2020/2021 Black Lives Matter vs. the Civil Rights Movement

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Larbi Ben M'Hidi University, Oum El Bouaghi

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of English

A Mémoire Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree

ofMaster of Arts in Anglo-American Studies

Members of Jury: Candidate:

Supervisor:Dr. MAAMERI Fatima BENOUDINA Rayene

Chairwoman: Mrs. MERAH Fahima

Examiner: Mr. FILALI Billel

2020/2021

Black Lives Matter vs. the Civil Rights Movement: An Analysis of

Two Social Movements in the United States

I

Candidate Declaration Form

I, Benoudina Rayane

Candidate of Master at the Department of English, Larbi Ben M’hidi University, do

hereby declare that the dissertation entitles Black Lives Matter vs. the Civil Rights

Movement: An Analysis of Two Social Movements in the United States in partial

fulfillment of Master Degree in Literature and Civilization is my own original work,

and it has not previously, in its entirety or in part, been submitted at any university.

Date 23/09/2021 ID number 161634012660

Signature of the candidate

II

DEDICATION

To Allah the Almighty my creator, my source of strength, wisdom, and knowledge

To my little family for the unfinished support, encouragements and love

MAMA, the example of patience

PAPA, my role model and source of inspiration

To my big brother Rami, my shoulder to lean on

To my little brother Mustapha, the closest to my heart

To the memory of my Grandfather, BABA Laarbi

III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost I thank Allah for the accomplishment of this work. I would like to

express my gratitude to my family and everyone who loves me.

A special thanks to my friend Rayane Bekhakhecha for staying by my side along

this hard year.

I extend my thanks to my supervisor Dr. Maameri Fatima for believing in me when

no one does, I will never forget your precious supportive words in one of my previous

presentations.

I am grateful for the most brilliant teachers in the department of English:

Zerrouki Zina, for her inspirational way of teaching. You and Dr. Maameri are a

role model to me. Not forgetting Mr. Filali Billel for his enormous support.

IV

Abstract

This Mémoire examines the issue of racism in the United States. Black lives matter is

a social movement that emerged in the United States as a response to the unjust

killings of Black people by police officers. The movement gained the attention of the

media after the death of George Floyd, a 46 years old Black citizen, and the spread of

a video of him saying “I can’t breathe”. Floyd’s dying words have become a rallying

cry at demonstrations in the United States and around the world holding the slogan

Black Lives Matter. Indeed, History is repeating itself. Today’s protests are similar to

the marches led by the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. This

memoire compares between both movements in terms of structure, tactics, and

leadership roles. It also examines the myth of post-racial America after electing Barak

Obama as a president from an African American origin.

Key words: Black Lives Matter, racism, the Civil Rights Movement, colorblindness,

post-racial America

V

Résumé

Ce Mémoire examine la question du racisme aux États-Unis. La Vie des Noires

Compte est un mouvement social qui a émergé aux États-Unis en réponse aux

meurtres injustes des Noirs par les policiers. Le mouvement a attiré l'attention des

médias après la mort de George Floyd, un citoyen noir de 46 ans, et la diffusion d'une

vidéo de lui disant "Je ne peux pas respirer". Les derniers mots de Floyd sont devenus

un cri de ralliement lors de manifestations aux États-Unis et dans le monde portant le

slogan Black Lives Matter. En effet, l'histoire se répète. Les manifestations

d'aujourd'hui sont similaires aux marches menées par le mouvement des droits

civiques dans les années 1950 et 1960. Ce mémoire compare les deux mouvements en

termes de structure, tactiques et, de rôles de direction. Il examine également le mythe

de l'Amérique post-raciale après l'élection de Barak Obama comme président

d'origine afro-américaine.

Mots clés: La Vie des Noires Compte, racisme, le Mouvement des Droits Civiques,

l'Amérique post-raciale

VI

الملخص

سثثثا هلثثث هة ات ثثثتحهة األحثثثيةهة هي ثثث حهاةثثثيحهقي ثثث هق ثثثتةهةهنصثثثي تبحثثثذه ثثثروهة في قثثث هلثثث ه ثثث هة

حهف حهأثثثت هةاثث هلثث هة ات ثثتحهة األحثثيةهة هي ثث ه ثثي هغيثثعهة ألثثوهة ن ثثيهغثثت اه يسثثا ههثث ه بثثوه ثثبتفهة ثثي

يوهلثثمههثث هغاثث سثثت وهة ألاة ثثوه ة غثث قهل ثثيه ألثثوه،ثثا طهليا ثثييههثثاةف هأسثثا هلثث هة ثثيهة يةههة حي ثث هةبألبثثتو

ه ثثثثثثاه ثثثثثثي هلهتهأسثثثثثثألل مهة ألثثثثثثن تلحه ثثثثثثروهة ياثثثثثثتحهة اا ألثثثثثث هتحا ثثثثثث ه ثثثثثثعه ةبأل ثثثثثثت هل ثثثثثثي اه ي ثثثثثثح

تةهلثثثث هة ات ثثثثتحهة األحثثثثيةهة هي ثثثث ه لثثثث ه اهغي ثثثثيةهقثثثثااهة ثثثثت هتحثثثث ه ثثثث ت هلق ثثثثه ةسثثثث هههظثثثثت يةح

تهقي ثثثث هة سثثثثا ههةاثثثث لحهق ثثثثتيهة ألثثثثت ظه ثثثثيهب سثثثثبحهة اظثثثثت يةحهة حت ثثثث هه ثثثثتلة ه ياظثثثثت يةحهة ألثثثث هتبنألةثثثث

هناةحهة خاسثثثث نتحه ة سثثثثأل نتحههثثثث هة ثثثثي هة ثثثثي حهت ثثثثت ه ثثثثروهة في قثثثث هلثثثثة ح ثثثثامهة ايب ثثثث هلثثثث هسثثثث

ثثثثيه ثثثثتههثثثثتهلة ة هة ت ثثث هحهتأللثثثثيمهأ ثثثثته ثثثثعه يةلثثث هلأهية أل أل تحه يي ة أل ثثثث هة حثثثي أل هل اثثثثته خثثثث

ه. لت ةكهأ لتهته ي ته يات تحهة األحيةهة هي هه هأ ااه لي ههلهل يهةبألختبنصي ة

يهةهي ثثثثثتههتل ثثثثثهيقي ثثثثث هة ح ثثثثثامهة ايب ثثثثث هية نصثثثثثي هيقي ثثثثث هق ثثثثثتةهة سثثثثثا ههةاثثثثث :هالمفت حيااااا الكلمااااا

ة نصي ح

VII

LIST OF ACRONYMS

BLM Black Lives Matter

CRM Civil Rights Movement

AME the African Methodist Episcopal

CORE Congress of Racial Equality

MIA Montgomery Improvement Association

NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

UK United Kingdom

USA United States of America

WWI First World War

VIII

Table of Contents

Conte nts

DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. III

Abstract ................................................................................................................. IV

Résumé .....................................................................................................................V

VI ..................................................................................................................... الملخص

LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................VII

General Introduction............................................................................................... 1

Chapter One :A Historical Background of Racism in USA ................................... 5

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5

I. The African American Minority in USA ............................................................ 6

II. Racism in the United States ............................................................................... 7

1. Race .................................................................................................................. 7

2. Racism .............................................................................................................. 7

3. Forms of Racism .............................................................................................. 8

3.1. Systemic Racism ........................................................................................ 8

3.2. Individual Racism ...................................................................................... 8

3.3. Structural Racism ...................................................................................... 8

4. Key Concepts Related to Racism ..................................................................... 9

4.1. Racial Discrimination ................................................................................ 9

4.2. Racial Segregation ..................................................................................... 9

4.3. Racial Inequality...................................................................................... 10

4.4. Colorblindness ......................................................................................... 10

III. The Roots of Racial Inequality against African Americans in USA ............. 11

1. Slavery Era (1600s-1865) ............................................................................... 11

1.1. The Early Slave Revolts .......................................................................... 13

1.2. Free Blacks............................................................................................... 14

1.3. The Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery ........................................... 15

1.4. The Legacy of Slavery ............................................................................. 16

2. Reconstruction era (1865-1877) ..................................................................... 17

IX

2.1. The 13th 14th and 15th Amendments ........................................................ 17

2.2. Black codes: ............................................................................................. 18

3. Jim Crow Laws (1877-1954) and the Doctrine of “Separate but Equal” ..... 19

4. The Civil Rights Movement: Goals, Major Events and Achievements ........ 20

4.1. Du Bois and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People .............................................................................................................. 21

4.2. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott ........................................ 22

4.3. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 ................................................................... 23

4.4. The Freedom Rides of 1961 ..................................................................... 23

4.5. March on Washington ............................................................................. 24

4.6. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ................................................................... 25

4.7. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ................................................................ 25

4.8. King Assassination................................................................................... 26

4.9. The Civil Rights Movement Legacy ........................................................ 26

Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 27

Chapter two:Black Lives Matter: a Reproduction of the Civil Rights Movement

in Post-racial America ........................................................................................... 28

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 28

I. Black Lives Matter ............................................................................................. 29

1. What is Black Lives Matter? ......................................................................... 29

1.2. Aims and Goals ........................................................................................ 30

1.3. BLM Guiding Principles ......................................................................... 31

3.1. Diversity ................................................................................................... 32

3.2. Restorative Justice ................................................................................... 32

3.3. Unapologetically Black ............................................................................ 33

3.4. Globalism ................................................................................................. 33

3.5. Collective Value ....................................................................................... 33

3.6. Transgender Affirming ........................................................................... 33

3.7. Black Villages .......................................................................................... 34

3.8. Empathy ................................................................................................... 34

3.9. Black Families .......................................................................................... 34

3.10. Queer Affirming .................................................................................... 35

3.11. Intergenerational ................................................................................... 35

3.12. Loving Engagement ............................................................................... 35

X

3.13. Black Women ......................................................................................... 35

4. The Movement Structure ............................................................................... 36

5. The Movement Strategies and Tactics .......................................................... 36

5.1 Social Media and Hashtag Activism ........................................................ 36

5.2 Protests and Demonstrations ................................................................... 38

5.3 Bus Boycotts .............................................................................................. 39

6. The Internationalization of Black Lives Matter ........................................... 39

7. The Movement Achievements ........................................................................ 40

7.1. National and International Solidarity and Support ............................... 41

7.2. Police Reform........................................................................................... 41

7.3. Nomination for Peace Prize ..................................................................... 42

7.4. Removing the Confederate Statues and Symbols ................................... 42

II. Black Lives Matter in Post-racial America and Colorblind Ideology ............ 43

III. Black Lives Matter vs. Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s) ...................... 44

1. Strategies: ....................................................................................................... 45

2. Government Resistance ................................................................................. 46

3. The Role of Woman ....................................................................................... 47

4. The Role of the Media .................................................................................... 48

5. Political Change ............................................................................................. 49

6. Structure and Leadership Roles .................................................................... 49

7. Criticism: ........................................................................................................ 50

Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 52

General Conclusion ............................................................................................... 53

Works Cited ........................................................................................................... 55

XI

1

General Introduction

Wherever racial injustice exists, movements protesting for equality and freedom

arise. Most recently, Black Lives Matter erupted onto the scene and captured both national

and international attention of the media. The murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black

man, by a Minneapolis Police white officer in May 2020 was followed by large protests in

The United States and many other countries around the world. This made Black Lives

Matter one of the largest movements in American history. This international protest

movement began as a hashtag on social media in 2013. It was founded in response to the

killing of an unarmed Black teenager in Stanford, Florida in February 2012. The

movement is dedicated mainly to fight racism, anti-black violence, and police brutality

especially the unjust killings of Black citizens by white police officers. It is important to

note that the movement comes at a time when America sees itself beyond its racist past to

become a “Colorblind” or “Post-Racial” society after the election of Barak Obama as a

president with African American origins.

This movement is only a few years old, but the issue of racism is not. It has its roots

centuries back from slavery to Jim Crow Lows until the emergence of the Civil Rights

Movement which helped America to partially grow above its racist past. Because of the

parallels in the message, methods, and the strategies used, Black Lives Matter is frequently

compared to the Civil rights Movement that took place during the 1950s and 1960s. This

topic is a current subject of discussion, for this, it is worth shedding some light on it. The

Mémoire argues that Black Lives Matter reproduced the fight that was introduced earlier

by the Civil rights Movement for equality and that the process to gain equal rights is still

“continuous” but in another modern and distinct ways.

2

In order to fulfill a research on this topic, this Mémoiretakes a look at the roots of

racial inequality that led to the emergence of both Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights

movement. It also discusses the similarities and the differences between the recent activism

led by Black Lives Matter and that of the mid 20th century which was led by the Civil

Rights Movement. Moreover, the emergence of a movement that protests against racism in

a country that is considered to be post-racial is among the major questions this Mémoire

investigates and attempts to answer.

The necessity for answers requires a historical overview of racism in America

starting from slavery to the nowadays continuous BLM fight. The overall aim of this

research is to recognize the similarities and the differences between both movements, and

to explore why a movement such Black Lives Matter is needed. Therefore, in the light of

the above concerns, this Mémoire will tackle the following questions:

- Has America truly reached a post-racial society?

- If so, why is such movement needed?

- What made America in need of both the Civil Rights Movement and

Black Lives Matter?

- Can Black Lives Matter be considered as a reproduction or a

continuation of the Civil Rights fight for equal rights?

- Since Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights have a common

motive, to what extent are they different?

To undertake this research work, my approach is based on the descriptive analytical

method. The Mémoire relies on the historical method, as it is important to tackle the

history of racism in America and a description of both movements. In style, the Mémoire

adopts the MLA, eighth edition.

3

There have been considerable attempts to study and analyze the roots of racial

inequality in the United States. Understanding the present day Black social movements

needs a deep rooted look at the history of African Americans. For this, I relied on a book

entitled Free at last: the U.S. Civil Rights Movement by Michael Friedman. The writer

gives a historical analysis of the African Americans situation from their first arrival to the

continent to their experience with slavery, Jim Crow lows, and Black Codes. It also gives a

detailed description of the events that shaped the Civil Rights era and led to the emergence

of the movement. To understand the notion of post-racial America and colorblind ideology

I based my research on another interesting book under the title of The Myth of Racial Color

Blindness Manifestations, Dynamics, and Impact. The writers of the book reveal the truth

of colorblindness with concrete examples from the American society. As for Black Lives

Matter, I relied heavily on Artika Tyner’s book entitled Black Lives Matter: From Hashtag

to the Streets. It contains a detailed explanation of the movement’s foundation story

followed by the remarkable events. It also takes a look at the movement’s goals and

explores the critical response it gained either nationally or internationally. Few books

compared between Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement for it is a recent

movement. I rather relied on an article written by Stanley Kirshner-Breen under the title of

“Comparing Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter”. In this Article, Breen tackles

each movement from different aspects listing the common and uncommon points based on

concrete examples.

In order to tackle the previous points, I divided the Mémoire into two chapters. The

first one contains theory for most of its parts and explores the historical background of

racism in America from slavery, reconstruction, to the Civil Rights Movement in addition

to some key concepts related to racism. The second chapter is entitled “Black Lives

Matter: A reproduction of the Civil Rights Movement in Post-racial America”. It contains

4

some theory as it describes Black Lives and its goals. It also puts into practice these

notions to make a comparison between BLM and CRM. At the end of this chapter, all the

questions related to post-racial America and colorblind ideology will be answered.

5

Chapter One

A Historical Background of Racism in USA

1. Introduction

Because it is important to know history first in order to understand the present, it is

impossible to understand BLM and its objectives without reflecting on the journey of

struggle of Black people against racism and, understanding what racism is really about.

Having an idea about the origins of racial inequality against African Americans and

explaining how anti blackness came to be is crucial to grasp the modern days Black Lives

Matter. What is Racism? What are its forms? This chapter discusses the situation of

African Americans along The history of USA and addresses the major problems that

hinder profoundly the life of Black people during several centuries. The Civil Rights

Movement, which was the predecessor to Black Lives Matter, came about in the 1960s and

was advocating for the freedom of Black people against Jim Crow laws in the South, white

supremacy, and for Black people’s right to vote. Even that movement has its roots

centuries ago, it came to protest against the outcomes of the slavery system that shaped the

American society and was the major issue for lunching the bloody civil war. All of this is a

proof that the recent illegal practices against African Americans which led to the

emergence of Black Lives Matter are not new; this chapter reveals that they represent a

continuation of a deeply rooted struggle in the United States history.

6

I. The African American Minority in USA

The United States of America has a racially and ethnically diverse population.

Blacks or African Americans are citizens and residents of the United States who have

origins in any of the Black populations of Africa. The traditional view regarding racial

group membership has been that everyone with black African heritage is regarded an

African American. They have been referred to as African, colored, Negro, Afro-American,

and Black, as well as African American, at various points in US history. Furthermore, they

represent the second largest minority population in the United States, following the

Hispanic/Latino population. Blacks represent 12.8 percent of the total population which

means approximately 40.6 million people in 2019. The top ten states with the largest Black

population in 2019 according to the Census Bureau were Texas with the largest Black state

population 3.9 million followed by Georgia, Florida, New York, North Carolina,

California, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia, and Louisiana (“Office of Minority Health”).

The African-American community in the United States is varied. Its members come

from all walks of life in the country; some are descendants of enslaved people brought

from their African homelands by force to work in the New World, while others are new

immigrants. They have made significant and long-lasting contributions to the history and

culture of the United States. However, the existence of African Americans in the United

States and the struggle against racism are closely tied. Blacks have a long history with

discriminatory and degrading laws and practices that have resulted in disparity in

practically every aspect of life. From their first arrival to America in 1619 to the current

day, they have fought for equality against all forms of racism and discrimination.

7

II. Racism in the United States

1. Race

In the United States, race refers to a group of people who share visible physical

characteristics such as skin color. The term was used in the United States of America

before the 1500s to identify groups of people with a group connection (“Historical

Foundations of Race”).It is used to categorize people into various social groups based on

characteristics like skin color, physical features, and genetic heredity. Racial classifications

emerged as a type of social separation based on perceived natural distinctions between

human groups.

2. Racism

Racism is the idea that humans should be separated into distinct biological entities

known as races, that certain races are innately superior to the others. In the United States,

racism emerged against different racial or minority groups such as African, native, Asian,

European, Hispanic, Latino, Middle Eastern, south Asian, and Jewish Americans. It has

manifested itself in many forms such as slavery, segregation, immigration, and genocide.

The issue of racism is a continuous one and discrimination against different groups mainly

African Americans still exists in various sectors of modern US society including business,

the criminal justice system, economy, health care, housing, and politics. Gee and Ford

define racism as “the macro-level systems, social forces, institutions, ideologies, and

processes that interact with one another to generate and reinforce inequities among racial

and ethnic groups” (116). This is the kind of racism the BLM movement is trying to

eliminate. The term racism in America is strongly connected with the Black and White

relations. This fact is strongly highlighted by Karen Teel when he said in his book Racism

and the Image of God “Racism is often discussed in terms of White-Black relations” (5).

8

In the same context, James H. Cone in his book A Black Theology of Liberation says “The

focus on blackness does not mean that only blacks suffer as victims in a racist society, but

that blackness is an ontological symbol and visible reality which best describes what

oppression means in America” (27). This study will focus precisely on racism against

African Americans and how race, white privilege, and anti-blackness came to be. African

Americans have faced restrictions on their political, social, and economic freedoms

throughout much of the United States history.

3. Forms of Racism

3.1. Systemic Racism

Also known as institutional racism was first used in 1967 by Stokely Carmichael

and Charles V. Hamilton in Black Power: The Politics of Liberation. It is a form of racism

that is embedded through laws within the society i.e. racism within the institutions and

systems of the society. It has negative consequences on individuals because it can lead to

issues of discrimination in justice system, housing, healthcare, education and many other

sectors.

3.2. Individual Racism

Also known as interpersonal racism. It is “A form of racial discrimination that

stems from conscious and unconscious, personal prejudice” (Tator et al. 329). It refers to

assumptions, beliefs and acts perpetuated by individuals against people of color based on

conscious or subconscious acceptance of white superiority. In more simple words, it is the

belief of the superiority of one race and the inferiority of another by individuals.

3.3. Structural Racism

It is a system of structures which have procedures that disadvantage racial minorities and

9

particularly black people. It is the legitimization of a set of dynamics: historical, cultural,

institutional, and interpersonal that favor whites while producing negative outcomes for

people of color. Structural racism is a hierarchical system that is characterized primarily by

white supremacy over black people (Gee and Ford 72). It is the most profound form of

racism; all other forms of racism (e.g. institutional, interpersonal, etc.) emerge from

structural racism.

4. Key Concepts Related to Racism

4.1. Racial Discrimination

Any preference or distinction based on race, color or ethnic origin. It can be

noticeable on individuals when they refuse for instance to socialize with people of a certain

group, and on governments through laws enforcement. Anti-discrimination laws are meant

to prohibit the government and individuals from discrimination. Along history,

discrimination has been found to have a negative impact on African Americans health and

well-being, it surrounds them across a range of areas in everyday life, including:

Interaction with police, jobs application, being paid equally or considered for promotions,

housing and health care. These incidents are part of a wider, systematic pattern of

discrimination in the United States, which has serious implications for the health of both

individuals and the nation as a whole (“Discrimination in America”).

4.2. Racial Segregation

Segregation is “the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by

enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by

separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means”(“Segregation”).

In the case of the united states African Americans have always been separated from

10

other races mainly white people based on their skin color, it appears on the spatial

separation of Blacks and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and

hospitals. It appears also in hierarchical situations, when a person from one race works as a

servant for a member of another race. Until the United States passed the Civil Rights Act

of 1964, racial segregation was imposed by law in some states under the so called “Jim

Crow laws”.

4.3. Racial Inequality

Racial inequality represents the imbalances in the distribution of power, economic

resources, and opportunities. When people think of America, they see a country where

everyone is free and equal. However, most people are unaware that America has a long

history of racial inequality. Individuals in American society hold prejudiced ideas and

maintain social distance from certain groups of people. Historically, Black people have

endured social injustice and outright rejection of civil, social, political, educational, and

economic rights. Today, huge disparities between racial and ethnic groups still exist in

work, income and wealth, housing, education, criminal justice, health, and many other

sectors.

4.4. Colorblindness

Colorblindness refers to the practice of not taking into account a person’s skin color

when making some sort of decision. This means that Americans believe that they are not

racist and they do not consider a person's skin color when making decisions. Colorblind

ideology, which is prominent in America's post-civil rights period, views everyone to be

nonracial or unaffiliated with any race. Colorblindness may sound like the perfect solution

for racial inequality but in reality it is not. It is a new form of racism that is connected to

11

the negative response received by Black Lives Matter.

III. The Roots of Racial Inequality against African Americans in USA

1. Slavery Era (1600s-1865)

The first enslaved Africans were brought on a Dutch slave ship to Point Comfort in

1619, which is now Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, 30 miles downstream from

Jamestown. These 20 African prisoners were kidnapped by Portuguese slave traders; they

were treated as indentured servants1 by the Virginian settlers. Thus, the Virginians freed

them after few years. As servants were released, they competed for resources and released

slaves have to be replaced as well.

Around 10–12 million Africans were sent to the northern and southern African

continent in all. They came from the region of West African coast from Senegal to Angola,

with a tiny minority from Madagascar and East Africa. Only around 5% were sent to the

American colonies. The great majority of them were shipped to the West Indies and Brazil

where they died quickly. In the American colonies, life conditions were far better, they

have faced less disease, had more food and better medical care, as well as less labor loads

than in the sugar fields (Friedman 3).

Due to the unclear nature of black people's social rank and the difficulties of

utilizing any other group of people as forced servants, Black people were relegated to

slavery. In 1641, Massachusetts became the first colony to allow slavery. Other colonies

followed suit, establishing legislation extending slavery to the children of slaves, and

enslaving non Christian imported servants. By 1750 slavery was allowed in all colonies. It

became simpler for whites to justify Black slavery as they developed the notion that they

were an inferior race with a heathen culture.

1An indentured servant is a person bound to an employer for a limited number of years.

12

Sailing enslaved people became more profitable, and some Africans themselves

sold captives to European traders. Captured Africans were usually marched in chains to the

coast and forced into the holds of slave ships for the terrible Middle Passage over the

Atlantic Ocean, which took them to the West Indies. At least one-sixth of those who died

during the trip died from shock, illness, or suicide. The survivors were seasoned in the

West Indies, where they were taught the basics of English and trained in the rituals and

discipline of plantation life (Friedman 5).

Enslaved Blacks were forced to cultivate the New World's farmlands. Plantation

owners turned to permanent enslavement of African peoples who worked for their keep but

were not given salaries and could not readily escape due to a lack of employees and a great

area of fertile land. Africans who were slaves had certain legal rights for instance; it was a

crime to kill an enslaved person. Throughout time, enslaved Africans created their own

family system, religion, and rituals with little intervention from masters who were solely

concerned in job outputs. Slaves, especially in the South, performed a significant role in

building the economy of the United States. Blacks also had a key part in the creation of

Southern dialect, folklore, music, dance, and gastronomy, fusing African and European

cultural features. During the 17th and 18th centuries, African American slaves labored

mostly on the Southern seaboard's tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations (Friedman 6).

Slavery eventually became entrenched in the South's vast cotton and sugar plantations.

Although northern businesses generated huge profits on enslaved peoples' commerce and

investments in Southern plantations, slavery was never widespread in the North.

During the American Revolution, approximately 5,000 African American soldiers

and sailors fought with the Americans. Some slaves were liberated after the Revolution,

notably former soldier. However, once the United States Constitution was ratified in 1788,

slavery became more established in the South than it had ever been. Slaves were

13

considered as three-fifths of a person for taxes and representation in Congress that was

prevented from eliminating the African slave trade before 1808 but allowed for the return

of fugitive slaves to their owners (Friedman 9).

Beginning in January 1808, President Thomas Jefferson signed laws that officially

banned the African slave trade. This act, however, did not mark the abolition of slavery.

Instead, it promoted the expansion of the domestic slave trade in the United States,

particularly as a source of labor for the vast cotton plantations in the South. The slave was

treated as property and considered as a source of labor that could be bought and sold like

any other animal. Slaves were not allowed to have a stable family life or much privacy, the

law prevented them from learning to read or write (Morgan83). The owner rewarded the

humble slave with favors, while the rebellious slave was punished brutally. The slaves

were also kept separated by a social hierarchy, the house slaves were at the top; the trained

artisans were next; and the vast majority of field laborers who worked in plantation were at

the bottom.

1.1. The Early Slave Revolts

There were few successful slave revolts but slave plans were always revealed.The

revolt led by Cato in Stono, South Carolina, in 1739 took the lives of 30 whites. In 1741, a

slave revolt in New York City caused extensive property damage. The slave insurrection of

Southampton, Virginia, in 1831 headed by Nat Turner was arguably the most terrifying to

slave owners where approximately 60 whites were killed. Individual slave resistance took

the form of women killing their newborn babies to free them from slavery, slave owners

being poisoned, machinery and harvests being destroyed, and running away (Blakemore).

Thousands of fugitive slaves were guided to freedom in the North and Canada by

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Black and white abolitionists who created the Underground Railroad2. Harriet Tubman, a

former slave who helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom on several journeys to the

South, was one of the Underground Railroad's greatest heroines (Friedman 11).

1.2. Free Blacks

During the slavery era, not all blacks were slaves, free blacks made up

approximately a tenth of the African American population. Former indentured servants and

their descendants made up the free Black people. In 1860, there were almost 500,000 free

African Americans in the United States; half of them lived in the South and the other half

in the North. It was supplemented by free Black immigrants from the West Indies and

Blacks who had been set free by individual slaving operations. Free Blacks, on the other

hand, were only nominally free. Many of the restrictions imposed on slaves were imposed

on them in the South, where they represented a challenge to the system of slavery. In the

North, free Blacks were prohibited from voting; owning property, and freedom of

movement, while having some access to education. Free Blacks in the North, notably in

Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City, produced the first African American leaders

who created their own organizations, including churches, schools, and mutual assistance

groups. The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, founded in 1816 and led by

Bishop Richard Allen of Philadelphia, was one of the first of these institutions (Dickerson).

The early abolitionists were free Blacks. They included John B. Russwurm and Samuel E.

Cornish, who launched the first African American-run newspaper in the United States in

1827. The North Star, created in 1847 by former slave Frederick Douglass, who claimed

that the antislavery movement ought to be led by Black people, was the most renowned of

all African American journals.

2A network of hidden routes and hiding places.

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Beginning in 1830, African American leaders began holding national and state

conventions on a regular basis. They saw themselves as Americans who believed that only

a sustained battle at home could address their issues. But those leaders disagreed over the

best anti-slavery tactics. Some, like David Walker and Henry Highland Garnet, advocated

for slave revolts and overthrows. Others, such as Russwurm and Paul Cuffe, advocated for

the establishment of a significant modern Black country in Africa. African Americans

created Liberia in West Africa in 1822 with the help of the American Colonization Society,

whose membership was predominantly white. Their views predicted the formation of Pan-

African nationalism a half-century later, led by AME Bishop Henry M. Turner (Foster 41).

1.3. The Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery

The American Civil War was fought in the United States between northern states,

also referred to as the “Union States” and southern states that decided to separate and

create the “Confederate States” of America. Slavery, particularly the spread of slavery into

newly gained land following the Mexican American War, was the main cause of the civil

war. Since the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which banned slavery in the Midwest, the

spread of slavery to new areas has been a source of national political debate. In 1820, the

Missouri Compromise established a policy of admitting an equal number of slave and free

states to the Union. However, the 1850 Compromise and the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act

opened all of the territories to slavery. By the end of the 1850s, the North worried that

slaveholding interests would take total control of the country, while whites in the South

thought that the North was out to destroy their way of life. Southern states seceded from

the Union and created the Confederate States of America after Abraham Lincoln was

elected president in 1860 on the antislavery platform of the new Republican Party

(Friedman 15). President Abraham Lincoln's primary goal was to keep the Union together.

He first advocated for gradual emancipation, with the federal government paying slave

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owners for the loss of their property. However, in September 1862, Lincoln issued the

Emancipation Proclamation, proclaiming that as of January 1st, 1863, all slaves residing in

states in rebellion against the United States would be free. As a result, the Civil War was

effectively a war to abolish slavery. More than 186,000 African American troops served in

the Union army at the end of the Civil War (Friedman 16). Slaves were used by the

Confederacy as a labor force, but hundreds of them abandoned their tools and fled to

Union lines. As the war came to an end in April 1865, Lincoln surprised many by

suggesting limited suffrage for African Americans in the South. However, he was killed a

few days later, and his successor Andrew Johnson would preside over the start of

Reconstruction. Nearly four million slaves were liberated as a result of the Union victory

in the Civil War and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in1865.

African Americans were given citizenship in 1868, and their right to vote was later

affirmed in 1870 by the Fifteenth Amendment.

1.4. The Legacy of Slavery

Black people are the only group who were enslaved in the United States. And the

tragedy of slavery in USA is closely tied to the suffering of Black people caused by racism.

It is crucial to note that slavery existed in the United States in one of its most horrific

contemporary forms. “Because slavery had been Africanized, all black people, even those

who were free, were in many ways treated like slaves while all white people, even those

who did not own slaves, were empowered to act like masters” (Grimes 176). Therefore,

this exclusivity of Black people's history is essential to understand racism. In a society

characterized by class division and heavily dominated by the violation of Black people,

who were not recognized citizens even after abolition, their psychological training created

such identity, which was reinforced by segregationist legislation. Following abolition,

former slaves attempted to project themselves into an uncertain future in which their scars,

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anxieties, and disappointments kept them in a continual state of misery despite their

determination to overcome and not collapse under the inhuman weight of the slaves.

2. Reconstruction era (1865-1877)

The Reconstruction era is the era that followed the American Civil War which

violently divided the country over the subject of slavery. It also refers to the attempt by

Congress to transform the eleven former Confederate states. The United States government

started the job of integrating almost four million formerly enslaved individuals into society

between 1863 and 1877.Thus; the Reconstruction era represented a turning point in the

country's civil rights history. It abolished slavery and the remains of Confederate secession

in the Southern states, as mandated by Congress and the newly freed slaves were portrayed

as citizens with the same civil rights as other citizen. Eric Foner, the author

of Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877wrote “The war

destroyed the institution of slavery, ensured the survival of the union, and set in motion

economic and political changes that laid the foundation for the modern nation…during

Reconstruction, the United States made its first attempt … to build an egalitarian society

on the ashes of slavery” (121).

2.1. The 13th 14th and 15th Amendments

After the Civil War, Republican leaders solidified the Union victory by gaining

ratification of constitutional amendments that abolished slavery .The 13th amendment of

1865 was the first of three Reconstruction amendments. With the exception of slavery as a

punishment for a crime, the 13th Amendment banned slavery in the United States. In 1863

and during the Civil War, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation included only 3 million

slaves in Confederate controlled areas. Before southern states rejoined the Union, they had

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to pass the 14th Amendment, which protected the legal equality of formerly enslaved

persons, guaranteed previously enslaved persons equal protection under the Constitution,

and provided universal male suffrage. The 15th Amendment, which was ratified in 1870,

ensured that a citizen's ability to vote would not be restricted. During the Radical

Reconstruction period which is the first of the three reconstruction periods (1867-1877),

black males were elected to southern state legislatures and even the United States

Congress.

2.2. Black codes:

Under the early years of Reconstruction, when freed slaves sought to establish their

independence and seek economic autonomy, white landowners used a system identical to

that used during slavery to manage the work force. Southern states created Black Codes in

late 1865, a series of laws that reinforced Black economic subordination to their former

slave owners to prevent Black people from gaining social and economic mobility as a

result of their newfound freedom. Black people who broke labor contracts were arrested,

beaten, and forced to work. However, many in the North were outraged by the restricted

character of the rules and widespread black resistance to their enforcement, claiming that

they violated the core principles of free labor ideology. In the postwar years, white

southerners demonstrated a firm dedication to maintaining their supremacy and the

continuation of plantation agriculture. After the early 1870s, white supremacist

organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan were formed to enforce the Black Codes and

terrorize Black people and any white people who supported them. They even used violence

to oppose Reconstruction programs.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875, which was the final major piece of Reconstruction

legislation, gave African Americans equal treatment in public transportation, public

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accommodations, and jury duty. However, the ruling was reversed by the Supreme Court

in 1883. By 1877, when the last federal troops departed the South and Reconstruction came

to an end, African Americans had achieved little progress in terms of economic and social

standing. Although reconstruction made progress in assisting freed slaves, it failed of fully

resolving the issue of race and equality.

3. Jim Crow Laws (1877-1954) and the Doctrine of “Separate but Equal”

Following the removal of federal armed forces from the South at the end of

Reconstruction, white leaders created new laws to enhance the racial segregation and

discrimination known as the “Jim Crow” system. This was between the end of

Reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s, when

the United States enacted laws to protect the rights of freed slaves but, Jim Crow was

created to disobey them. It was a racial caste system and a law that enforced racial

segregationexisted predominantly, but not entirely, in southern and Border States. The

origin of the word was a name of a minstrel performance created by the white comedian

Thomas Rice in 1828 and performed by several imitators, notably actor Joseph Jefferson.

The stereotypical character “Jim Crow” became a negative expression for African

Americans as well as a description of their segregated lifestyle.

Jim Crow laws were more than just a set of strict anti-black legislation, but rather,

it had become a way of life. These laws, which were enforced through criminal penalties,

resulted in segregated schools, parks, waiting rooms, and other public spaces. They also

deprived black people of their rights, humiliated them in public, and continued to

marginalize them economically and educationally and anyone who dared to question the

social order was subjected to persecution and even death.

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In 1896 the Supreme Court declared in Plessy v. Ferguson, that “separate but

equal” is permissible. Hundreds of laws were enacted in Southern states demanding

separate treatment for black and white residents. This doctrine offered constitutional

backing to laws aimed at racial segregation through the provision of separate but equal

public facilities and services for African Americans and whites.

To understand the situation of black people under these laws, it is important to list

some of the Jim Crow etiquette rules to demonstrate how inclusive they were. For instance,

a black person could not give his hand (to shake hands) with a white male and he could not

offer his hand or any other part of his body to a white lady because he would be accused of

rape. Also, Blacks were not permitted to show public affection for one another, but whites

were permitted to do so. In addition to that, it was forbidden for blacks and whites to eat

together. If they did dine together, the whites would be served first, with some form of

barrier between them. In some states such as Louisiana, no public accommodations

including train travel provided equal amenities for blacks. It was unlawful for blacks to sit

in coach seats allocated for whites, and whites could not sit in seats assigned for blacks

(David).

4. The Civil Rights Movement: Goals, Major Events and Achievements

The American civil rights movement is a large protest movement in the United

States against racial segregation and discrimination. It encompassed a wide range of

activities aimed at ensuring full political, social, and economic rights for African

Americans. The movement gained national attention in the mid-1950s. Although the Civil

War ended slavery, it did not eliminate prejudice against African Americans who

continued to suffer the terrible impacts of racism, particularly in the South. Although it was

sometimes violent, the movement was mainly peaceful and resulted in legislation

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protecting all American’s constitutional rights, regardless of color, ethnicity, or gender. By

the mid-nineteenth century, black Americans have had enough of discrimination and

brutality. They mobilized along with many white Americans and launched an astonishing

battle for equality that extended for two decades. The civil rights movement of the 1950s

and 1960s overturned the pattern of segregation of public facilities in the South based on

race and won a notable improvement in equal-rights legislation for African Americans

through nonviolent protest. Although the passage of major civil rights legislation in 1964

and 1965 was a victory for the movement, militant black activists had begun to see their

struggle as a freedom or liberation movement. The growth of European and American

imperial power over nonwhite people in various regions of the world accompanied the

Southern system of white supremacy. Most nonwhite people across the world were

colonized or economically exploited and denied basic rights such as the ability to vote. In

many nations, efforts to combat racial and gender discrimination grew largely throughout

the early decades of the twentieth century. The Civil rights movement took many forms,

and adopted different strategies from lobbying the federal government to mass direct

action.

4.1. Du Bois and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

In response to European imperialism, a Pan-African movement arose, and African

Americans devised a variety of methods to combat racial discrimination in the United

States. Du Bois, a Harvard University graduate, became a major champion for civil rights

and Pan-African solidarity among Africans and African descendants around the world. In

1909, Du Bois and other African American leaders created the National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which went on to become the country's most

lasting civil rights organization. It raised awareness of racial inequality to ensure fair

treatment for Black Americans in education, employment, and housing. The NAACP faced

22

competition from a variety of organizations proposing alternative racial progress tactics.

For example, to oppose segregation in Northern cities, the interracial Congress of Racial

Equality (CORE) engaged in small-scale civil disobedience (Friedman 27).

Following World War II, African American civil rights movements were hindered

by ideological splinter groups. Du Bois and renowned African American musician Paul

Robeson were among the socialist figures who advocated for major civil rights

demonstrations while criticizing President Nixon's Cold War foreign and domestic policies

(Friedman 28). In addition to the civil rights organizations, local black activists protested

racial segregation and injustice on their own. A student walkout at a Virginia high school

led by Barbara Johns was one of the local initiatives that resulted in the Brown decision in

1951.

4.2. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott

On December 1st, 1955, a 42-year-old lady named Rosa Parks sat down after work

on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. In the time, segregation rules required Black passengers

to sit in designated seats at the back of the bus, but Parks had obeyed. The bus driver told

Parks and three other Black passengers to give up their seats when a white man boarded

the vehicle and couldn't locate a seat in the white area at the front. Parks was arrested after

her refusal, and became known as “the mother of the modern civil rights movement” when

black community leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which

was led by Martin Luther King, Jr., putting him at the forefront of the civil rights

movement. The MIA was inspired by Parks courage to launch a bus boycott of the

Montgomery bus system (Friedman 36). The Montgomery Bus Boycott achieved a

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considerable political reform when the Supreme Court decided that segregated seating was

unconstitutional on November 14th, 1956.

4.3. The Civil Rights Act of 1957

Despite the fact that all Americans had won the right to vote, several southern states

made it impossible for African Americans to exercise their right to vote. They frequently

compelled potential voters of color to undergo the nearly impossible-to-pass reading exam.

The Eisenhower administration pressed Congress to adopt additional civil rights legislation

in order to demonstrate its commitment to the civil rights movement and reduce racial

tensions in the South. President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first

significant civil rights legislation since Reconstruction on September, 9th, 1957. It made it

possible for anybody who attempted to prevent someone from voting to face criminal

charges, and established a committee to look into allegations of voter fraud.

4.4. The Freedom Rides of 1961

The Freedom Rides were interstate bus trips by civil rights activists into segregated

southern states to challenge the US Supreme Court's decision that segregation was

unconstitutional for interstate travelers. The freedom rides drew international attention.

Activists went across the Deep South during the initial Freedom Rides to desegregate bus

terminals. One bus was firebombed in Anniston, Alabama, causing passengers to run for

their lives. In a similar incident, the Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama, followed in

Rosa Parks' footsteps and boarded an integrated Greyhound bus from Birmingham .

Despite the fact that they were peacefully protesting interstate bus segregation, they were

attacked by a huge white crowd in Montgomery for their activism. The imprisoned

freedom riders were subjected to severe treatment, including being forced into small cells

and being beaten on a regular basis. Some male prisoners in Jackson were forced to work,

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while others were sent to the Mississippi State Penitentiary, where they were held in

terrible conditions.

4.5. March on Washington

The March on Washington, which took place on August 28th, 1963, was one of the

greatest civil rights demonstrations in American history and a well known example of

nonviolent mass protest. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his inspirational “I Have a Dream”

speech at the march, which envisioned a world where individuals were judged on the

content of their character rather than the color of their skin. However, not all civil rights

advocates supported the march. Despite being one of the march's major organizers, Bayard

Rustin was afraid that it might turn violent and harm the Civil Rights Movement's

worldwide reputation. Others, like as Malcolm X, who popularized the militant Black

Power Movement, ridiculed the March on Washington for its peaceful approach. He called

the incident the “Farce on Washington” in which black civil rights activists collaborated

with whites and accepted contributions from whites (Friedman 43).

On August 28th, 1963, 250,000 people gathered on the National Mall in

Washington, DC to demonstrate in support of African Americans full civil, political, and

economic rights. The March on Washington was one of the greatest human rights protests

in US history, and a spectacular display of nonviolent direct action's power. The event was

held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation

and mentioning its unfulfilled promises. The march started at the Washington Monument

and concluded at the Lincoln Memorial, where speakers from the sponsoring groups

talked. Its main goal was to remove Jim Crow laws and to put an end to the segregation

that had become established in the South following the Civil War. Many in the Civil Rights

Movement had come to feel that African Americans economic exploitation was a serious

25

issue. Widespread press coverage of the march served to attract national attention to these

concerns and gain broad popular support for the demands of the protestors.

4.6. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Years after activist campaigning in support of broad civil rights legislation,

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was considered as the most

comprehensive civil rights legislation ever passed. It prohibited discrimination and

segregation in education, public facilities, employment, and housing. However, following

the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there was resistance to the execution of its

principles. Though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 included provisions to improve African

Americans voting rights in the South, these measures were relatively weak and did not

prohibit states and election officials from engaging in activities that effectively denied

southern blacks the opportunity to vote. On March 7th, 1965, six hundred activists marched

peacefully from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, but hundreds of state troopers assaulted

them with tear gas. This tragedy, named “Bloody Sunday,” was carried on television and

splashed across the front pages of newspapers and magazines, frightening the American

people. President Johnson was soon persuaded that more racial rights legislation was

required.

4.7. The Voting Rights Act of 1965

On March 15th, 1965, a week after Bloody Sunday, President Johnson made a

nationwide address in which he proclaimed that all Americans, regardless of race, must

have the privileges of citizenship. President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965

which prohibited literacy tests and other measures that effectively prevented blacks in the

South from voting. It gave the federal government the power to observe elections in areas

where African Americans were socially marginalized. The Voting Rights Act of 1965

shifted political power dynamics in the South. Over half a million Southern blacks had

26

registered to vote by the middle of 1966, and over 400 black persons had been elected to

office by 1968 (Friedman 57). As a result of the voting rights act of 1965, Some Southern

Democrats, like George Wallace, began to abandon segregationist rhetoric in order to reach

out to black voters. At the federal level, President Lyndon B. Johnson selected Robert C.

Weaver, the first black cabinet member, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,

and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, in 1967.

4.8. King Assassination

On April 4th, 1968, King was killed one day after giving his impassioned “I've Been

to the Mountaintop” sermon, which has become legendary for his vision of American

society. On April 8th, the day before King's funeral, a completely quiet march drew about

42,000 people. His wife Coretta Scott King said “king gave his life for the poor of the

world, the garbage workers of Memphis and the peasants of Vietnam. The day that Negro

people and others in bondage are truly free, on the day want is abolished, on the day wars

are no more, on that day I know my husband will rest in a long-deserved peace” (Epps

284).

4.9. The Civil Rights Movement Legacy

Over time, civil rights protests had an observable influence on white Americans'

attitudes on race and politics. It accomplished many of the goals of the Civil Rights Act of

1875, which was approved but quickly reversed during the Reconstruction period. The

historic 1964 Act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national

origin in public facilities such as restaurants, theaters, and hotels. And regardless of its

limitations, Martin Luther King's vision of equality and civil disobedience changed the

world and the lives of African Americans in his time and subsequent decades.

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Conclusion

The existence of the Black minority in the United States generated racism and a

long struggle for Black liberation that still exists today. Although the American creation

story is based on freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness, African Americans faced

many difficulties in order to melt into a society that is originally founded on white

supremacy. Violence and oppression have been and still part of the Black experience in the

United States. Since their first arrival on a Dutch ship in 1916, they were treated like a

property instead of humans who have the right to enjoy their freedom as American

residents. The civil war ended slavery but states created the Black Codes and Jim Crow

Lows which left a residue of systemic racism that has devalued their lives. Black’s desire

for equality encouraged active resistance to the continuing dehumanization of their lives

and pushed them to initiate the Civil Rights Movement to continue the Black liberation

struggle for freedom. The movement gained the full attention of the mainstream media and

achieved notable political reforms in favor of Blacks. Decades later, Black lives Matter

would reappear in the stage of the Black resistance as a social movement to continue the

protest against systemic racism and to prove that racism is still there in America, this is

what the next chapter will reveal.

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Chapter two

Black Lives Matter: a Reproduction of the Civil Rights Movement in

Post-racial America

Introduction

Black Lives Matter is social movement that began as a hashtag but quickly spread

to the streets in the United States, becoming one of the country's largest social movements.

This movement leads the ongoing fight against racism and ensures the rights of black

people as equal as those of other races. The seven years old movement came to protest

against the violent actions of the white police officers towards Black people. Later, it

extended its goals and concerns to cover and address much of the issues that blacks

undergo. It even extended its territories outside the United States and gained both national

and international support. This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section

under the title of “Black Lives Matter” gives an overview of the movement from the story

of its foundation to its guiding principles, goals, structure, tactics, and achievements. The

section entitled “Black Lives Matter vs. the Civil Rights Movement” puts into practice all

the previous notions to make a sort of comparison with its preceder The Civil Rights

Movement. The similarities and the differences between both movements are divided into

seven themes. Another section entitled “Black Lives Matter in Post-racial America and

Colorblind Ideology” discusses the Myth of Post-racial America and the Colorblind

Ideology, reveals all the contradictions, and responds to the colorblind argument that

Obama’s election has ended white supremacy and racist discrimination. Black lives matter

emerged during Obama’s administration in a time when America is believed to be a non

racial country. This is the contradiction that this chapter tries to reveal.

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I. Black Lives Matter

1. What is Black Lives Matter?

Black Lives Matter is an international social activist movement founded in the

United States to protest against police brutality and other forms of racist violence against

black people. It aims to end systemic racism and oppression in America. The political

movement was formed in 2013 to call for an end to the illegal practices against African

Americans and people of color in general. In the United States, Black individuals are

considerably more likely than white people to be killed by police. The movement was

founded on the demand that society respects black people's lives and humanity as much as

it values white people's lives and humanity. For that, BLM activists have staged huge,

well-attended protests in cities across the United States and around the world. BLM is “an

ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and

intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks' contributions to this

society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression” (Garza).

The movement began in July 2013 with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter

on social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of an

African American teen named Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Alicia Garza posted on

Facebook, “Black people, I love you, I love us, our lives Matter” (Freeling et al.). These

words would have a huge impact in starting a form of cyber activism that used

#BlackLivesMatter as a hashtag. The movement takes the form of an online forum that is

intended to build connections between black people and their allies to fight racism and

spark dialogue among them. Garza alongside with her friends Opal Tometti and Patrisse

Cullors created in addition to the popular hashtag, a website and an activist network.

30

BLM transformed from a hashtag into an international social movement

organization and its popularity has fluctuated dramatically over time. Following the 2014

killings of Eric Garner in Ferguson, Missouri, a city near St. Louis, and Michael Brown in

New York City, the movement gained global attention. Participants in the movement have

demonstrated against the deaths of several more African Americans. Between 2014 and

2016, the creators of the hashtag and call to action, extended their initiative into a national

network of over 30 local chapters. They became active in the 2016 US presidential election

in the summer of 2015. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is easily accessible and has a lot of

symbolic weight. Activists use it to highlight a variety of issues affecting Black

communities. Due to the hashtag different actions were taken in different states and

localities.Following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek

Chauvin in 2020, the movement reappeared in the national spotlight and drew a worldwide

attention. The 2020 Black Lives Matter marches in the United States drew an estimated 15

million to 26 million participants, challenging the COVID-19 pandemic that was already

claiming a devastating proportion of Black peoples’ lives in the US, making it one of the

largest movements in the United States history (Buchanan et al.).

1.2. Aims and Goals

Black Lives Matter has been active for more than 7 years highlighting a problem

that requires special attention. It encourages people to think critically about how African-

Americans are treated in the United States. When one looks at the Black Lives Matter

homepage, there are no clear outspoken goals other than to fight police brutality against

black people and systemic racism. However, the mission of the movement is indicated in

their website homepage through a short passage matched with a concise definition:

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global

organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate

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white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on

Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and

countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and

innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate

improvements in our lives. (“About”)

Because the effects are the same, this statement does not distinguish between

violence perpetrated by state and non-state forces. Systemic racism, racial bias, police

brutality, and racial inequality are all goals of this movement. Additionally, BLM aims to

extend the existing black liberation movement's vision. It is bringing attention to not just

police brutality against Black males, but also to violence against Black bodies of all

genders, sexual orientations, and identities. It encourages individuals of diverse origins and

identities such as transgender people, handicapped, and female African-Americans to

participate in such movements with their own voice. BLM, for example, has drawn

attention to the high suicide and homicide rates among transgender people. Furthermore,

participants in BLM are committed to be independent of the American political

establishment and old guard leaders, who place a greater emphasis on political and social

validity than on contemporary issues and problems.

1.3. BLM Guiding Principles

The co-founders of BLM mention in their website homepage the main principles

that represent the framework of the movement.

We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an

inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and

bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the

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narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must

ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front. We

affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks,

undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along

the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been

marginalized within Black liberation movements. We are working for a

world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.

We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our

resilience in the face of deadly oppression. (“About”)

In addition to the above notions, BLM is guided by another 13 principles:

3.1. Diversity

Diversity is defined as the recognition and appreciation of cultural differences and

similarities across cultures. In BLM website diversity is described as “We are committed to

acknowledging, respecting and celebrating difference(s) and commonalities” (“Guiding

Principles”). Among the principles of the movement is to respect all the differences

between people within the US territories and outside since it is an international movement.

3.2. Restorative Justice

The dedication to create a sustainable community is what is meant by restorative

justice. In that point the co-founders argue that “We are committed to collectively, lovingly

and courageously working vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by

extension all people. As we forge our path, we intentionally build and nurture a beloved

community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not

depleting” (“Guiding Principles”).

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3.3. Unapologetically Black

It is a statement that Black Lives Matter and their desire for justice and freedom are

preconditions for desiring the same for others. “We are unapologetically Black in our

positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To

love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a necessary prerequisite for wanting

the same for others” (“Guiding Principles”). These principles are considered to be the road

map to healing from race issues.

3.4. Globalism

Globalism represents the ability of black people to recognize how they are

influenced or privileged within the Black global family that exists in various parts of the

world. “We see ourselves as part of the global Black family and we are aware of the

different ways we are impacted or privileged as Black folk who exist in different parts of

the world” (“Guiding Principles”).

3.5. Collective Value

“Everybody is important and has the right to be safe and happy. Another way to

say that is collective value” (“Guiding Principles”). This signifies that all Black lives

matter, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, economic

status, ability, handicap, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or region.

3.6. Transgender Affirming

Transgender affirmation is a promise to continue to provide space for the Black

transgender people through promoting leadership while working to empower them.

We are committed to embracing and making space for trans brothers and

sisters to participate and lead. We are committed to being self-reflexive and

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doing the work required to dismantle cis-gender privilege and uplift Black

trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be

disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence. (“Guiding

Principles”)

3.7. Black Villages

It is the breakdown of Western nuclear family relations and the return to the

"collective village" that looks after one another under the theme of Black Villages. “We are

committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by

supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one

another, and especially “our” children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are

comfortable” (“Guiding Principles”).

3.8. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to connect with others through the development of

relationships based on mutual trust and understanding. “We are committed to practicing

empathy; we engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their

contexts” (“Guiding Principles”).

3.9. Black Families

Black Families creates a family-friendly environment devoid of patriarchal

traditions. “We are committed to making our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to

fully participate with their children. We are committed to dismantling the patriarchal

practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” that require them to mother in

private even as they participate in justice work” (“Guiding Principles”).

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3.10. Queer Affirming

Queer Affirming strives to create a queer-affirming network in which socially

constructed thinking is no longer functional. By thinking and listening to their own heart,

everyone has the right to choose who they love and the type of family they desire. “We are

committed to fostering a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the

intention of freeing ourselves from the belief that all in the world are heterosexual unless

s/he or they disclose otherwise” (“Guiding Principles”).

3.11. Intergenerational

Intergenerational is a place devoid of ageism in which individuals of all ages may learn

from one another.”We are committed to fostering an intergenerational and communal

network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, shows up with

capacity to lead and learn” (“Guiding Principles”).

3.12. Loving Engagement

The resolve to practice justice, emancipation, and peace is known as loving

engagement. “We are committed to embodying and practicing justice, liberation, and peace

in our engagements with one another” (“Guiding Principles”).

3.13. Black Women

Black women stands for the development of areas for women that are not

dominated by men. Some people believe that women are less important than men, but in

fact all individuals are valuable and have the right to be secure and express their feelings.

“We are committed to building a Black women affirming space free from sexism,

misogyny, and male‐centeredness” (“Guiding Principles”).

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4. The Movement Structure

Black Lives Matter is a leaderless decentralized movement with no formal

hierarchy. Its structure prioritizes democratic involvement over hierarchy. Unlike previous

social movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, which was led by significant leaders

like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the global Black Lives Matter network structure enables

anyone to step up and take on leadership roles and allows multiple members to take the

lead at the same time. The movement does not have a typical power structure and it does

not want to, as it wages battle on multiple fronts (Barron-Lopez). Despite the fact that the

movement was highly criticized for its leaderless structure, many of today’s most

successful movements are finding power in decentralization. Black Lives Matter was

founded on the principle of being a “leader-full” movement, leading from the bottom up by

allowing different people with different personal experiences to speak out and march in

front of protest marches. The most successful modern social movements embrace this

leadership style for they recognize its effectiveness and safety. This structure makes the

movement less vulnerable to attacks like the tragic assassinations of civil-rights leaders in

the 1960s, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King. Organizers in the twenty-first century are

creating movements that are decentralized from the start, rejecting the “central leader”

model entirely and adopting collective rather than individual action to effect change.

5. The Movement Strategies and Tactics

5.1 Social Media and Hashtag Activism

Black Lives Matter as an activist movement relies heavily on social media because

it is a tool that is embedded into the society and political action. It can be used in

combination with traditional forms of activism to help reaching the target and the message

of the movement. People use social media as a public forum to share personal experiences

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and opinions in order to form meaningful interpersonal relationships with like-minded

others. Indeed, it was a fertile environment for launching BLM. Following the acquittal of

George Zimmerman in 2013, Patrisse Cullors—an artist and activist who became a co-

founder of the BLM—coined the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. This simple phrase managed

to capture much of the struggle that people of color face in a systemically racist country. It

helped in energizing people of color and white allies to stage protests against racism. When

another young black man, Michael Brown Jr., was killed by a police officer in 2014, the

hashtag exploded across social media once again. Using social media as their primary tool,

supporters and organizers of BLM were able to coordinate a protest in Ferguson, Missouri

in the weeks following Brown’s death. Because of the accessibility of social media,

hundreds of people from across the country participated in the Ferguson protests. Many of

whom had never even participated in an organized protest before.

Today, social media particularly twitter can reach individuals throughout the

nation and across the world in milliseconds, drastically slashing the time it

takes to organize protests. As a recent New York Times Magazine spread

noted, through twitter, core Black Lives Matter activists like Johnetta Elzie

and Deray Mckesson, who are based in St. Louis, now have the ability to

frame events and direct the actions of hundreds of thousands of people

across the nation at their fingertips. (Harris)

BLM that began as a reactionary digital tool through the use of #BlackLivesMatter,

became proactive as its message on social media was used to inspire action from both an

older generation of activists and a younger generation.

Because issues like police brutality are visual and very impactful for those who

witness them, a social cause like BLM is more naturally suited for digital activism. The

video of George Floyd's murder by police officer Derek Chauvin, for example, quickly

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became popular online, boosting BLM's support. Due to social media which was especially

useful during COVID-19, people who were not in the same area were able to join the

movement. BLM social media pages can maintain a large online presence with a large

number of followers, which leads to increased protest attendance and more successful

campaigns. BLM leaders use social media to publicize the dates and locations of their

events and to share details on their own pages.

5.2 Protests and Demonstrations

Since the invention of the hashtag and the shift from the media to the streets,

BLM’s major reaction to the unjust killings of African Americans often results in direct

action in a form of peaceful demonstrations either nationally or internationally or both. The

right timing and the localization of the protests are previously programmed and discussed

by the co-founders and later announced in their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

The strategy of mass protests works in parallel with the the remaining strategies like social

media activism for demanding legislative changes. These diverse tactics eventually

result into powerful forces that oppose white supremacist power structures. Protestors rise

different slogans and symbols during the demonstrations like “The Raised fist Symbol”

which represents a universal symbol for solidarity, accompanied with other political

slogans such as “ Black Lives Matter”, “Hands up, don't shoot”, “I can't breathe”, and “Is

my son next?”. In 2020, the vast majority of Black Lives Matter protests—more than

93%—have been peaceful according to a report. The reporter’s definition of violence

includes anything from fighting back against police to vandalism, property destruction

looting, road-blocking using barricades, burning tires or other materials (Mansoor). As a

response to any brutal actions from the police to stop the demonstrations, Protestors adopt

different tactics to avoid the harm generated by the police gas such as the “Mirror Casket”

created by a collective of BLM organizers and artists in 2014. Activists carried a casket

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covered with cracked mirrors from the site of Michael Brown’s killing to the police

department in Ferguson (Yoganathan). The police are forced to look for other tactics to put

an end to the protests.

5.3 Bus Boycotts

Bus boycott, the strategy that was highly used by the civil rights movement during

the 60s, is also used by BLM. The movement recognized the power of this strategy and

organized some, especially in its early years. BLM joined Walmart workers in a Black

Friday boycott in 2014, which resulted in an 11 percent drop in sales over that time period.

This year, BLM organized a similar boycott campaign, demanding that companies divest

from the private prison industry, release an annual corporate racial justice report, and hire

local residents to ensure racial diversity. This year's boycott is expected to result in a $1.5

billion loss in sales on that day (Kirshner-Breen).

6. The Internationalization of Black Lives Matter

The reach of anti-black racism is not confined to the borders of North America.

Black Lives Matter has become a transformative outlet for all black people from different

historical, cultural, socioeconomic and political identities. Since the Ferguson protests

against the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in 2014, protesters in Ferguson

and across the country adopted the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter as their rallying cry. The

continued expansion of BLM into a globalized black resistance movement symbolizes the

idea that all black lives matter and everywhere. Many demonstrations are launched across

the globe whenever a Black citizen is killed or treated with violence regardless of its

citizenship. Many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, Brazil,

France, Denmark, Germany, Colombia and Japan organize different demonstrations as an

expansion of the target of the movement beyond the US territories. The most significant

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BLM activism that spread internationally was the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old

African-American man, in May 2020. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, handcuffed

and pinned Floyd to the ground in Minneapolis. Citizens caught a video of the officer

behind a police car pinning Mr. Floyd by the neck with his knee. In the video, Mr. Floyd

can be heard repeatedly saying “I can't breathe” (Tyner 21). Right after the incident,

Protesters took to the streets across the United States and many other countries, all with the

same message: Black lives matter. Crossing continents and cultures, Black activists saw

Floyd's death as a symbol of the intolerance and injustice they face. The United Kingdom

had the largest Black Lives Matter protests in the world outside of the United States. Even

before George Floyd, protesters were already galvanized by a death in their own country.

The protests in London exploded from about 20 people outside the U.S. embassy to more

than 20,000 people flooding the streets. In addition to the UK, protesters in France rallied

against their country's own history of racial injustice and police brutality, which differs

greatly from that of the United States. In Colombia, The news of Floyd's death was

surrounded by two police killings in the country. Activists said that the case of Floyd

inspired people to record incidents with police and encouraged protestors to continue to

challenge the police violence and systemic brutality (Tyner 23).

7. The Movement Achievements

BLM has accomplished some notable achievements since its formation until the

recent demonstrations after the murder of George Floyd. Although the achievements that

they were able to accomplish are not what the movement has set out to achieve but rather,

they are the effect of the movement and the protests. Many factors led to these

accomplishments, but the major problem lies within the issue of racism itself. Racism is a

very complicated phenomenon which cannot be solved over night. This is not a claim for

the failure of the movement but no one can also deny the fact that the aims set by the co-

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founders are partially achieved in different sectors, and the following accomplishments

best illustrate that.

7.1. National and International Solidarity and Support

In the national territories, Americans' support for BLM increased dramatically,

which is likely due to the increase in media attention and coverage of racial injustice.

Long-term activism and consistent media coverage are essential for ensuring genuine

changes in Americans' attitudes toward racial issues. According to some studies, over 20

million people in the United States have participated in the protests since the death of

Floyd and other African American victims. This made Black Lives Matter the largest

movement in American history (Buchanan et al.). Internationally, this issue brought a

global awareness about racism in America. Many people in different countries felt like

these protests address the same issues that they are already suffering from. Especially in

countries where citizens from African origins represent a large population.

7.2. Police Reform

Change and reform declarations began to make their way into police stations across

the country just weeks after the first BLM protests in 2020. Many city councils across the

country have announced plans to cut their police departments’ annual budgets and use

those funds to invest in community services. The most significant shift has occurred in

Minneapolis, the city where George Floyd died. In order to make transformational reforms,

the Minneapolis Police Department ended its police union negotiations. Police chief

Arradondo said. “We will have a police department that our communities view as

legitimate, trusting and working with their best interests at heart” (Karnowski). More

recently, police reform announcements are making their way across the country.

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7.3. Nomination for Peace Prize

Black Lives Matter has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for the

global reach of its mostly peaceful demonstrations against systemic racism. In his

nomination papers, the Norwegian MP Petter Eide said that the movement had forced

countries outside the US to grapple with racism within their own societies. And that they

have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about

racial injustice. His written nomination concludes: “Awarding the peace prize to Black

Lives Matter, as the strongest global force against racial injustice, will send a powerful

message that peace is founded on equality, solidarity and human rights, and that all

countries must respect those basic principles” ( Belam).

7.4. Removing the Confederate Statues and Symbols

Due to the BLM protests, the issue of confederate statues and symbols in public

spaces has reached a new level in 2020. Protesters have destroyed several Confederate

statutes, and local officials have ordered for the removal of these symbols. Confederate

monuments have become targets because they are powerful expressions of the brutal

practices that led to Floyd’s murder; they are the artworks that gild the system (Ortiz and

Diaz). Some of the Confederate figures that have been torn down include a statue of

Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia and a statue of Robert E. Lee in Montgomery,

Alabama.

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II. Black Lives Matter in Post-racial America and Colorblind Ideology

The notion of a post-racial America appeared officially in the political discource

after electing Barak Obama as a Presidentia of the United States. Conversations began to

dominate political commentary on whether or not the election of Obama would have an

effect on the role of race. Indeed, the notion of post-racial America began to spread

claiming that the election of a Black president is the absolute prove that America has

moved beyond racism. In the same context, color-blind ideology or “colorblindness”

means that the general populations living in America believe that they are not racist and

they do not take into consideration a person’s skin color when dealing with people from

different racial backgrounds. It is a clear statement that racial distinction is no longer an

issue in the American society. But, this statement seems to be unrealistic and contradictory

to the current situation of the nation because Black Lives Matter comes at a time when

America sees itself as a “colorblind” or “post-racial” society. Many historians and skeptics

noted this contradiction and claimed that BLM is trying to prove the opposite and that race

does truly matter. BLM is fighting to end colorblind racism and the belief that race is no

longer significant in today’s society. If race was truly insignificant and black lives

mattered, there would not be brutality and violence in the criminal justice system and other

societal sectors such as health and educational system. Many Blacks expected a Black

president to help them. A survey, after the election of President Obama in 2009, showed

that almost two thirds of white Americans believed that black people had reached racial

equality (Bobo). But, no significant changes were done. This was clearly captured when

African Americans initiated the fight against racism after the murder of Trayvon Martin in

2013 and the emergence of BLM as an international movement.

The persistence of racial disparities in education, health, wealth,

poverty,and incarceration supports the notion that we live in racially

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hierarchical society, which affords unearned benefits to White Americans

and unfairly burdens people of color. The very existence of these disparities

challenges claims that race does not matter in U.S. society. Although a

handful of people of color have been elected to political offices, confirmed

to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, or earned millions of dollars, these

individuals are the exceptions. The reality is that people of color are

disproportionately represented among many indicators of poor quality of

life broadly defined. (Neville et al. 7)

To sum up, all the events and changes that came under the BLM activism proves

that the terms “post-racial America” and “colorblindness” are far away to be applied in real

life due to the complexity of the issue of racism that is embedded within the American

society. Racism and racial inequality cannot be solved overnight but needs a serious radical

change.

III. Black Lives Matter vs. Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s)

Along the history of the United States, There have been movements protesting for

justice wherever there has been racial inequality. The deaths of George Floyd and Many

other black victims since the foundation of Black Lives Matter have sparked nationwide

protests over racial issues, similar to those that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. For

this reason, Black Lives Matter is frequently compared to the Civil Rights Movement and

many historians are claiming that history is repeating itself. BLM is often regarded as this

generation’s Civil Rights Movement because both social movements argue for civil rights

for marginalized black people. The significance of this study is to examine the nature of

the relationship between both movements by discussing the similarities and the differences

45

between them in order to see to what extent they are alike. While working on this

section—which is considered to be the core of the study and the most important part—it

was predicted that the research would be more complicated if similarities and differences

are discussed separately. This is neither due to the luck of information in the literature, nor

to say that they cannot be compared, but due to the nature of the topic itself. Black Lives

Matter and the Civil Rights Movement are interrelated for they have some similarities that

contain many differences as well. Both movements have similar message but different

ways of gaining national attention. For instance, if they share a strategy, the tools within

that strategy are very different. As a result, this section will be divided into seven themes in

which both similarities and contrasts are highlighted within each one under the same title.

1. Strategies:

The Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter have used a variety of

nonviolent tactics to get attention and generate social change. Since a social movement’s

success is often related to the power of its strategies and the tools used, the CRM adopted

the strategy of bus boycotts which resulted in boosting black resistance in the US during

the 1950s. One of the most well known examples in American history is the Montgomery

Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Improvement Association planned a citywide boycott after

civil rights leader Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to obey segregation laws. The

boycott, which engaged 42,000 people and lasted 381 days, crippled the municipal bus

system, resulting in the successful merger of all city buses (Kirshner-Breen). BLM as well,

has acknowledged the effectiveness of this strategy and adopted it. Both movements

employed boycotts to attain their objectives, but their techniques were extremely different.

The technological and communications strategy differences are the uncommon points

between both movements. Following Rosa Parks' arrest, many prominent ministers and

Civil Rights activists assembled in person to plan boycotts, and handouts were distributed

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the next day advising blacks to avoid taking the city .The BLM boycotts, on the other

hand, were organized by the #NotOneDime internet campaign. Using Twitter hashtags and

Facebook posts, they distributed information to millions of people (Kirshner-Breen). Many

handouts were designed to be provided online rather than in person. While the

Montgomery boycotts were limited to one city at that time, social media helped BLM in

the spread of any messages provided by the movement organizers and allowed boycott

supporters all over the world to participate.

In addition to Bus Boycotts, both movements raised large protests and marches.

Some were violent and faced with police brutality, while others were peaceful and allowed

different people from distant ethnic groups to participate carrying different symbols and

slogans. Therefore, the peaceful protests gained a large media coverage and in most of its

time achieved the desirable political reforms.

2. Government Resistance

BLM and CRM have attempted to change the society's political system. As a result,

both were faced with government opposition and resistance. As for BLM, the Ferguson

unrest following the shooting of 18-years-old African American Michael Brown by a white

police officer resulted in violent protests and harsh police resistance. Things went even

more violent after protesters were met by riot squads and militarized police who

established curfews on them. The U.S. Department of Justice determined that the Ferguson

Police Department had engaged in misconduct for discriminating against African-

Americans and applying racial stereotypes. As a result of the events in Ferguson, President

Obama has requested government funds for 50,000 body-worn cameras for police officers.

Furthermore, the White House has sought to modify the process through which local police

can get heavy-military-style weapons and equipment (Kirshner-Breen). The same

happened in the Civil Rights protests when they met with police violence at every turn. In

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Birmingham, 1963, when youth organized a march, they were detained and imprisoned

until the jails became overcrowded. More youngsters marched the next day, but they were

met by firefighters wielding high-pressure hoses on the young nonviolent demonstrators.

The publicity of this incident led President John F. Kennedy to pass a civil rights bill that

ensured the accessibility of blacks to all public facilities (Kirshner-Breen). Both events

were opposed by violence from the government but both achieved some political reforms.

3. The Role of Woman

The participation of woman in each movement and the degree of her acceptance is

a significant distinction between the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter.

While there were many women activists during the Civil Rights Movement, their

contribution in the movement has been greatly ignored and minimized. However, the

contributions of women like Rosa Parks and Ella Baker were significant in challenging the

masculine dominance on the movement. Rosa Parks was a lifelong activist, and her arrest

on Montgomery buses was not her only contribution to the civil rights fight. Despite the

fact that the status of women in the 1950s and 1960s was far worse than when the BLM

was formed. She challenged the segregation lows and rejected the traditional

organizational frameworks that prioritized males and men's labor over women. Ella Baker

was also a well known figure in the black liberation groups of her time. She collaborated

with some of the twentieth century's most prominent Black male leaders, including Du

Bois and Martin Luther King Jr. On the other hand, Black Lives Matter is led and

influenced heavily by women. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi gathered

and participated in the foundation of the movement. The three women were already

effective activists. Cullors founded her own social justice organization, Power and Dignity

Now, in Los Angeles. Opal Tometi was the executive director of the Black Alliance for

Just Immigration, which advocated for the social and economic well-being of Black

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immigrants to the United States. Alicia Garza was a projects director for the National

Domestic Workers Alliance.

Black Lives Matter, led by Black women, produced global solidarity and a demand

for anti-racist action. Among the targets of the movement is to build a space that affirms

Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are

centered (“Guiding Principles”).

4. The Role of the Media

No one can deny the heavy influence of the media on social movements as a tool

for delivering information and raising public awareness about their issues. It is a powerful

tool that can dramatically change the popular opinion. Black Lives Matter and the Civil

Rights are not an exception. Both movements heavily relied on the media to achieve their

objectives but different techniques were used to obtain media attention. The most

significant distinction lies within the technological differences. Black Lives Matter began

on social media and has incorporated it into every aspect of its activities. There was no

need for activists to rely on established news outlets to distribute and manage their

message. BLM is able to reach hundreds of millions of people around the world by using

social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook mainly through hashtag activism.

The internet also makes it easier for activists to distribute articles written from their point

of view with the broader public. Obviously, the Civil Rights Movement lacked access to

such revolutionary tools. They were forced to rely on traditional news sources such as

newspapers, television, and radio instead. CRM relied on a variety of techniques to gain

attention because they could not generate it on their own. Marches, speeches, and sit-ins,

for example, were quite efficient in gaining public attention (Kirshner-Breen).

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5. Political Change

The Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter have been able to achieve

notable political changes. The influence of both movements on the political sphere is an

indicator on how successful these movements are.One of the first big victories for the Civil

Rights Movement came in 1954, when the Supreme Court declared the “separate but

equal” doctrine unconstitutional and ordered school desegregation across the country

(Kirshner-Breen). The civil rights Movement’s attempts to political change also resulted in

the passage of many acts including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which legally banned

racial discrimination, and the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited the use of literacy tests

to discourage citizens from registering and voting. Literacy tests were extensively utilized

to restrict African-Americans from participating in politics by limiting their capacity to

vote

On the other hand, Black Lives Matter is more concerned with changing the context

through which politicians treat race than with changing individual laws. “local members of

the Black Lives Matter organization have disrupted numerous Democratic presidential

campaign events, pushing the candidates to support policies to end mass incarceration and

police brutality” (Eligon). Black Lives Matter has succeeded in making race relations one

of the most crucial concerns for presidential candidates.

6. Structure and Leadership Roles

A major difference between BLM and CRM lies within their structure, particularly

the leadership roles. While the CRM adopted the “Top-Down” structure and a “charismatic

leadership model”, BLM implemented a “group-centered model of leadership, rooted in

ideas of participatory democracy” (Ghorab). The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s is

engrained in American history with famous faces such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who

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took the responsibility of being the spokesperson of the movement for social change. The

CRM relied heavily on the “charismatic leadership model:” the concentration of decision-

making power to a few individuals. Unlike the decentralized structure, the dependence of

the movements on charismatic leaders can therefore weaken them, even lead to their

collapse (Harris). This is what top-down structure does, it creates a heavy reliance on

consolidated leadership that can be so easily turned over due to self-interest,

assassination...etc.

The singular leader approach does not work for Black Lives Matter which is well

known by its decentralized structure. It is a “leader-full” Movement that allows anyone to

step up and lead. Like the CRM, this structure was highly criticized. While discussing

Black Lives Matter, OprahWinfrey compared it to the works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

and accused BLM for being haphazard, lacking in leadership, and unable to clearly

articulate a coherent agenda (Somashekhar). Activists involved in Black Lives Matter

denounced the negative comments made by Oprah and claimed that they are insisting on

letting marginalized groups to take active roles in the movement that is intentionally

decentralized with clear guiding principles.

7. Criticism:

Both movements received criticism either for the message they want to convey or

for their structures and tactics. The BLM Anti-racist protests which spread across the

country and around the world resulted in an outpouring of criticism on social media and

among individuals. A common way to criticize any social movement is to create another

movement that works against it. This was the case for Black Lives Matter, one of the

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biggest campaigns against it is the #AllLivesMatter and the #BlueLivesMatter3response. In

June 2015, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton faced backlash after using

the phrase “All Lives Matter” at an African-American church in Missouri during her

presidential campaign (Rappeport).The #AllLivesMatter response that spread in social

media hand in hand with the hashtag #Blacklives matter, led to a misunderstanding of the

problems raised by BLM (Lebron). This was noticeable when the All Lives Matter

response came to support the idea that not only Black lives matter but the lives of all

people from different ethnic backgrounds counts too. This is not what Black Lives Matter

is trying to achieve. BLM was established to put an end to the police brutality and to

ensure the rights of Black people as equal American citizens. On the other hand, The Civil

Rights Movements was widely criticized from the media. Politicians, residents, and the

media slammed many of the protests, sit-ins, and boycotts. They thought the movement

was too disruptive and used the wrong techniques to attain its objectives. The protestors

were responsible for much of the violence that occurred during the marches (Kirshner-

Breen).

3A hashtag that was created as a reaction to #BlackLivesMatter in order to support and

insure the rights of the police officers.

52

Conclusion

Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement have many things in common,

the differences in leadership roles and media coverage and usage, makes it clear that even

if the strategies and the tools used are different the target remains the same. Despite the

fact that each movement focused on some aspects rather than the others, both still have

many similarities. BLM for instance calls for reform in the criminal justice system and

protests to put an end to the killings of Black people, while the CRM wanted to guarantee

the blacks civil rights and reclaim their equality and value. Black Lives Matter which

represents a continuation of the Civil Rights Movement’s struggle to assert Blacks rights,

gained national and international attention to the issue of racism that still exists in the

United States in many forms within different sectors primarily the criminal justice system.

Systemic racism is rooted in the American society and cannot be solved by just electing a

Black president or having more Black political representatives in the political stage. The

issue of racism is deeper than that. While the colorblind ideology came to prove that race

does not matter when dealing with people, Black Lives Matter is here to prove the

opposite. It is a movement that raises awareness about the illegal practices which are

embedded in the American society. Despite the significant and long lasting political reform

brought by the CRM in favor of Black people, a post-civil rights era was not free from

racial inequality: racism did not disappear. A movement does not appear out of the blue

and get international media coverage, unless there is a serious concrete issue which leads

to its emergence, and this is the case for Black Lives Matter.

53

General Conclusion

After the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Black Lives Matter, which began as an

online campaign, received international recognition as a response to the street

demonstrations. Nowadays, if an African American is killed, the hashtahg immediately

spreads on social media and continues to grow, followed by national and international

rallies.The movement’s decentralized structure, which allows for community engagement,

makes it easier for anyone, regardless of his gender, ethnicity, or political orientation, to

step up and lead. Because it mainly relies on social media as a medium for sharing

information, it allows for the voices of different people to be heard. BLM's main purpose

in the beginning was to oppose police officers' brutal and unjustified treatment towards

unarmed Black people. When the movement picked up steam, it expanded its goals to

include other issues such as the situation of Black women in the United States. All of these

facts demonstrate that BLM was successful in gaining international support for its anti-

racism campaign. African Americans were subjected to segregation and forced to work as

slaves with little reward. Despite their contributions to the country's economy, they were

mostly considered a separate race and were not allowed to enjoy their full rights once

slavery was abolished. The Black resistance that sparked the civil war, as well as the civil

rights movement and, more recently, the Black Lives Matter movement, demonstrate that

anytime there is racism, huge resistance emerges. The study's first finding proves that

racism still exists and it is not a new issue in the American society. Racial inequality is still

there in post-civil rights America, as seen by the development of BLM.

Black Lives Matter is often compared to the Civil Rights because both movements

share the common motive of defending Black people's rights. The second finding of this

study is that Black Lives Matter cannot be exactly the same movement as the Civil Rights

54

because their methods are very different. For example, Black Lives Matter emerged as a

separate foundation free from any religious or social distinction to protest against police

brutality, whereas the Civil Rights came at a time when Black people's situation was even

worse. The birth of BLM can be seen as a continuation of the fight against racism, but

cannot be seen as the same movement as the Civil Rights.

The myth of a colorblind America which does not take into consideration a

person’s skin color when taking some sort of decision is far away to be applied in real life.

Talking about race makes things even worse. The election of Barak Obama as a Black

president did not achieve any noticeable political reform in favor of the Blacks. Black

Lives Matter emerged during Obama’s administration and this is the response to the

question of whether America went beyond its racist past. Racism that still exists within the

systems of the society and manifests itself in many forms cannot disappear overnight; it

rather needs a serious change within individuals and the systems. America is built on the

ashes of slavery and the establishment of a society that is free from any distinctive patterns

based on skin color is a hard target to be fulfilled.

After discussing the Black Lives Matter and its achievements, some expectations

may be noticed about the future of the movement. Its popularity cannot be a measure for its

success. Its decentralized structure may achieve some nuanced decisions that are not biased

or restricted to a specific group. Expending the movement’s interests to touch other sectors

of the society like education and health can achieve more valuable results. Protests and

hashtags can raise awareness about the issue of racism, but they cannot solve it radically.

Only serious changes in the stage may achieve little reform in favor of the Blacks. This is

not to say that the issue of racism can never be solved but to consider that the path leading

to racial equality for African Americans remains a long one.

55

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