The largest movement in American history occurred in May 2020 in response
to the cruel murder of Floyd George. On May 26, half a million people turned
out in 50 cities and towns to protest. It is estimated that 26 million people
took part in 4,700 protests during that month, averaging 147 demonstrations
a day. In September, 5.8 million people shared a tweet with the hashtag
#BlackLivesMatter for the first time.
While there have been many who dedicated their lives to “justice and
freedom” for all, #BlackLivesMatter was in place at the right time for the right
reasons. But it didn’t work when first initiated, and has ebbed since this
iconic period. While an individual can life a conscious life, sustaining a
conscious movement requires an understanding of power, and employs
many forms of leadership – visionary, situational, transformational…
REFLECT:
Did you participate in this historic movement?
If so, why? (one theory is it provided a break during the COVID shut in /
isolation).
If not, why not?
Do you think it advanced the cause of Black American safety / justice?
#BlackLivesMatter started small. On July 13, 2013, a Facebook post by Alicia
Garza, a community activist, said,
Black people. I love you. I love us. We matter. Our lives matter.
Activist Partrisse Cullors joined with her and Opal Tometi to promote it as a
rallying cry for a cultural movement. They set up Facebook and Twitter
accounts, encouraging others to share stories of why #BlackLivesMatter. It
didn’t take off – throughout the killing of Eric Garner and Michael Brown
(@398 tweets).
But it began to grow November 25, 2014, the day after a grand jury declined
to indict the officer who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and 3 days
after the killing of Tamir Rice, a 12 year old playing with a toy gun. The
coverage of these incidents led to172,772 mentions of the hashtag, and in
the ensuing three months, it averaged more than 30,000 a day. After that,
spikes occurred as deaths occurred. When Philandro Castile was killed in his
car in 2016, over 1 million became the daily norm.
However, there were pros and cons, according to an American University
analysis. While police brutality was extremely well suited to internet based
activism, debate and conversation about it was limited. So things didn’t
improve. In 2018, five years after Michael Brown was shot, statistics showed
black people were being stopped by the police 5% more and white people
were being stopped 11% less than they had in 2013.
National magazines created top ten lists of the most effective activists based
on follower counts on Twitter. And Twitter elevated individuals over
community with activists competing for air time, which eroded movement
relationships. One activist responded it was too easy to mistake popularity
for power.
Some leaders began to re-assess strategy due to
(1) the lack of change
(2) the personal cost to their health and wellbeing resulting from
continually being in trauma mode
The Dream Defenders in Miami agreed to a blackout, choosing to “opt out”
for ten weeks.They realized how dependent they had become on violent
images, dubbed “trauma porn”, focusing on violent death.
They turned to the community, asking and listening to people in the poorer
neighborhoods. What they heard changed their direction, and they moved
from “soft power” strategies to “hard power” strategies.
Social media is soft power – a force that shapes culture through story and
debate. It’s about followership and diffusion of responsibility. In contrast,
political action is hard power – the ability to lobby for legislation, elect
political leaders, and get resources allocated toward the cause. It requires
strategy first, and social media second or not at all.
REFLECT:
Have you been involved in the use of soft power?
Have you been involved in the use of hard power?
What were the outcomes?
In Minneapolis, Miski Noor also stepped back from her #BLM activities due to
illness. She returned knowing a different approach was needed. Switching to
a collective effort, she and six friends founded Black Visions, focusing on
changing the system of policing. With a small intimate core group, and
without media fanfare, they got good at local community organizing. In 2017,
they helped elect new council members in alignment with their intentions. In
2018, they got over a million dollars moved from the police department to
mental health services, and helped create the Office of Violence Prevention.
After the Floyd George murder, they amped up and combined soft power
with hard power. They lobbied the council and staged sit-ins and park
demonstrations.Lisa Bender, the president of the City Council, said,
“Our commitment is to end our city’s toxic relationship with the
Minneapolis Police Department, to end policing as we know it, and to
re-create systems of public safety that actually keep us safe.”
But new actions often counteracted earlier actions. In Minneapolis, the chief
district judge appointed a commission of volunteers to assess the city
charter. They overrode the council, blocking a referendum about the police
department.
Nonetheless, Miski’s group continued the soft power approach that had
created wins in the past. Shifting the focus to community-led safety, she
stated, “We’re going to talk to thousands and thousands of people about
what safety looks like.”
In 2023, at its ten year anniversary, 51% of US adults say they support BLM.
That is a mix of 81% of blacks, 63% of Asians, 61% of Hispanics, and 42% of
whites. The largest gap in support is by political affiliation: 84% of Democrats
support in contrast to 17% of Republicans.
For effectiveness, 32% think the movement was very effective in bringing
attention to racism. But only 14% say it has been effective at increasing
police accountability.
Despite the setbacks, BLM is globally recognized and resonates with
marginalized people all over the world, from Uyghars in China to Aborigines
in Australia to Christians in Iran to…
APPLY:
Create a future strategy for BLM.
The Quiet Before, Gal Beckerman, Crown, 2022.
We All Want to Change the World: My Journey Through Social Justice
Movements From the 1960’s to Today, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 2025.
