Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement. It aims to highlight racism and racial inequality experienced by Black people in the United States. The movement also works to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns include police brutality and racially motivated violence.

Activists within the movement advocate for policy changes. These changes often focus on Black liberation and criminal justice reform. Because it is a social movement, it can take many forms. It can be a social media hashtag, a slogan, or a political action committee.

The movement uses a decentralized structure. This means it has no formal hierarchy or single central leader. Instead, it is a grassroots network of many local groups. There are about 40 chapters located in the United States and Canada. These chapters are autonomous, meaning they operate on their own. They are asked to commit to a shared list of guiding principles. However, they do not follow a central command. This structure differs from older movements, such as the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This lack of a central hierarchy can sometimes cause confusion in the media. Actions by one individual or chapter are sometimes misattributed to the entire movement.

The origins of the movement date back to 2013. Activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Ayọ Tometi created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. They did this following the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was involved in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager. The movement gained national recognition through street demonstrations in 2014. This happened after the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City. Following these events, participants demonstrated against many other deaths involving police actions.

In 2020, the movement gained massive international attention. This occurred following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer named Derek Chauvin. An estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in BLM protests in the United States. This makes it one of the largest protest movements in the country's history. The vast majority of these demonstrations were peaceful. However, protests from late May to early June 2020 escalated into riots and looting in most major cities.

Several large coalitions work under the banner of Black Lives Matter. One major group is the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL). This is a coalition of more than 50 different groups. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network and the National Conference of Black Lawyers. In 2015, a group called Campaign Zero also emerged. Led by activists like DeRay Mckesson, it aimed to promote specific policy reforms. They released a ten-point plan to end police brutality. This plan included increasing community oversight of police departments.

The Movement for Black Lives has proposed significant legislative changes. Following George Floyd's death, they released the BREATHE Act. This policy calls for shifting funds from policing to community resources. They also advocate for decarceration and reparations for harms related to slavery. Other goals include addressing redlining in housing and education policy. They also call for an end to mass surveillance. The movement seeks community control over the police. This would allow residents to participate in hiring and firing officers.

Financial support for these causes has been very large. Between May 2020 and December 2020, donations to BLM-related causes reached $10.6 billion. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation raised $90 million in 2020 alone. Many of these were individual donations made online. The average donation was $30.76. Other organizations, like the Ford Foundation, have provided significant funding to the Movement for Black Lives. In 2016, the Ford Foundation and others reported a $100 million investment plan.

Technology has played a huge role in the movement's growth. Activists originally used hashtag activism to reach people quickly on social media. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been used millions of times on Twitter. By June 2020, it had been tweeted roughly 47.8 million times. The ability for bystanders to record videos of police violence has also driven activism. This has helped the movement reach a global audience. The movement also uses direct action tactics. These include rallies, marches, and "die-ins" to draw attention to their cause.