The Black Lives Matter Movement Analysis

The international activist movement known as the Black Lives Matter movement targets the use of systemic racism internationally in response to the more recent use of violence against black communities, especially in the United States. There are members of the movement from all over the United States representing the thirteen distinct principles and values of the movement: diversity, globalism, black women, black villages, loving engagement, restorative justice, collective value, empathy, queer affirming, unapologetically black, transgender affirming, black families, and intergenerationally. While these values reflect the actions of the group today, there have been many continuities and discontinuities with black activism groups in the past,
such as the Black Consciousness Movement and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Among the continuities, the focus on capitalism is evident in all movements, often citing it as uncompromisingly intertwined with systemic racism.
In From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor argues that “racism, capitalism, and class rule have always been tangled together in such a way that is it impossible to imagine one without the other” (page 216), while in David Hirschmann’s The Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, he very similarly states “the struggle - to be led by the black working class - was now against racialism and capitalism... inextricably intertwined” (page 13). The platform of the Movement for Black Lives states that, “We stand in solidarity with our international family against the ravages of global capitalism and anti-Black racism, human-made climate change, war, and exploitation.” Throughout the each movement, capitalism has been identified as a crucial issue to stand up against because of its perpetuation of the systemic racism integrated in everyday life. The movement’s recognize that in order to end racism, capitalism must be completely dissolved. Some movements argue that as an alternative to capitalism, socialism would have had to be put in place. For example, Biko argued that “post-apartheid South Africa would probably have to be socialist in order to bring about a better distribution of benefits.” Taylor agrees in From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by arguing that “capitalism is contingent on the absence
of freedom and liberation for Black people and anyone else who does not directly benefit from its economic disorder,” and insisting that in order to overcome the capitalist society that oppresses people of color, total solidarity must be achieved. The “Unapologetically Black” aspect of the Black Lives Matter movement is resemblant of the Black Consciousness movement, in which activists argued for the idea of black consciousness and pride as the most important factor of the movement’s progression. The principle, describing the movement’s “love and desire [of] freedom and justice for ourselves [as] a necessary prerequisite for wanting the same for others,” stems from the same idea of solidarity that has been able to push forward movements such as the Black Consciousness Movement, the Black Panthers, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Community. Each movement has had a particular stance on the involvement and presence of white liberal activists, and surely it has also varied amongst the individuals of the movements as well. The Black Lives Matter Movement website avoids usage of the word white, presumably to focus the attention of the movement on the black participation, but Steve Biko openly calls out white liberals by saying that “white liberals must leave blacks to take care of their own business while they concern themselves with the real evil in our society---white racism.” During the Black Consciousness Movement, Biko portrays whites as solely trying to help for the easing of their conscience, but without actually trying to change anything. Biko also argued that the “white liberals” were implicitly stating through their actions that the marginalized blacks should not have the power to do anything “when the liberals were presumptuous enough to think that it behoved them to fight the battle for the blacks” (page 25). In The Eyes on the Prize, a very stark difference in opinion on whether whites should be involved is expressed. Stokely Carmichael expressed his beliefs that “the march should deemphasize white participation, that it should be used to highlight the need for independent, black political units” but opposing parties, including Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young, insisted that “they wanted to send out a nationwide call to whites” (page 280). Furthermore, the movements before the Black Lives Matter movement were very evidently rooted in religion. According to Biko, “While basing itself on the Christian message, black theology seeks to show that Christianity is an adaptable religion that fits in with the cultural situation of the people to whom it is imparted.” Religion in South Africa played an important role in black lives because the whites modeled the church after the western version. In the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s statement of purpose, it reads: “We affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of our purpose, the presupposition of our faith, and the manner of our action.” The movement was heavily based on Martin Luther King Jr.’s pacifist ideals, stemming from the Christian religion. On the “Guiding Principles” section of the official Black Lives Matter movement website, the goal of “Black women” is described as “building a Black women affirming space free from sexism, misogyny, and male‐centeredness.” This guideline in itself is more progressive than the Black Consciousness movement for example, because of how centered on the “black man” the movement was, as indicated in Steve Biko’s, I Write What I Like, where the word ‘woman’ is not mentioned once.
For example, on page 28, Biko says, “The logic behind white domination is to prepare the black man for the subservient role in this country.” The absence of women from the rhetoric of the movement proves that the Black Lives Matter movement is different in that it is more inclusive and aware of the struggles of people of color across all spectrums. On the Movement for Black Lives website, activists discuss that although the movement is “a collective that centers and is rooted in Black communities, [the movement] recognizes we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people; collective liberation will be a product of all of our work.” The inclusivity of the movement has increased the total relative involvement, especially considering that in the Black Consciousness Movement, groups of Africans, Coloureds, and Indians felt contempt towards each other and as a result, were unable to achieve black solidarity. The Black Lives Matter movement is successfully able to achieve black solidarity through its
inclusivity among people of color, genders, sexualities, socioeconomic status, etc. Despite the differences between the movements and leaders now and then, there are similarities among the movements that helped push them forward, such as the dismantling of the capitalism that’s heavily perpetuating the systemic racism in our country and the black consciousness and solidarity that brings together the black community. Black Lives Matter has taken the history of all the previous movements and learned from their flaws and successes, for example, the movement includes specific goals and policies for the protection of black people and communities and the ending of specific programs and policies that prevent that, contrary to the Black Consciousness Movement, which managed to gain some solidarity but failed in its effort to realize distinct, attainable goals. In the platform of the Movement for Black Lives, it states, “We can no longer wait.” The solidarity of the group is stronger than any other movement before.