Analysis of #BLM: Purpose, Organization, and Political Reaction
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Political Science
Faculty Mentor
Jennifer Disney, Ph.D.
Abstract
Black Lives Matter is a social revolution that took the United States by storm, starting with its inception in February 2012. Three women, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors, used proven methods from previous social movements, along with their knowledge from their professional and personal lives, in an effort to bring attention to police violence on African Americans. The unique combination of disruption and organization is not to be dismissed as a factor of Black Lives Matter’s success. The shared interests among Black Lives Matter supporters are being executed by the will of the American people, through the most powerful networking opportunity in current history: social media. The Washington Post keeps an up-to-date tracker on police violence and shootings on their website. As an effort to support the empirical data for Black Lives Matter, I have calculated several statistics of instances of police violence into percentages based on race, sex, and several other variables. The data show that, as of September 23, 2016, African American males were three times more likely to be killed by police than their white male counterparts. Laws that have been passed by legislatures in recent years prove that there is a need for improvement. The impact of a modern social revolution can change the future for generations to come.
Course Assignment
PLSC 507 – Disney
Previously Presented/Performed?
The Carolinas Conference: Joint Meeting of the North Carolina and South Carolina Political Science Associations, Winthrop University, March 2017
Start Date
21-4-2017 1:15 PM
Analysis of #BLM: Purpose, Organization, and Political Reaction
West Center, Room 221
Black Lives Matter is a social revolution that took the United States by storm, starting with its inception in February 2012. Three women, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors, used proven methods from previous social movements, along with their knowledge from their professional and personal lives, in an effort to bring attention to police violence on African Americans. The unique combination of disruption and organization is not to be dismissed as a factor of Black Lives Matter’s success. The shared interests among Black Lives Matter supporters are being executed by the will of the American people, through the most powerful networking opportunity in current history: social media. The Washington Post keeps an up-to-date tracker on police violence and shootings on their website. As an effort to support the empirical data for Black Lives Matter, I have calculated several statistics of instances of police violence into percentages based on race, sex, and several other variables. The data show that, as of September 23, 2016, African American males were three times more likely to be killed by police than their white male counterparts. Laws that have been passed by legislatures in recent years prove that there is a need for improvement. The impact of a modern social revolution can change the future for generations to come.
