Black Lives Matter has been called the largest civil movement in U.S. history. Since 2013, local BLM chapters have formed nationwide to demand accountability for the killings of dozens of African Americans by police and others. Since the summer of 2020, when tens of millions in the U.S. and around the world marched under the Black Lives Matter slogan to protest a Minneapolis police officers murder of George Floyd, the movement has risen to a new level of prominence, funding and scrutiny.
BLM has long been seen as a coordinated yet decentralized effort. Lately, the movement and its leading organizations have become more traditional and hierarchical in structure. Public opinion is also changing, as BLM chapters call on the movements leaders to be more accountable to its grassroots groups. We caught up with two scholars of worldwide African communities and cultures Kwasi Konadu and Bright Gyamfi to discuss BLM as both a movement and an organization.
Black Lives Matter started in 2013 as a messaging campaign. In response to the 2012 acquittal of George Zimmerman for shooting and killing Black teenager Trayvon Martin, three activists Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors protested the verdict on social media, along with many others. Cullors came up with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, which gained widespread use on social media and in street protests.
Over the next several years as Black Lives Matter flags, hashtags and signs became common features of local, national and even international protests in support of Black lives this messaging campaign became a decentralized social movement to demand accountability for police killings and other brutality against Black people.
The movement remained decentralized, although some significant, formal BLM-related organizations emerged during this time. For instance, in 2013 Cullors, Tometi and Garza formed the Black Lives Matter Network to facilitate communication, support and shared resources among the dozens of locally organized and led Black Lives Matter chapters that were springing up around the United States.
In 2014, the Movement for Black Lives, or M4BL, formed as a separate but related coalition of dozens of organizations of Black activist and others, including the Black Lives Matter Network.
In 2017, the Black Lives Matter Network transformed into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, co-founded by Tometi and Cullors, who was the executive director until she stepped down in May 2021. This group describes itself as a global foundation supporting Black led movements.
While the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation says it is decentralized, over time it has followed a pattern similar to other social movements driven by individuals and organizations. It has become more of a conventional hierarchical organization, centralizing its operations and leadership. Its founders have won awards, book deals and notoriety.
The BLM Global Network Foundation has not developed any publicly known independent source of funding, nor was a decision ever made to rely primarily on grassroots support or small individual donations. As a result, it is dependent on corporate and foundation money to pay for its operations and programs. Amid the George Floyd uprisings in 2020, the BLM Global Network Foundation generated some US$90 million in donations or grants from corporations and foundations.
The Movement for Black Lives, which calls itself decentralized and anti-capitalist, also raised millions in 2020, including $100 million from the Ford Foundation.
All told, corporations pledged close to $2 billion to BLM-related causes in 2020, though less is known about pledges for 2021.
Meanwhile, many frontline Black Lives Matters chapters have struggled to stay afloat. Some key chapters have begun calling for financial transparency and more democratic decison-making from national leaders at the BLM Global Network Foundation, as well as a share of the funds the national groups have raised.
Others have disavowed the Black Lives Matter Network and defected from it, focusing on local community fundraising and organizing to support their work.
Though the phrase Black Lives Matter has become a common sight, the movement is losing public support. According to a new Civiqs survey of 244,622 registered voters, support for BLM fell from two-thirds of voters in June 2020 to 50% in June 2021.
Some of this shift may be due to growing public awareness of the movements internal struggles, such as competing visions and competition over scarce resources, as well as questions about whether some BLM leaders have used donations for personal benefit.
Tensions and conflicts are part of the evolution of all social movements, including BLM.
Movements for peoples of African ancestry also face a distinct challenge: They often have to appeal for both funding and action from the same white power structure and corporate interests that participate in and benefit from the suffering of Black people.
For example, although President Lyndon B. Johnson is remembered for helping pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he routinely referred to the 1957 version of that act as the nigger bill in conversations with his Southern white supremacist colleagues.
Another example involves the McDonalds Corp. In 1968, after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., McDonalds partnered with U.S. civil rights organizations. The company claimed its African American-owned franchises were carrying on Kings civil rights agenda to empower the Black community.
According to historian Marcia Chatelain, however, instead of enabling economic freedom, McDonalds has burdened the Black community with low wages, relatively few franchises and high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. McDonalds has benefited from a devoted African American consumer base, more so because African Americans consume more fast food than any other race, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Money shaping social movements, such as the civil rights movement, is not new. The civil rights movement, including the summer of 1963s March on Washington, was funded by white liberal organizations and foundations. In the summer of 2020, BLM protests also generated millions in similar funding. Indeed, the Ford Foundation and the Borealis Philanthropy recently formed the Black-Led Movement Fund, which raises money for the Movement for Black Lives.
Malcolm X, in his analysis of the 1963 March on Washington, brought attention to the influence white philanthropy and leadership held over black social justice organizations, especially regarding funding that was controlled by the white power structure. Siding with Malcolms analysis, James Baldwin also observed, the March had already been co-opted.
Based on our research on civil rights-Black power organizations and on Black internationalism, BLM would benefit from a starfish organizational structure.
Starfishlike organizations are decentralized networks with no head. Intelligence is spread throughout an open system that easily adapts to circumstances. If a leader is removed, new ones emerge, and the network remains intact.
In the U.S., BLM organizers work through various groups, yet all are tied to centralized hubs, like the Movement for Black Lives coalition. These organizational choices conform to a spider analogy. Compared to the starfish structure, spiderlike organizations operate under the control of a central leader, and information and power are concentrated at the top.
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In the wake of the 2020 mass protests against racism after George Floyds murder, many Republican-led states proposed a new wave of draconian anti-protest laws to stifle dissent. This suggests that BLM might be more resilient if it followed the starfish approach.
In their desire to appeal to a diverse public to end white supremacy, Black Lives Matters leaders fail to consider that pervasive anti-Black violence is the very engine that powers white supremacy and makes broad coalitions ineffective.
More here:
Black Lives Matter: How far has the movement come?
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- How Black Lives Matter is destroying public education - Washington Times - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Can Employers Ban Workers From Wearing Black Lives Matter Insignia To Protest Discrimination At Work? - Employee ... - Mondaq News Alerts - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
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- NLRB: 'Black Lives Matter' insignia allowed New England Biz Law Update - New England Biz Law Update - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- New research details negative consumer impacts of BLM support on major companies and brands - Phys.org - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Photos of Trump with His 'Black Supporters' Are Everywhere ... Can You Tell They're All Fake? - The Root - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Home Depot Barred Employee from Wearing 'Black Lives Matter' on Uniform. Did It Break the Law? - SHRM - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- NLRB says Home Depot broke law in banning reference to 'Black Lives Matter' from worker's apron - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Church of England tells parishes to set up 'race action plan' put forward by pro-BLM bishop - The Telegraph - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- The designer of the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol on zines, parenting and solidarity - The 19th* - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- NLRB rules Home Depot violated the law - HR Brew - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- It's Protected: NLRB Finds Black Lives Matter Insignia on Employee Uniform Constitutes Protected Activity Under ... - Labor Relations Update - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- DC Seeks $401 Million To Save Black Lives Matter Plaza Area - The New York Sun - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- BLM Coloring Book Teaches Elementary Students the Nuclear Family is Racist - Daily Citizen - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- BLM co-founder slams Taylor Swift fans as 'racists' and Travis Kelce-led Chiefs winning the Super Bowl as a 'r - Daily Mail - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- New Ruling Says Home Depot Broke The Law When It Barred Workers From Wearing BLM Logos On Uniforms - Essence - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Home Depot Is Ordered to Reinstate Worker Who Quit Over 'BLM' Logo - The New York Times - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- How parents talked about Black Lives Matter differed by race, UW study finds - The Seattle Times - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- 'You have Black Lives Matter...all lives matter' says community nurse in Buffalo about making change - WKBW 7 News Buffalo - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- BLM movement's social justice politics and 'queer, trans-affirming' lessons delivered to kids as young as 5 in NYC school - New York Post - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- AAS 290 examines social media and BLM movement - The Michigan Daily - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Home Depot employee's rights violated in firing over 'BLM' drawn on apron: labor board - Fox Business - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Saratoga Black Lives Matter organizers respond to AG probe - Spectrum News - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Church officials call for community unity in wake of 'Black Lives Matter' flag thefts - Woburn Daily Times - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Letter to the editor: Black Lives Matter - Pierce County Journal - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Study: How parents talked about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Yahoo News - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- The Summer of 2020: George Floyd and the Resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement - WREG NewsChannel 3 - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- AG: Saratoga Springs BLM activist arrests violated rights - The Daily Gazette - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Labor board: Home Depot violated labor law by firing an employee who drew 'BLM' on work apron - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Statue of slave trader Edward Colston will be permanently kept at a Bristol museum nearly four years after it - Daily Mail - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- UW study: How parents talked about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Herald Palladium - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- A gunman killed and injured protesters at a BLM march. Why did police blame the victims? - The Guardian US - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- BLM has reshaped how we think of Palestine - Middle East Institute - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Texas DA blasts governor's move to pardon man convicted of murder of BLM protester - Dayton 24/7 Now - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter PAC Spent Most Of Its Money In 2023 Paying Its Own Treasurer For 'Consulting' - Daily Caller - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How parents talked with kids about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Futurity: Research News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Vermont Conversation: What is happening to really ensure that Black lives matter? - VTDigger - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Abbott-Prompted Daniel Perry Pardon Review Underway Following Conviction for BLM Protester's Murder - The Texan - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter flag raised at US Consulate - The Daily Herald - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Seattle pays off 'fiery but mostly peaceful' Black Lives Matter protestors in 2020 riot case: Rising - The Hill - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- LAPD Raided Home Of Black Lives Matter Attorney And Took Unlawful Photos, Raising Concerns Of A Harassment ... - Essence - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Issa Rae says Black stories are 'less of a priority' for TV bosses after two of her shows are axed - despite s - Daily Mail - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- 'Watchmen' Creator Alan Moore Donates Movie and TV Royalties to Black Lives Matter - The Mary Sue - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- Book Review: Blood in the Machine, by Brian Merchant - The New York Times - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- Uninvited and Unaccountable: How CBP Policed George Floyd ... - The Intercept - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- Opinion | Why More Countries Are Adopting Feminist Foreign Policies - The New York Times - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- How 'Swagger' Raised Its Game - The New York Times - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- Is a Dukes of Hazzard reboot coming to Netflix? - Dexerto - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- Why Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing Still Matters - MovieWeb - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism - TIME - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to ... - The Associated Press - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Blackness and Ethnic Representation in Broadway Theater - MetroFocus - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Rhode Island Gov. McKee Calling on Textbook Companies to Resist ... - The 74 - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- New Black Lives Matter tax documents show foundation is tightening its belt, has $30M in assets - The Associated Press - May 30th, 2023 [May 30th, 2023]
- New Black Lives Matter tax documents show foundation is tightening its belt, has $30M in assets - Yahoo! Voices - May 30th, 2023 [May 30th, 2023]
- Study on Black Lives Matter protests provides insight into the link between coalitional affiliation and moral elevation - PsyPost - May 30th, 2023 [May 30th, 2023]
- Opinion | America Has Become Both More and Less Dangerous Since Black Lives Matter - The New York Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- David Starkey in bizarre claim that left-wing wants to replace Holocaust with BLM - The Independent - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Black Lives Matter activist accused of owing the BFI 200,000 'spun web of lies' over other debtee - Daily Mail - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- David Starkey says activists including Black Lives Matter are 'trying to destroy white culture' - Daily Mail - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- I'm a Couples Therapist. Something New Is Happening in ... - The New York Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Countering organized violence in the United States - Brookings Institution - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Trio suspected of vandalizing Black Lives Matter banner on Susquehanna University campus - Sunbury Daily Item - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- Too pretty to be Aboriginal: Meet the model who wants to abolish our beauty paradigm - Sydney Morning Herald - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- New York City Said It Will Pay $21,500 Each To Protesters Who Were Kettled And Beaten By Police During Black Lives Matter Demonstrations - BuzzFeed... - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Dad of white boy forced to his knees and to say Black Lives Matter speaks out speaks out - Daily Mail - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action kicks off for thousands of U.S. schools - Fox News - February 7th, 2023 [February 7th, 2023]
- Barbara Broccoli & Phoebe Waller-Bridge Among 100 To Pen UK Government Letter Over Gross Violations Of Human And Womens Rights In Iran - Deadline - January 23rd, 2023 [January 23rd, 2023]
- The Agenda of Black Lives Matter Is Far Different From the Slogan - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- After Raising $90 Million in 2020, Black Lives Matter Has $42 Million ... - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Mich. man who targeted Black Lives Matter supporters pleads guilty to ... - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- I think they just saw a black girl: Author accuses bottle shop of racially profiling 12-year-old daughter - The Age - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Biden Admin to Drop Half a Million on Artificial Intelligence That Detects Microaggressions on Social Media - Washington Free Beacon - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Black Lives Matter's Alicia Garza: Leadership today doesn't look like ... - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- BLM has left Black Americans worse off since the movement began ... - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- These are the major brands donating to the Black Lives Matter ... - CNET - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- "Although I won the tournament, it was the message that made me feel proud" - Naomi Osaka on bringing the Black Lives Matter protest to the... - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- London: The psychic and astrologer who predicted COVID-19, Black Lives Matter protest, reveals THESE - Free Press Journal - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]