BLACK LIVES MATTER

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In 2013, Black Lives Matter was founded by three feminist and queer Black women. It gained nationwide attention in 2014, and then again in 2020, with protests of activists and allies in unprecedented numbers following George Floyd’s torture-murder by a Minneapolis policeman. The New York Times called this “the largest movement in the country’s history.”  Donald Trump’s hostile and militaristic response to protestors prompted D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser to paint “Black Lives Matter” in bright yellow letters in front of the White House. More Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement than ever before, but it remains politically divisive. Public displays of support for BLM from major U.S. companies suggest that Black dollars matter. The use of the hashtag from some politicians suggests that Black votes matter. Violent and vicious reactions to BLM, as displayed here, show anti-black racism at work. Some stickers and memes even celebrate those perpetrators who drive cars into protestors. By August 2020, there had been 66 instances of people driving their vehicles into protestors.