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Arizona State University

Civic Engagement, Identity and Group Mobilization

Black Lives Matter

Sebastian Barba

Identity, Service and American Democracy PAF 112

Professor Koppel

9 December 2020
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The Black Lives Matter network has been a growing movement since 2013 but today we

see a change that will bring light into a new age. While Violence has ensued which brings harm

to the movement, the identity of Black Lives Matter is surrounded by people who want justice

for the wrongful deaths of African Americans, advocating to bring voices to the unheard and

building local power. They’re solidifying a community together to change the world through

community engagement and political influence because bringing equality to the world through

knitting together a community will bring real change for the better. Protesting against police

racism and violence everyday while pushing to bring power to the African American community

through protests and worldwide support.

The BLM movement began with african americans standing up to the injustices towards

black people from police. The identity is surrounded by the shared experience of police brutality

or being prejudiced towards in the african american community. It's become an identity that is

too widely known for african americans. To be a part of the movement you need to know what

the ultimate goal is and there's no need for people to have a connection to the identity but

wanting to bring change for others who are less fortunate. All across the world we’ve seen white,

black, asian, latino, and more supporting the BLM movement because they believe that

something needs to be done to address the issue. Although the focus of the organization is to

bring attention to black lives, there are other minority groups that face similar prejudices and

with the support of the world behind them it ultimately creates a strong community where it

doesn matter where you come from or who you are, as long as you want to bring positivity and

change you can become a member. This allows for the organization to become a lot stronger than

others because there are no requirements to become a part of it but its shared interest that brings

this community together.

The social capital due to the Black Lives Matter organization has brought a lot of division

between many groups of people and the feelings society has towards police. It created the idea

that if you state “All lives matter” you’re being harmful towards the movement. Inside of the

movement social capital is through the shared interest to bring police accountability and power to

the african american community. It allows for the organization and its members to become a lot

stronger through the collective of wanting to establish some kind of change. According to Kim

Parker “Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they support the movement, with 38% saying they strongly

support it. This sentiment is particularly strong among black Americans, although majorities of

white (60%), Hispanic (77%) and Asian (75%) Americans express at least some support.” This

expresses the support brought by many other identity groups and the interest to bring reform.

The Black Lives Matter organization engaged in politics and society by organizing

protests and with the financial support they were “​Armed with an infusion of cash, they ​launched

a political action committee​ in October — a move that signals their readiness to deal in the

mainstream political arena.​ '' stated by Maya King. It became such a big movement that it grew

them the power to bring influence politically as well, looking to advocate for change within

politics. “​Black Lives Matter has been around ​since 2013​, but there’s been a ​big shift in public

opinion​ about the movement as well as broader support for recent protests.” according to Larry

Buchanan. This suggests that recent events have caused for a collective agreement all across the

world in support of this movement and also resulted in an uproar of protests after Jorge Floyd's

death. Overall their engagement in society is through advocating, protesting, and politically they

formed a political action committee to advocate for candidates that will bring the change that is

so needed.
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Black Lives Matters is about bringing justice to a world that favors people based on the

color of their skin. Through protests, donations, voting, sharing and more the organization was

able to get the word out whether it be by mouth or over social media. The mobilization of Black

Lives Matters members was through the videos, bringing evidence to social media and creating

widespread concern for the situation at hand. To be quiet in a time like this is to be for the

violence against african americans, according to the The Black Lives Matters Global Network in

the course “The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for

liberation.”. Suggesting that this isn't to make african americans higher than any other race but to

bring them into the light and create a society where equality is normalized and using this to bring

african americans into power all over the world. This movement is attempting to change a broken

system, nothing can be solved but something can be changed in order to bring justice and peace.

The reason this organization formed such a solid movement today is because of the age we live

in, the age of technology and social media where posts can trend and word can spread like

wildfire. They were able to utilize it to their advantage and it worked, for example when the

movement was at its peak earlier this year there was a blackout all over social media which was

symbolic for them and it brought a lot more attention to the world. They still utilize the idea that

together they can bring change just like any other organization but this was too concerning for

the world to ignore.

American democracy is about equality, liberty, self governance and bringing it to citizens

of the United States. These are the ideals that the US has used to form the society we have today

and the Black Lives Matters movement is about equality and power to the african american

community because all around the world african americans are murdered through racial

motivation. Today service in America is unlike any other place because people who have a
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common interest or concern can form an organized group around the collective idea they have

and begin trying to change the issue or concern. Unlike other countries the US allows for its

citizens to organize around these ideas based on the freedom of speech and it can be anything

they have concern for as long as it doesn bring harm to national security. All of this works under

the societal level of democracy because it is formed by the people for the people and works to

bring justice, power and more for the people.

Overall, the Black Lives Matters organization is formed around a community of many

different types of people from different ethnicities t different backgrounds and all together to

change the lives of african americans. Their connection to society and other organizations have

created significant progress for them and it seems that their cause will not die until the world has

justice. Through social and political engagement they can meet their needs for change. The use

of social media, the political action committee were the biggest ways that BLM has been able to

engage with society and politics. It mobilized its supporters and organizers to push for action all

across the world, they were able to become the biggest movement today. Black Lives Matters

allows you to service them in many different ways such as protesting, sharing through social

media, donations and more but they have different methods for you to participate. They used

american democracy close to them in order to make them unique, they used freedom of speech

and the ability to form interest groups to support. Black Lives Matters has changed the way we

organize and perceive the world today.

Works Cited

“About.” ​Black Lives Matter,​ Black Lives Matter, 16 Oct. 2020, blacklivesmatter.com/about/.

Buchanan, Larry, et al. “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.”

The New York Times​, The New York Times, 3 July 2020,

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.

Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz and Monica Anderson. “Majorities Across Racial, Ethnic

Groups Express Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement.” ​Pew Research Center's

Social & Demographic Trends Project,​ 20 Aug. 2020,

www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/06/12/amid-protests-majorities-across-racial-and-ethnic-

groups-express-support-for-the-black-lives-matter-movement/.

King, Maya. “Inside Black Lives Matter's Push for Power.” ​POLITICO,​ POLITICO, 19 Nov.

2020, ​www.politico.com/news/2020/11/17/black-lives-matters-push-power-436916​.