Queen Essays

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Black Lives Matter Mildred Delozia, Alabama A&M University and Charles M. S. Birore, Norfolk State University

https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1512

Published online: 20 April 2022

Summary Black Lives Matter (BLM), which led to the Black Lives Matter movement (BLMM), has been described as a movement with a global following. The movement is aligned with the social work profession’s purpose and values. The social work profession is a human rights profession and has a history of involvement with movements, beginning with the settlement house movement in the late 19th century. The BLMM frames its narrative based on human rights and espouses an agenda that calls out injustice in all facets of social justice. Therefore, a central aim is to understand the BLMM from multiple perspectives. Definitions, theoretical perspectives, and types of social movements are presented, and then the framework of social movements is used to understand the BLMM. Finally, the BLMM is examined in relation to historical social movements, advocacy organizations, and criminal justice reform.

Keywords: African Americans, Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter movement, Black Americans, civil rights, criminal

justice reform, social justice, social movements, racism, macro social work

Subjects: Criminal Justice, Macro Practice, Policy and Advocacy, Race, Ethnicity, and Culture, Social Justice and Human

Rights

Definitions of Social Movements

Hutchison (2019) suggests that a social movement evolves out of a conscious and collective effort by a large group of people who believe that something in society is unjust. It requires work outside of established institutions for a sustained period of time to change some aspect of society. These social movements may be either proactive or reactive. Proactive social movements intend to change existing and undesirable social structures to promote positive changes in society, whereas reactive social movements attempt to maintain traditional social structures and the status quo (Ballantine et al., 2018).

Early scholars (Diani, 1992; Tilly, 1978; Turner & Killian, 1987) did not agree on a definition of a social movement. Diani (1992), a pioneer in the study of social movements, conceptualized a social movement as “networks of informal interactions between a plurality of individuals, groups or organizations, engaged in political or cultural conflicts based on shared collective identities” (p. 1). Diani proposed that social movements may impact the political and cultural processes at systemic and non-systemic levels. However, theorists (Diani, 1992; Tilly, 1978; Turner & Killian, 1987) appear to agree that a social movement must occur in the collective sense. Collectivity acts with “some continuity to promote or resist a change in the society or

Mildred Delozia, Alabama A&M University and Charles M. S. Birore, Norfolk State University

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organization of which it is part” (Turner & Killian, 1987, p. 223). The following highlights provide information regarding the basic tenets from other theorists regarding the meaning of social movements:

A social movement is a set of opinions and beliefs in a population, which represents preferences for changing some elements of the social structure and reward distribution of a society (McCarthy & Zald, 1977, p. 1217).

A social movement is “organized efforts to promote or resist change in society that rely, at least in part, on non-institutionalized forms of political action” (Marx & McAdam, 1994, p. 73).

Turner and Killian (1987, p. 223) defined a social movement as “a collectivity acting with some continuity to promote or resist a change in the society or organization of which it is part. As a collectivity, a movement is a group with indefinite and shifting membership and with a leadership whose position is determined more by the informal response of adherents than by formal procedures for legitimizing authority.”

della Porta and Diani (2006) synthesized the literature on the definition of a social movement and defined it as “a distinct social process, consisting of the mechanisms through which actors engaged in collective action are involved in conflictual relations with clearly identified opponents, are linked by dense informal networks, and share a distinct collective identity” (p. 20).

Impetus for Social Movements

Throughout history, theorists have sought to determine the impetus for social movements.

della Porta and Diani (2006) theorized that a social movement developed when a feeling of dissatisfaction spread and insufficiently flexible institutions were unable to respond. Researchers (Sen & Avci, 2016) posited that new movements originated when the following elements were present. Additionally, when these elements were present, social movements have the potential to expand:

Certain people or groups of people in a society must feel that they are deprived of a specific good, service, or resource (p. 126).

If several individuals in a society have particular grievances, they may be able to mobilize necessary resources and alleviate the grievances (p. 126).

Chances for a movement to grow and flourish are enhanced when governments are weak or more tolerant of dissenting behaviors. This allows movements to grow by taking advantage of the weakened government and a tolerant atmosphere (p. 127).

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Social Movements and Their Perspectives

Social movement scholars have identified multiple perspectives regarding the onset of social movements, their political processes, organizational structures, sociocultural frameworks, and resource mobilization. These perspectives include the political process perspective, mobilizing structures perspective, and cultural framing perspective. In addition, scholars have recently identified three emerging perspectives. These emerging perspectives include the participant emotional reaction perspective, participant variation perspective, and collective identity perspective (Hutchison, 2019). Similarly, other social movement scholars have identified five types of social movements which include reform movements, revolutionary movements, reactionary movements, self-help movements, and religious movements (Snow & Soule, 2009). Table 1 provides information on various types of social movements.

Table 1. Types of Social Movements

Type of social movement

Description of movement

Reform movement

Seeks to work within a political system to change offensive societal structures including its institutions, policies, economic system, and social structures (e.g., Southern civil rights movement, women’s suffrage movement, BLMM)

Revolutionary movement

Seeks to overthrow the existing political system by removing the offensive structures and replacing them with new institutions, policies, economic systems, redistributions of wealth, and social structures (e.g., American revolution, apartheid movement in South Africa)

Reactionary movement

Attempts to block social change and maintain the status quo by maintaining societal structures that other movements may attempt to change or remove (e.g., anti-abortion movement, All Lives Matter, Ku Klux Klan)

Self-help movement

Movements in which individuals attempt to bring about changes in their lives on a personal level (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, Weight Watchers, Narcotics Anonymous)

Religious movement

Focuses on religious ideologies within established religious institutions or by creating new religious institutions (e.g., early Christianity, religious cults)

Note. Adapted from Aberle (1966) and Snow and Soule (2009).

Political Process Perspective

The political process of a social movement emphasizes the notion that a social movement involves a series of collective actions characterized by a power imbalance between the elite and oppressed groups. The goal of the political process is to alter conditions perceived and recognized

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as undesirable, unjust, and subject to change (McAdam et al., 1996). McAdam (1999) theorized that collective actions and an attitude toward changing unjust social structures influence political institutions to take action toward a desired social change. In addition to seeking political action, a social movement represents a continuous process rather than disconnected and isolated stages of sustained desired social change. McAdam (1999) succinctly posited that the political process perspective stands on the following:

the fundamental assumption that wealth and power are concentrated . . . in the hands of a few groups, thus depriving most people of any real influence over the major decisions that affect their lives. Accordingly, social movements are seen, in both perspectives, as rational attempts by excluded groups to mobilize sufficient political leverage to advance collective interests through noninstitutionalized means. (pp. 36–37)

McAdam et al. (1996) emphasized the importance of the political process for a social movement to emerge. The political process in this context is closely aligned with the paradigm of political opportunity. Thus the social environment or exogenous factors which are external to the actual social movement either enhance or inhibit the social movement (Meyer & Minkoff, 2004). However, at the onset of social movements in a given society is inevitable for successful social change because of its utility value in terms of providing political opportunities for collective actions to take root in such a society (McAdam et al, 1996). Consistent with McAdam et al. (1996), scholars on social movements (della Porta & Diani, 2006; Tarrow, 2006) have found that there are several political process dimensions that can facilitate or hinder the development of social movements. These dimensions include openness of the political system, stability of political alignments (within political parties), availability of elite allies of social movements to support social change, and international relations with social movements (Hutchison, 2019; Tarrow, 2006).

Mobilizing Structures Perspective

The mobilizing structures perspective on social movements posits that having a viable political process for social change is inadequate if three fundamental components for effective mobilization are missing or weak: informal and formal structures of organization of the social movement, information and communication technology, and the life course of the movement (Hutchison, 2019). Hutchison (2019) stated that “social movements must be able to attract new members and sustain the involvement of current members” (p. 437). Mobilizing structures, according to McAdam et al. (1996), means

those collective vehicles, informal as well as formal, through which people mobilize and engage in collective action. This focus on the meso-level groups, organizations, and informal networks that comprise the collective building blocks of social movements and revolutions constitutes the second conceptual element in our synthesis of recent work in the field. (p. 3)

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Cultural Framing Perspective

The cultural framing perspective on social movements postulates that both political processes and mobilizing structures are necessary but are insufficient for sustained, successful, and effective social movement without cultural framing forces in place (Hutchison, 2019). Hutchison advanced the following:

The cultural framing perspective asserts that a social movement can succeed only when participants develop shared understandings and definitions of the situation. These shared meanings develop through a transactional m of consciousness raising, which social movement scholars call cultural framing. (p. 442)

For McAdam et al. (1996), the cultural framing perspective for social movements involved “conscious strategic efforts by groups of people to fashion shared understandings of the world and of themselves that legitimate and motivate collective action” (p. 6). The social movement leadership must frame its collective efforts in articulating and developing a framework upon which the group members and the public will understand that the undesired conditions exist, will recognize a window of opportunity for demanding social changes, will establish achievable and realistic goals, and will identify pathways for action in a sustained manner (Hutchinson, 2019). The major assumptions of the cultural framing perspective include the following: Social movements must be able to develop shared understandings that legitimate and motivate collective action, and social movements must actively participate in the naming of grievances and injustices. Other assumptions are that social movement leaders must construct a perception that change is possible, and that social movements must be able to create cultural frames that appeal to diverse audiences (Hutchinson, 2019, pp. 442–443).

Emerging Perspectives

Other social movement scholars (e.g., Castells, 2012; Gould, 2009; Hutchison, 2019) have found that the three dominant perspectives on social movements presented earlier cannot explain in a comprehensive fashion the reasons for the emergence of social movements. For example, Castells theorized that people’s emotions, outrage, and anger, in addition to rationality, contributed to the emergence of social movements. Social activists and social movement participants tend to transform emotions into collective actions.

Another perspective is collective identity in social movements. Proponents of this perspective contend that in addition to emotions, collective identity of the participants characterizes a successful social movement. Participants who identify collectively, understand the movement’s collective goals, and understand the circumstances through which they can achieve such goals are more likely to commit themselves to the cause and to mobilize for the social movement (Hutchison, 2019).

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Black Lives Matter Movement and Perspectives on Social Movements

An understanding of social movements and how they progress is essential to gain an understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement (BLMM) and the reasons it has gained global significance. Each of the perspectives previously presented on social movements assists the reader in understanding the BLMM. Moreover, the narrative that follows presents information from the literature on the history of African American social movements in the United States and attempts to facilitate an understanding of the history of the BLMM based on the definitions of social movements, perspectives of social movements, and types of social movements.

History of Social Movements in the African American Community

Historically, social movements have been essential for African Americans. Multiple motivating factors have propelled these movements over time (Dunn, 1998). Initially, slavery and its negative impact on the well-being of African Americans was the impetus for forging social movements among African Americans (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021; Wood, 1998). Native Africans kidnapped from Africa and forcefully brought to the Americas did not accept the institution of chattel slavery. They fought being enslaved and the inhumanity of the institution of slavery. The second impetus for social movements among Blacks has been the continuous systemic racism perpetrated against this racial and ethnic group at individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels (DeGruy, 2017; Mental Health America, 2020; Williams et al., 2019). Domination of White Americans in political, economic, and sociocultural aspects to the disadvantage of Black Americans is the third significant impetus (Pinkney, 2009), and continued police racial biases and brutality against Black Americans is the fourth.

Throughout history, social movements and advocacy organizations focused on African Americans have recognized major indicators of physical, mental, and socioeconomic factors that adversely affected the lives of African Americans. The BLMM stands on the shoulders of other civil rights movements and organizations in the United States. Between 1905 and 2016, 26 national, regional, and local movements, organizations, and coalitions addressed continuous systemic racism and the domination of White Americans. White supremacy, including violent and overt refusal to allow Black Americans to achieve any semblance of equality through voter suppression and other aspects of political, economic, and sociocultural domination, was victorious for a while (Pinkney, 2009). In 1905, the Niagara Falls Movement, organized by a group of males led by W. E. B. Du Bois and others described as African American intellectuals, responded to a call to action. During this time in history, African Americans were initially hopeful due to restructured government policies under the 14th and 15th Amendments. However, this era ushered in repressive laws and customs. As a result, African Americans suffered widespread inhumanities designed to dehumanize them (Blight, 2018).1 This led to the formation of two prominent civil rights organizations (Table 2). These organizations were the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 and the National Urban League (NUL) in 1910.

1

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The NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in the United States. Its agenda and mission are based on multiple areas of human rights, including economic justice, social justice, criminal justice reform, police brutality, wellness and health, voting rights, and poverty issues (see note 1). The NUL has a rich history of advocacy and services in the Black American community that are related to wellness and health education, the amelioration of poverty, economic justice, social justice, and voting rights.

Before and after the NAACP and NUL were organized, 24 other organizations and social movements aligned with diverse individuals and groups to combat continued oppression, institutional racism, and ongoing social justice issues. Table 2 identifies 26 human rights and social justice-related social movements and organizations from 1905 through the founding of the BLMM in 2013 and the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) in 2016. The mission statements, purposes, and services of each social movement and organization indicate that all of the organizations focused on general civil rights issues. In addition to civil rights, the BLMM has emphasized a primary focus on social justice, criminal justice reform, and police brutality. An analysis of the other social movements and advocacy groups from 1905 to 2016 indicated that of the 25 other movements and organizations, 18 (73%) focused on social justice, six (24%) shared a similar mission of criminal justice reform, and seven (28%) focused on police brutality.

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Table 2. Historical Presentation of Civil Rights and Social Justice Movements and Organizations

Movement and advocacy organization

Year found

Economic justice

Social justice

Criminal justice reform

Police brutality

General civil rights

Health & wellness

Voting rights

Poverty & powerlessness

Niagara movement 1905 X X X

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

1909 X X X X X X X X

National Urban League 1910 X X X X X

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

1925 X X

National Council of Negro Women

1935 X X X

March on Washington movement (MOWM)

1941 X

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

1942 X X X X

Women’s Political Council 1946 X X

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Movement and advocacy organization

Year found

Economic justice

Social justice

Criminal justice reform

Police brutality

General civil rights

Health & wellness

Voting rights

Poverty & powerlessness

Montgomery Improvement Association

1955 X X X

Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955 X X X

American Civil Rights movement Mid-1950s X X X X X X X X

Southern Leadership Conference/Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

1957 X X X X

1961 Freedom Rides (organized by CORE)

1961 X

Council of Federated Organizations

1961 X X

1963 March on Washington 1963 X X X X

Lowndes County Freedom Organization

1965 X X X X

March from Selma to Montgomery

1965 X X X

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Movement and advocacy organization

Year found

Economic justice

Social justice

Criminal justice reform

Police brutality

General civil rights

Health & wellness

Voting rights

Poverty & powerlessness

March Against Fear 1966 X X

Black Panther Party 1966 X X X X X X X

Say It Loud “Black and Proud” and Black Power movement

1968 X X X

Southern Poverty Law Center 1971 X X X X

Equal Justice Initiative 1989 X X X

National Action Network 1991 X X X

Color of Change 2005 X X

Black Lives Matter movement 2013 X X X X X X X

Movement4BlackLives 2016 X X X X X X X X

Note. Information obtained from web pages for cited social movements and organizations.

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Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter and #BlackLivesMatter is a mantra and a hashtag with global recognition and significance to many individuals. The simple phrase originated shortly after February 26, 2012 when George Zimmermann, a neighborhood watch captain, fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Although charged with second-degree murder approximately 45 days later, Zimmerman was acquitted (Cable News Network, 2013). Zimmerman’s acquittal garnered national attention and outrage among millions who expressed their dismay through street protests and on social media.

On different social media, Alicia Garza, one of Black Lives Matter’s cofounders, was outraged by Zimmerman’s acquittal and posted her opposition on Facebook in what she called a “Love Letter to Black People.” Her post expressed dismay at how little Black lives mattered. Patrice Cullors, a Los Angeles community organizer and Garza’s friend, read the Facebook post and created the Twitter hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Opal Tometi, identified as the third cofounder, joined with the other two and created a social media campaign around #BlackLivesMatter. A grief-stricken and emotional exchange among friends on social media contributed to what later became a social movement (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. The rise of #Black Lives Matter into a global foundation.

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Black Lives Matter as a Social Movement

The definitions of social movements and theories outlined previously resonate with the BLMM (Table 3). Black Lives Matter began as an informal exchange on social media between friends but grew because of the plight of African Americans and other Blacks in the United States. Ballantine et al. (2018) theorized that social movements are either proactive movements or reactive movements. A collective group of people involved in proactive social movements attempt to change institutional structures within a society so that individuals will be able to coexist in a more peaceful manner (Stern & Axinn, 2018). People involved in reactive social movements attempt to maintain the status quo and historical structures within a society. Based on these definitions, the BLMM may be identified as a proactive movement, whereas All Lives Matter, White Lives Matter, and Blue Lives Matter have been organized in opposition to the mission, aims, purposes, and services of the BLMM and are reactive movements.

Table 3. Comparative Presentation of a Movement’s Attributes and BLMM

Key attributes of a movement Key attributes of BLMM

Set of opinions to change structure of some elements of society

Focuses on changing policing in society, especially Black Americans and other people of color

Organized efforts to promote and to resist change in a society

Organized efforts toward social justice issues, White supremacy, and police brutality

Collectivity acting with continuity toward promoting or resisting organized change in the society in multiple locations

BLMM has acted in multiple cities and chapters in multiple police brutality instances

A group with indefinite leaders, shifting membership, but stable support within chapters

Three founders have remained

A distinct social process, including within targeted cities

Distinct social demonstrations when police murders have taken place, media campaigns, and community development

Note. Adapted from Blacklivesmatter.com; della Porta and Diani (2006); Diani (1992); Marx and McAdam (1994); McCarthy and Zald (1977); Tilly (1978); Turner and Killian (1987).

#Black Lives Matter Movement

BLMM’s primary underpinning has been social injustice based on race and being Black in the United States (Barkan & Rocque, 2020; Black Lives Matter, 2013; Chama, 2019; Ghandnoosh, 2015; Greene-Hayes & James, 2017). Thus, the BLMM has infused and empowered African Americans in the United States and Blacks and other disenfranchised individuals globally since 2013. Following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, Buchanan et al. (2020) argued that Black Lives

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Matter had become the most significant movement in the history of the United States. Black Lives Matter achieved relevancy as a social movement because of the current and historical status of African Americans.

Perspectives on the BLMM

On June 6, 2020, approximately 500,000 people participated in protests across the nation following George Floyd’s death (Buchanan et al., 2020). Multiple polls (Kaiser Family Foundation, Civis Analytics, National Opinion Research Center, & Pew) reported that from 15 million to 26 million people had participated in BLMM protests during the weeks following Floyd’s death (Buchanan et al., 2020). Additionally, Buchanan et al. (2020) reported that the BLMM gained support because of the political climate and significant support from White Americans, from younger and wealthier individuals, and from media publicity within the previous 12 months of police violence against Black American communities and protestors. Additional support for the BLMM was officially provided from major corporations, African American politicians, African American sororities and fraternities, African American professional organizations, churches, celebrities, and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

NASW represents more than 120,000 professional social workers from around the United States. The organization officially stated that “the deaths of unarmed African American people at the hands of police—including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Philando Castile—sadly reminds us that racial profiling is still rampant in the United States.”2 In 2006, the organization acknowledged the existence and pervasiveness of racism and issued a call to action in their report “Institutional Racism & The Social Work Profession: A Call to Action (see note 2).

Founders of the BLMM have been ostracized because the movement has expressed intersectionality related to gender identity and gender expression. The founders of the movement have been labeled as communists, socialists, Marxists, antifamily, and anti-Christian (Carruthers, 2018; Khan-Cullors & Bandele, 2018). Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and other African American civil rights leaders were ostracized and labeled as communists, socialists, and Marxists with the same degree of vitriol that leaders of the BLMM are receiving today (Carson, 2020; Dunn, 1998). Alternatively, some Christian leaders have professed an understanding of systemic racism and social justice issues manifested against Blacks, both from lived experiences or observations. Such experiences and observations have included anti-Black violence committed by police and other vigilantes and hateful words, deeds, and systematic racism perpetrated by the prison system, institutional poverty, and environmental racism (Lloyd & Prevot, 2017; Ployd, 2020a; Trinity Broadcasting Network & Jakes, 2020).

In addition to these perspectives regarding the BLMM, social movement scholars have identified multiple perspectives through which to analyze movements. These perspectives, as previously discussed in the section “Social Movements and Their Perspectives,” include the political process perspective, mobilizing structures perspective, cultural framing perspective, and emerging perspectives (Hutchison, 2019). The political process perspective, as articulated by Hutchinson (p. 434), may be applicable to BLMM as follows:

2

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Social movements emerge when political opportunities are open but may be emboldened by political threat.

Success of one social movement can open the political system to challenges from other social movements.

A given political system’s openness to social movements is influenced by international events.

A given political system is not equally open or closed to all challengers.

Social movements often rely on elite allies.

The BLMM emerged because of what was considered to be a political threat in relation to continued institutional racism against African Americans and other Blacks in the United States (Ployd, 2020b). Cullors et al. (2021) asserted that supporters of the movement engaged in voter registration and outreach efforts to get out the vote as a direct result of the political threat toward and devaluation of Black lives perpetrated during the 2020 campaigns for national, state, and local political offices.

Given the focus of the BLMM, three reactionary movements developed in opposition to BLMM. These reactionary movements were All Lives Matter, White Lives Matter, and Blue Lives Matter. The murder of George Floyd garnered global attention and outrage among diverse leaders, global advocates, and ordinary citizens. COVID-19 is another global event that focused attention on health disparities among African Americans and other people of color. The impact of COVID-19 led the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLMGNF) to intervene in the lives of individuals adversely impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic (Cullors et al., 2021).

Focus Areas of the BLMM

Cullors et al. (2021) reported that BLMGNF is the official umbrella nonprofit global organization for the BLMM. Patrisse Cullors, one of the cofounders of #BlackLivesMatter, is the executive director of BLMGNF. The BLMM and #BlackLivesMatter have officially moved under the alignment of this agency. The primary goal of BLMGNF is to enhance its administrative capabilities and to “fully lean into its capacity as a fundraising body, grant-making entity, amplifier, and action-oriented think tank of the BLMM” (p. 5). In addition, BLMGNF is the umbrella organization over two interrelated subentities designed to achieve BLMGNF’s overall mission. The subentities include BLM Grassroots and the Black Lives Matter Political Action Committee (BLM PAC). The leaders of the movement asserted that BLMGNF intends to “remain true to the grassroots origins of #BlackLivesMatter” (Cullors et al., 2021, p. 4).

According to BLMGNF, its 2020 highlights included major areas of impact through multiple social media campaigns. For example, 24 million visitors were reported to the BLMGNF website just in the second half of 2020, 750,000 Facebook followers, 1 million Twitter followers, and 4.3 million Instagram followers. BLMGNF reported that on “Giving Tuesday,” it raised $82,745.88 for six local organizations through a single email. The organizations that received the funds had missions that focused on enabling Black communities to survive and thrive. With an average

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donation of $30.64, BLMGNF maintained that it raised $90 million in 2020. The funds received were transferred in grants to more than 33 organizations ($21.7 million) and also covered operating expenses ($8.4 million). The BLMGNF identified staffing, operating and administrative costs, civic engagement, rapid response, and crisis intervention as operating expenses (Morrison, 2021).

Black Lives Matter Political Action Committee (BLM PAC)

Organized in October 2020, the mission of the Black Lives Matter PAC is to have an impact in national, state, and local political elections. One of the goals of the PAC is to endorse and elect individuals to office who are sympathizers or part of the BLMM (Cullors et al., 2021, p. 24). During the general election, 6,000 BLM volunteers signed up for 10,000 shifts and called and texted voters in swing states in the United States. This volunteerism also included facilitating approximately 6 million conversations with Black youth voters (p. 15).

Black Lives Matter Grassroots

Black Lives Matter Grassroots is identified as a “sister organization of BLMGNF” (Cullors et al., 2021, p. 5) with advocates in 38 communities around the country. The BLMM networks are focused on the following: (a) ending police brutality, (b) changing policy, (c) amplifying the stories of African Americans and other Blacks, (d) running for office or supporting other viable candidates, and (e) facilitating intersectionality by providing support to all Black people. The organization reports that it uses art and culture as an important part of the BLMM in order to redefine the narratives in their own words. Additionally, art and culture are used as part of its healing and messaging strategies. Under the healing component of its movement, the BLMM initiates holistic concepts to heal trauma in the African American and Black communities. Other activities at the grass-roots level are designed to register voters, improve voter turnout, and support political candidates and bring attention to candidates and policies that are deemed to be insensitive to communities of color.3

BLMM and Criminal Justice Reform

The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School defines criminal justice as a “generic term that refers to the laws, procedures, institutions, and policies at play before, during, and after the commission of a crime.” Similarly, the criminal justice system has been identified as “the system of law enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of criminal offenses” (Lexico, 2021). Black Lives Matter is about more than police (American Civil Liberties Union, 2018), and criminal justice reform is one of the major issues at the forefront of the BLMM.

In 2018, the U.S. Senate passed the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform package. However, BLMGN responded negatively to the Act because the BLMM asserted that the Act did not go far enough to “dramatically decrease mass incarceration centering on Black communities that

3

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continue to be disproportionately targeted by our criminal justice system” (BLMGN, 2018). Additionally, the BLMM identified what it alluded to as its 7 Demands. Three of the seven demands focus on criminal justice issues or criminal justice reform. The BLMM has articulated that, first, police departments in the United States have been a “safe haven for White supremacists to hide behind their badges” and must be held accountable. Second, police do not protect and serve Black people and must be defunded. Finally, the BLMM stated that the Breathe Act must be passed. The Act promotes more comprehensive approaches to public safety and community investment.4

Criminal justice scholars and advocates have provided statistics that are indicative of disproportionality in the criminal justice system based on race and institutional racism. The United States is identified globally as the nation that incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021). In stark contrast to other countries, the population of the United States is only 5% of the global population but represents 25% of all incarcerated individuals globally (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021). Mass incarceration reached a price tag of $87 billion in 2015, an increase of over 1000% from $7.4 billion in 1975 (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021).

Disproportionately, the United States arrests and incarcerates Blacks at higher rates compared to other racial groups (Alexander, 2020). For example, Clarke (2021) reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) compiled data indicating that the Black population was 13% of the U.S. population and 33% of arrestees for non-fatal violent crimes. Whereas, Hispanics were 18% of the population and 21% of those arrested for non-fatal violent crimes and White Americans were 60% of the U.S. population and 46% of those arrested for non-fatal violent crimes. Once arrested, Black Americans account for more than 40% of individuals who are incarcerated in prisons (Sawyer, 2020). More than 48% of incarcerated Black Americans are serving life without parole or virtual life sentences (Sawyer, 2020). Morsy and Rothstein (2016) reported that in 2014, 700,000 individuals in the nation were serving sentences of one or more years for nonviolent crimes. This figure translated into approximately 5,113,000 children with a parent who was ever incarcerated.5 A Black American child in the United States is 60% more likely to have an incarcerated parent. More specifically, Morsy and Rothstein reported that 1 in 10 Black American students has an incarcerated parent and one in four parents of the children have incarcerated at any one time. These statistics further solidify the report by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) regarding the cradle to prison pipeline. According to the CDF, in 2001, a Black boy has a one in three (33%) chance of going to prison in his lifetime and a Black girl has a one in 17 (5.8%) chance (Edelman, 2007).6 Once incarcerated, Black Americans have higher rates of assaults from prison staff compared to White Americans who are primarily assaulted by other inmates. Additionally, incarcerated Black Americans are placed in solitary confinement in higher numbers than other inmates and their reintegration back into the community presents major challenges (Rocque & Barkan, 2020). In addition, “In the American criminal justice system, wealth—not culpability, shapes outcomes. Many people charged with crimes lack the resources to investigate cases or obtain the help they need, leading to wrongful convictions and excessive sentences, even in capital cases” (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021). Most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice

4

5

6

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reported that for all prisoners, the rate of imprisonment fell by 17% from 2009 to 2019. However, the most significant drop was 29% for Black imprisoned residents, the highest drop in 30 years (Carson, 2020; DOJ).

Criminal justice scholars and advocates have provided viable recommendations for systemic changes within the criminal justice system. In the 21st century, the United States must shift drastically from mass incarceration to mass decarceration in order to achieve inclusion through social justice and criminal justice transformation. Epperson et al. (2018) asserted that decarceration in the context of criminal justice reform and transformation referred to intentional systematic reduction in the use of mass incarceration as an approach to reduce crime in society. Factors contributing to police violence and killings of African Americans include many police officers’ implicit bias against African Americans, racial profiling, lack of police training on how to handle people with mental illness and substance abuse, and use of unnecessary excessive force during arrests of crime suspects. The government’s get tough laws of the 1990s, known as three- strikes laws, increased prison sentences for people who should not have been incarcerated, especially African Americans (U.S. Department of Justice). An important starting point includes a critical review of police practices, misconduct, and training, especially regarding cultural diversity and sensitivity training. Additionally, unintended consequences of three strikes laws and other implicit bias of law enforcement authorities are important starting points for reforming U.S. criminal justice.

Government and private organizations’ investments in poverty reduction in many cities has potential to reduce crime related to deprivation and a lack of access to resources. Redressing existing social disparities in the criminal justice system in relation to disproportionality of people of color imprisoned also has potential to promote social justice and equity in the criminal justice system (Epperson et al., 2018). Successful criminal justice transformation approaches and techniques must include training police officers on how to deal with people with mental illness and those who are addicted to substance use. These police officers must collaborate with other professionals in communities regarding such health crisis issues.

Closing Perspectives on the BLMM as a Social Movement

Since its inception in 2013, Black Lives Matter, and later the BLMM, faced divergent support from the public. This support has ranged from a high degree of popularity in 2020 after the death of George Floyd in May to its apparent downward spiral approximately 1 year later. As with other controversial social movements, the BLMM has faced increased criticism from its detractors. However, after BLMGNF received over $90 million in contributions by the end of 2020 (Brown, 2021), criticisms targeting the BLMM have intensified, including increased scrutiny, accountability concerns, and increased calls for transparency from grass-roots Black Lives Matter chapters, social media, and other influencers (Baron, 2021; Rouan, 2021; Simonson, 2021). In May 2021, Patrisse Cullors, one of the BLMM’s original founders and the executive director of BLMGNF, stepped down and the organization appointed Makani Themba and Monifa Bandele as its two interim senior executives to manage BLMGNF.77

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1.

2.

The founders of the movement have been criticized for their lavish lifestyles and the purchase of a home in excess of $1.4 million as well as other real estate properties by Cullors (Baron, 2021; Rouan, 2021; Simonson, 2021). These purchases are described as an abandonment of the movement’s theoretical perspective of Marxism, which upholds the principle of shared wealth. Other criticisms include concerns that the movement does not address real issues of violence within the African American community, especially Black on Black violence (Baron, 2021; Rouan, 2021; Simonson, 2021). A possible change in the philosophical foundation of the BLMM as a social movement parallels the historical challenges and demise of similar social movements.

Conclusion

The central aim of this article is to expand understanding of the BLMM from multiple perspectives. First, definitions, theoretical perspectives, and types of social movements are presented. Second, a framework of social movements is given within which to analyze key components underlying social movements relating to the BLMM. Finally, the BLMM is examined in relation to historical social movements, advocacy organizations, and criminal justice reform.

The literature suggests that a social movement evolves out of a conscious and collective effort by a large group of people who believe that something in society is unjust. Additionally, social movement scholars define a social movement as a set of opinions and beliefs in a population, which represent preferences for changing some elements of the social structure and reward distribution of a society. Social movements may be either proactive or reactive.

There are several explanations for the emergence of social movements. One reason is that a social movement develops when a feeling of dissatisfaction spreads and insufficiently flexible institutions are unable to respond. Social movement researchers have found that new movements originate when several elements are present. They include, but are not limited to, the following:

Certain people or groups of people in a society must feel that they are deprived of a specific good, service, or resource.

If several individuals in a society have particular grievances, they may be able to mobilize necessary resources and alleviate the grievances.

Several factors contributed to the inception of the BLMM. The murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the subsequent acquittal of his murderer, George Zimmerman, was a precipitating factor after #BlackLivesMatter went viral on social media. However, the impetus for the movement grew in force and intensity because of the continuous violence and murder of Black Americans at the hands of White police and other vigilantes. The continued oppressive public policies and systemic racism perpetrated against African Americans at the individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels also contributed to the onset of the BLMM. Other contributing factors included the continued domination of White Americans in political, economic, and sociocultural aspects of society to the disadvantage of Black Americans, and pervasive police violence and racial discrimination against Black Americans. The BLMM calls for uprooting police violence against Black Americans and other people of color, reforming and transforming the criminal justice system, and restoring social justice principles.

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Further Reading Berlin, I., & Morgan, P. D. (1995). The slaves’ economy: Independent production by slaves in the Americas. Routledge.

Billingsley, A., & Giovannoni, J. M. (1972). Children of the storm: Black children and African American child welfare. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Carson, C. (2001). The autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. Warner Books.

Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., & Thomas, K. (Eds.). (1995). Critical race theory: The key writings that formed the movement. The New Press.

Diangelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.

Feagin, J. R. (2006). Systemic racism: A theory of oppression. Routledge.

Grier, W. H., & Cobbs, P. M. (1968). Black rage. Perseus Books.

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Jordan, W. D. (1968). White over Black: American attitudes toward the Negro, 1550–1812. Norton.

King, S. (2020). Make change. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Kolk, van der, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.

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McKesson, D. (2018). On the other side of freedom: The case for hope. Penguin Random House.

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Sellers, B. (2020). My vanishing country, a memoir. Amistad.

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Washington, B. T. (1995). Up from slavery. Dover.

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Videos: (Further Information)

Gates, H. L. Jr., & Cross, J. (Producers). (1998). Two nations of Black America. (DVD). Frontline. A PBS Home Video.

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Carruthers, C. (2018). Unapologetic: A black, queer, and feminist mandate for radical movements. Beacon Press.

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McAdam, D. (1999). Political process and the development of black insurgency, 1930–1970 (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

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Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN), & Jakes, T. D. (2020, July 20). T.D. Jakes: Addressing Black Lives Matter <https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZJjYz4dR54> [Video]. YouTube.

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Notes

1. For further details, consult History.com Editors. U. S. Slavery: timeline, Figures & Abolition – History.

2. See Ethnicity & Race <https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/Ethnicity-Race>.

3. See Resources – Healing Action Toolkit <http://www.blacklivesmatter.com/resources>.

4. See BLM Demands – BLM’s 7 Demands <http://www.blacklivesmatter.com/blm_demands/>.

5. See The Annie E. Casey Foundation <http://Kidscount.org>, Kids Count Data Center; Children who had a parent who was ever incarcerated in the United States data/tables/8977 children.

6. See Children’s Defense Fund Cradle to Prison Pipeline, Factsheet October 2007 <http://www.childrensdefense.org>.

7. See Foundation Announces Leadership Transition <http://www.blacklivesmatter.com/news>, May 27, 2021.

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Other Resources New & Featured <http://oxfordre.com/socialwork/page/featured/new-featured>

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