened with the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who fatally shot Martin while he was visiting his relatives. News of the event and the people involved circulated quickly online, fueling community tensions and leading to widespread protests and accusations that the American criminal justice system is fundamentally biased against people of color, especially Black men \[2\]. Indeed, while African Americans make up just 12% of the population, they represent 26.4% of victims of deadly police actions \[3\]. There are more Black people killed by the police today than there were Black people lynched in the late 19th century, an era when strict racial segregation was still enforced. Although segregation was abolished in 1954, Black people in the United States remain politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged compared to their White counterparts \[4\]. Despite advances in civil rights, institutional violence persists and is targeted primarily at young Black men between the ages of 15 and 35. A British study found that young Black men in the United States are five times more likely to be killed by a police officer than White men of the same age. Moreover, in almost all spheres of American society, African Americans are at a disadvantage: 42% of Black children live in high-poverty communities \[5\], 40% of homeless people in the country are Black \[6\], and Black people (especially children) are overrepresented in the national prison population \[7\].These realities have fueled people’s sense of indignation and anger at state institutions as a source of the constant threat of violence against Black Americans. Outraged at Zimmerman's 2013 acquittal of Martin's death, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created the \#BlackLivesMatter hashtag across numerous online social networks. Remaining largely unnoticed for several months, the hashtag was finally taken up by millions of Internet users as the murders of unarmed African Americans continued. What began as a hashtag soon grew into a broader movement—first, in the United States and then internationally. In 2014, the BLM movement—now distinct from the hashtag—initiated an urgent, national call to action and dialogue on the issue of police killings of unarmed African American youth. BLM broke into the mainstream, gaining millions of supporters and followers internationally after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked reported civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri \[8\] In 2020, following George Floyd's murder by police officers, BLM support grew drastically with nation-wide demonstrations protesting police brutality and the racism entrenched in the policing and justice systems.\[9\] ## Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities One of the unique features of Black Lives Matter, besides its innovative and extensive use of [social media](https://participedia.net/method/4939), is its relative decentralization and dispersed leadership. Unlike the African American liberation movements led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, BLM does not rely on a single person or figurehead to speak on behalf of the Black community. According to the movement’s founders, no voice in the movement can claim to fully represent another's views. In this sense, multiple leaders are seen as modern-day revolutionaries, directing a new civil rights movement. However, it was the three women who first launched the hashtag who took the protest to the next level, organizing it as a social movement with staying power. Some researchers on the issue of movement leaders have, however, pointed out that although BLM was created by three women, the most influential people are still men for the vast majority of the movement’s actions and decision of individual chapters. Moreover, partially due to social biases, men in the movement remain those with the greatest ability to connect individuals with each other \[10\]. The sources of BLM’s funding are difficult to ascertain. It would seem that the information shared on social networks does not require special funding since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Many of the events generated by the online organization and its supporters likewise do not require funds, as they are generally either online meetups or in-person get togethers and protests. However, conferences and more traditional means of participation and community mobilization and management require funding. BLM has raised thousands of dollars through its website and online platforms like GoFundMe. The movement has also set up online funding channels allowing supporters to offer direct donations to the families of the victims, prisoners believed to be innocent, lawsuits, and the overall movement. Fundraisers and charity events are also organized by independent activists and NGOs across the country. ## Participant Recruitment and Selection BLM ensures that localized power structures are combined with an inclusive process that consciously integrates women activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized or disenfranchised groups. For example, one of the [most ‘followed’ BLM Twitter activists](https://twitter.com/deray?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) is a Black, gay man, and one of the movement’s founders identifies as queer and is married to a transgender man \[11\]. Based primarily [online](https://participedia.net/method/4328), the movement is open and accessible to all, while remaining aware and sensitive to the divisions and diverse identities within the black community. Although it is framed in racial terms, BLM does not exclude White ‘allies’ who wish to take part. While defending Black lives and rights, activists within the movement are aware that many White people are knowledgeable and actively interested in improving the living conditions and inequalities of African Americans. Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, Black celebrities, conservatives against the abuse of power by police officers, Democrats, and a considerable number of young people continue to support and participate in the movement. The aim is to maximize participation so that the stories of diverse individuals can be heard and so that no one group within the movement can claim superiority over another. Thanks to the low barriers to entry, BLM has been able to move their online activity to the streets. Being a Black, multiracial, feminist, non-denominational, and youth movement, it allows a broad section of the Black and allied population to join BLM in various forms, both online and offline. Unlike more insular movements or protest groups like Anonymous and “[black blocs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bloc),” BLM supporters dress in everyday clothes and show their faces in public, reinforcing the idea that anyone can and should be part of the movement. To open access to all, activists used newly developed social media that quickly reached thousands of like-minded people across the country, rejecting the traditional movement structure centered on a charismatic male and a top-down decision-making process. Black people marginalized by institutions and their own community have thus played a central and highly visible role in the formation of BLM and in the ongoing work of the movement. In this sense, BLM does not select participants. Rather, they all struggle for social justice in general, and against the discrimination experienced by Black people, particularly young victims of violence and police abuse. ## Methods and Tools Used BLM is a powerful but diffuse movement, linked not by physical proximity or political consensus, but by the mobilizing force of [social media](https://participedia.net/method/4939). A single word, hashtag, or video on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter connects the stories of victims of police violence and transcends geographic boundaries. Even a single, shared image on Facebook has been shown to mobilize a large number of people in just a few minutes. Events are no longer invisible and disparate, but visible to the general public and interrelated. [Deliberation](https://participedia.net/method/560) and information sharing is first and foremost [online](https://participedia.net/method/4328). Activists communicate online and build solidarity through virtual networks that give their distinct voices national attention and mass power. Deliberation and decision-making take place on the internet—an extension of the public sphere—thanks to the massive sharing of openly accessible information by Internet users. In terms of in-person activities and interaction aside from street [protests](https://participedia.net/method/4426), participants have pursued advocacy work using mainstream media and dialogue with politicians, which are key elements of policy change. Indeed, political and social realities have shown that it is not enough to participate online; it is also necessary to act and meet those with the decision-making power to advance the movement’s cause through policy and institutional change. As a result, the movement has increased its visibility and begun a powerful, national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality. BLM members’ engagement with politicians and the press varies between the conventional—letters to representatives, open dialogues, and [petitions](https://participedia.net/method/387)—and the confrontational—litigation and protest. Its tactics continuously evolve, shifting from large to small scale, and from periodic or time-limited events to long-term, sustained action. ## What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation Following the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, protest movements calling for reform of the criminal justice system spread quickly within online social networks. As an extension of the public sphere, the Internet provides the BLM movement with a political forum to publicly share and preserve personal stories of abuse and the memory of the victims. In using the Internet, Black Lives Matter taps into an existing space to mobilize and share information in the struggle for the liberation of Black communities. Through social networks and phone calls, BLM have been able to connect and unite people across the country. The original online movement and the use of \#BlackLivesMatter was a celebration and humanization of Black lives that would eventually coalesce into a more sustained, organized attempt to change political institutions. ## Influence, Outcomes, and Effects As the movement has matured, deliberation and information sharing have remained largely online. Depending on how they are managed or moderated, [o](https://participedia.net/method/4232)[nline deliberations](https://participedia.net/method/4232) and interaction can be conflictual or constructive, given participants’ diverse backgrounds. Even if the causes are not seen and experienced as being the same, individuals—often younger members of the Black community and adherents to conservative ideologies—can still find common ground if dialogue is centered on the common goal of ending police or state abuse. The movement's most resourceful activists believe that the whole organization cannot remain online and that in-person action and face-to-face engagement are essential. There is thus a need to at least unite around a common message, under a common cause, to effectively present as a collective and to exercise the persuasive power needed to bring about institution-level changes toward the goal of racial equity. The slogan Black Lives Matter became attractive, especially during the protests that followed the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown and murder of Floyd, because they created a common cause with martyrs to organize around. At that point, the movement was able to move from virtual, online life to the streets. One of the reasons online interaction and the use of a hashtag spread so quickly and easily is that the medium forces organizers to distill the complexities of police brutality, racial inequality, and social justice into a simple, easy-to-remember slogan. Offering an umbrella for dispersed social justice campaigns and individuals to unite under creates the opportunity to address a variety of issues and demands. Alternatively, it can cause fracturing down the road and lead to the dismantling of the social movement before any life-changing alterations to the existing political, social, and economic system can be achieved. Nevertheless, BLM continues to use social media to connect people who share the same struggles and values, and to organize and mobilize participants for in-person marches and demonstrations. The movement relies on the ability of social media to act as a deliberative arena for the exchange, collaboration, and strategizing of BLM’s actions and goals. It is yet to be seen whether social media can sustain a coherent, collective political agenda and develop the capacities necessary to achieve its goals. At the very least, social media has allowed those unable to participate in physical, in-person events to show their support, engage in conversation, donate money to the cause, and share knowledge and information on a serious socio-political issue. ## Analysis and Lessons Learned Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us[complete this section\!](https://participedia.net/case/4415/edit?full=1) ## See Also [Protest](https://participedia.net/method/4426) [The show must be paused / Blackout Tuesday](https://participedia.net/case/6586) [George Floyd Protests](https://participedia.net/case/6590) [Black Lives Matter Global Network](https://participedia.net/organization/6595) ## References \[1\] [Larry Buchanan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https://www.nytimes.com/by/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https://www.nytimes.com/by/jugal-k-patel) "Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History." New York Times 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html) \[2\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) . \[3\] Beer, T. 2020. Police Killing of Blacks: Do Black Lives Matter? The Society Pages. [thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/](https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/) \[4\] Hanks, A., Solomon, D., and Weller, C.E. 2020. Systematic Inequality: How America's Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap. American Progress. [americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/](https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/) \[5\] Patten, E. and Krogstad, J.M. 2015. Black child poverty rate holds steady, even as other groups see declines. Pew Research. [pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/) \[6\] Moses, J. 2019. Demographic Data Project: Race, Ethnicity, and Homelessness. Homelessness Research Institute. [endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf](https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3rd-Demo-Brief-Race.pdf) \[7\] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 2020. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. <https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/> \[8\] Blackpast. 2017. Black Lives Matter : the growth of a new social justice movement. [blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement](http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) \[9\][Larry Buchanan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/larry-buchanan), [Quoctrung Bui](https://www.nytimes.com/by/quoctrung-bui) and [Jugal K. Patel](https://www.nytimes.com/by/jugal-k-patel) "Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History." New York Times 3 July 2020, [Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - The New York Times (nytimes.com)](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html) \[10\] Demby, Gene. 2014. Combining through 41 million tweets to show how \#blacklives matter exploded. NPR. [npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded](http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded) \[10\] Green Jr, D.B. 2019. Hearing the Queer Roots of Black Lives Matter. National Center for Institutional Diversity. [medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd](https://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/hearing-the-queer-roots-of-black-lives-matter-2e69834a65cd) BlackLivesMatter. 2014. The creation of a movement. [blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/](http://blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/) BlueLivesMatter. 2017. Beyond the line. [bluelivesmatternyc.org/pages/frontpage](https://bluelivesmatternyc.org/pages/frontpage) Day, E. 2015. BlackLivesMatter : the birth of a new civil rights movement. The Guardian. [theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement) Finley, T. 2016. 8 activists who demand the world knows that Black Lives Matter. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.ca/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter\_us\_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b) Freelon, D., McIlwain, C. and Clark, M. 2016. Beyond the Hashtag: \#Ferguson, \#BlackLivesMatter and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media and Social Impact. [archive.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond\_the\_hashtags\_2016.pdf](http://archive.cmsimpact.org/sites/default/files/beyond_the_hashtags_2016.pdf) Guynn, J. 2015. Meet the women who coined \#Black Lives Matter. USA Today. [usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/) Halstead, J. 2016. The real reason why white people say ‘All Lives Matter’. Huffington Post. [huffingtonpost.com/john-halstead/dear-fellow-white-people-\_b\_11109842.html](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-halstead/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html) Keeanga-Yamahtta ,T. 2015. États-Unis, une rébellion aussi contre l’establishment politique noir. A l’encontre \[French\]. [alencontre.org/laune/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html](https://alencontre.org/laune/etats-unis-une-rebellion-aussi-contre-lestablishment-politique-noir.html) Laffargue, O. 2016. Aux États-Unis, trois personnes sont tuées chaque jour par un agent de police. BFMTV \[French\]. [bfmtv.com/international/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html](http://www.bfmtv.com/international/aux-etats-unis-trois-personnes-sont-tuees-chaque-jour-par-un-agent-de-police-1003212.html) ## External Links <https://blacklivesmatter.com/> <https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-matters-2020/> [http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-soci...](http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/black-lives-matter-growth-new-social-justice-movement) <https://twitter.com/Blklivesmatter> [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-kno...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/8-activists-who-demand-the-world-knows-that-black-lives-matter_us_56b39641e4b04f9b57d8c04b) [http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-m...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/) [http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-thro...](http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/03/02/468704888/combing-through-41-million-tweets-to-show-how-blacklivesmatter-exploded) [http://cmsimpact.org/resource/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-...](http://cmsimpact.org/resource/beyond-hashtags-ferguson-blacklivesmatter-online-struggle-offline-justice/) [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civi...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement) ## Notes
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