Fundamentals of Public Communication Campaigns

CHAPTER 12 Black Lives Matter Campaigns

The United States of America is at a turning point in history, one that we have witnessed before. We are experiencing unprecedented times that resonate with events lived in the last century. Examining the situation of African Americans can generate sensitivity to their experiences and an understanding of how their past and present mirror each other.¹ When Africans first arrived as slaves in 1619, a structure based on racial differences was established in the United States. White supremacy, rooted in the myths of White superiority and Black inferiority, has eclipsed deep problems associated with racial inequality and injustice, often leading to assigning blame to the victims.² Sometimes called the Movement for Black Lives, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a US decentralized sociopolitical movement denouncing such White supremacy, particularly long-established police brutality and racially motivated violence against African Americans. The movement is composed of a wide range of individuals and groups.³ As an overarching organization, its individuals and groups also campaign against systemic racism, racial injustice, and hurdles to policy changes that would create more fairness and accountability for African Americans and other minority communities.⁴

A certain number of detractors criticize BLM for launching campaigns that are too broad or unrealistic. If attention is paid only to what the movement’s leaders claim or write, then the criticism ...