BLM in a Post-Trump World
With the Trump administration on its way out, what happens with the BLM movement?
The Black Lives Matter movement experienced a powerful resurgence during the spring and summer of 2020 due, in large part, to the social and political elements that created a perfect storm. A nationwide quarantine, rising unemployment, a hated leader, and the killing of George Floyd were catalysts for the largest series of protests and calls to activism for a movement that began around 2013. With over 450 major protests held across the United States as well as abroad, BLM received unprecedented media attention, public support, and even corporate recognition.
In any social and political movement, the most difficult element to sustain is momentum. As elated as the public is to move on from the Trump presidency, the future of the BLM movement is questionable. This is not because the message became less relevant, but because movements are largely successful when they are in opposition to contrarian forces.
Trump is the epitome of a contrarian force. His rhetoric and policies were divisive and inflammatory. Taking Trump out of the Whitehouse is like allowing breathing room and a long enough pause in an argument. It diffuses tension, which can bring a fight to an end. The biggest test for BLM will be whether the movement can push its agenda and maintain support through this lull, which would require effective leadership and organization, both of which the movement is lacking.
BLM cannot rely on favorable circumstances to be effective, there must be strong leadership
The benefits of a decentralized movement like BLM is the number of people that it can mobilize in a short period of time and the intensity with which it can use social disruption to garner immediate attention. With the astronomical rise of social media, the prevalence of smartphone use, and the eagerness of the media to capitalize on the most popular story, BLM has been able to hold the public’s attention since the mass protesting started after George Floyd’s death. What people forget is that BLM has been popping in and out of our collective attention since 2013 with moments of visibility and large portions of the year where the movement went unnoticed.
“the spontaneity and the intensity of the Black Lives Matter movement is more akin to other recent movements — Occupy Wall Street and the explosive protests in Egypt and Brazil — than 1960s [African American] activism” — Alvin B Tillary, Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
In 2011, “Occupy Wall Street” was a movement that sought to bring awareness to income and economic inequality in the United States. After two months of encampments, slogans, and inflamed rhetoric, the movement fizzled out. There were multiple factors that contributed to the dissipation of support including the eviction of the campers from the Zuccotti Park, media disinterest, and the lack of actionable goals. In sum, lack of leadership and direction.
One of the fundamental elements that made the Civil Rights Movement successful was the organization and leadership that the BLM movement is lacking. BLM protests have largely been a reactionary occurrence, rather than a concentrated, organized, effort. The Rosa Parks “tired feet” narrative does a disservice to the planning and intent that led to a year-long boycott of buses in Montgomery, Alabama, and, ultimately, resulted in the Supreme Court striking down Alabama city bus segregation laws.
Parks’ refusal was spontaneous but was not merely brought on by her tired feet, as is the popular legend. In fact, local civil rights leaders had been planning a challenge to Montgomery’s racist bus laws for several months, and Parks had been privy to this discussion. — History Channel
The history of the Civil Rights movement is not just about black Americans fighting against white oppression. It is a lesson in cooperation and strategy, which only comes about when there is strong leadership. BLM’s model of foregoing the creation of a cohesive organization cannot permanently rely on outrage as a unifying motivator. Once quarantine ends, some people will go back to work. Other people will go back to school. The level of support in the streets will dwindle and the movement may become another footnote in history.
There has to be control of the narrative to maximize public support
When the terrorist attacks of September 11th happened, the media showed non-stop video footage of the airplanes hitting the twin towers. I remember kids being terrified that each video was another attack occurring, that the sky was filled with endless planes slamming into buildings. Unfortunately, not much has changed. The media will spin the stories and show the news that brings in the most outrage and viewership. In terms of BLM, that means that a burning car and looted business will garner the most interest.
The BLM movement is believed by many to be violent and anarchistic. Protesters are viewed as potential looters and vandals and the true messages that deserve to be heard get buried and overlooked. I lived in Philadelphia when the protests initially started. I walked to work the next morning, past smashed in windows and empty shelves. A biased view of the situation would have given me a misguided understanding of the largely peaceful demonstrations.
“Their report states that more than 2,400 locations reported peaceful protests, while fewer than 220 reported “violent demonstrations…Still, many people continue to believe that Black Lives Matter protests are largely violent — contrary to the report’s findings.” — Sanya Mansoor, Time
There were a lot of mixed responses from the residents of neighborhoods that experienced unrest. The problem is that there was no unifying message from a BLM leader. In fact, some BLM advocates, like BLM Chicago organizer, Ariel Atkins, supported the looting.
“I don’t care if somebody decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store because that makes sure that person eats. That makes sure that person has clothes. That is reparations. Anything they want to take, take it because these businesses have insurance.” — Ariel Atkins
The fault with a movement that does not have central leadership is that each chapter in each city can hurt the cause as a whole. There is no single BLM leader or board member that can adequately do damage control if there are calls to violence and vandalism. When nobody steps up to take control of the narrative, that privilege belongs to the media.
There need to be well-defined and attainable goals
The fight to end prejudice and discrimination is a laudable objective. Ending systemic problems on a social and economic level to achieve better class mobility for minorities is also an admirable objective. The problem with rallying behind these ideas, alone, is that there is no way to measure progress.
If a person picks up a guitar with the intention of learning the most complicated song by day two, they will fail. If a person wants to write a novel by the end of the week, they won’t put a single word down on paper. However, if you measure progress by the notes you learn and the words you put down on paper, eventually those greater aspirations will be attainable.
The broader concepts are a good source of inspiration, however, advocates need to identify specific rules, laws, and regulations that they want to be abolished or reformed. Throughout BLM’s activity during 2020, some important issues were touched on such as police accountability, no-knock warrants, and criminal justice reforms.
The lack of cohesive leadership makes it difficult to focus on initiatives to promote those more specific changes. In one state, you can have a push for police bodycams and the use of trained de-escalation specialists. In another state, you will have demands for the complete abolishment of a police force. In 2015, “Campaign Zero” was an attempt at formulating a plan for police reform, based on input from protesters nationwide. Yet, the result was a shallow list of ideas without action behind them.
When a movement cannot articulate its goals clearly and concisely, at best they will be ignored. At worst, they will be vilified by media and government organizations that will ascribe motives that may be contrary to the movement’s objectives. When I googled, “BLM goals,” ten links came up. Four of them were to news sites and right-wing organizations that label BLM as radical and portrays them in a negative light. Two of those links were for Brittanica and Wikipedia. One link was to the “about” page of Blacklivesmatter.com, which talks about general values.
Since there is no central body to rally members around specific objectives, the BLM movement gets focused on the “we want” portion of the movement. However, there isn’t a strategic approach to the “how to get what we want,” part, which is where the most progress is made. Moving forward, without the benefit of anti-trump popularity, BLM is going to have to keep people invested in the cause. The biggest step to accomplishing this is by having a greater focus on the effective and efficient use of a platform.
As an attorney, an immigrant, and a community-minded American, I am proud that the citizens of this country refuse to live according to the status quo and are organizing to effectuate change. One of the best ways to do that is to take the time to get educated on the important issues facing our society. Each of us represents certain ideas and values. Let us take the time to develop those kernels into powerful steps towards a better and more inclusive society.
