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Considered to be the largest social justice movement since the civil rights era of the 1960s, Black Lives Matter is more than the scores of street protests organized by the social justice group that attracted hundreds of thousands of demonstrators across the world.

From its early days in 2014 after Officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown, Jr. to the protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Black Lives Matter has opened the door for social change by expanding the way we think about the complicated issues that involve race.

As sociologists who study how protests lay the groundwork for social change, we understand their necessity as a tactic to draw attention toward a movements broader agenda.

In our study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we found that the Black Lives Matter was able to shift attention away from its protests and toward its agenda of building an anti-racist society.

Our report further revealed that Black Lives Matter has changed how people learn about specific issues that involve race, such as police violence, mass incarceration and other systemic problems in Black communities that would be intolerable in other communities.

Social change, such as the anti-slavery movement in the 19th century, is not represented only by new legislation or Supreme Court decisions. It is also found in the publics ideas and conversations: what you and I think and talk about.

When people engage with a movement, such as joining a protest, they are more likely to learn about the movements aspirations and plans to achieve their goals. In this way, protest opens the door for social change.

In our digital age, researchers can measure what people are thinking about by analyzing activity on public internet platforms like Google, Wikipedia and Twitter. Social researchers can quantitatively measure social media activity and see how it changes over time and in response to particular events, such as Black Lives Matter protests.

Our study examined how street demonstrations facilitated an important initial step in creating social change: changing the way people think. Based on our research, we found that people began thinking about racism from a broader and deeper perspective.

We conducted a large-scale quantitative analysis of news media, Google searches, Wikipedia page visits and Twitter from 2014 to 2020 to build a picture of the movements impact on how Americans and the world understand the conditions of Black life in the U.S. over the past century.

Though Google doesnt share the actual number of people who search on its platform, the total number is estimated to be in the billions. For our data set of searched words and phrases, that number is likely to be as much as in the hundreds of millions.

We found that during Black Lives Matter protests, digital search users think and talk about racial ideas, such as systemic racism, Michelle Alexanders book The New Jim Crow and white supremacy, up to 100 times more than they did in the weeks before the protests.

Over the years these spikes grew larger and included more diverse ideas.

In 2014 and 2015, for instance, we saw people using Google to search terms about police shootings and past victims of police homicide.

But in 2020 the search terms were much broader and included ideas like prison abolition and redlining the discriminatory practice by banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions that resulted in segregated neighborhoods.

Importantly, the ideas that come into the public consciousness during protest dont simply disappear. They stick around. We found that six months after the 2020 George Floyd protests, social media searches of terms such as systemic racism and white supremacy were considerably higher than before the protests.

After the murder of Floyd, journalists and researchers alike proclaimed that the United States was experiencing a racial reckoning.

To understand the full scope of the reckoning and the possibility for change, it is important to know how people make sense of these events.

Large-scale digital data from platforms like Google, Wikipedia and Twitter shows us which ideas are attracting attention and when this attention is sustained.

In a sense, protests help create a new normal, in which anti-racism is an increasingly common way to talk about inequalities in American society.

The pathway toward change is not always simple.

Activists such as those in Black Lives Matter want people to rethink social problems, and many contemporary problems are rooted in historical failures to produce a just society.

The participants in the demonstrations of 2020 have an advantage that previous generations of activists did not: They witnessed the shortcomings of past civil rights movements, as well as the limits of modern-day efforts to teach diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Certainly, increased attention does not always bring positive results.

Our study also investigates the rise in opposition that overlapped with BLM attention.

On Twitter, hashtags such as #AllLivesMatter and #WhiteLivesMatter increased during BLM protests and periods of reactionary right-wing protest, such as the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

We found that countermovement activity did not decrease attention to the BLM movement and was always dwarfed by BLM-related social media activity. During the peak of the George Floyd protests in May and June 2020, for instance, there were about 750,000 #BlackLivesMatter tweets per day, compared with about 20,000 #AllLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter.

The trend continued as time passed. In December 2020, #BlackLivesMatter tweets were posted about 10,000 times per day, compared with fewer than 1,000 for #AllLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter.

The data suggests that the Black Lives Matter movement is having a lasting impact as are the groups ideas.

[Theres plenty of opinion out there. We supply facts and analysis, based in research. Get The Conversations Politics Weekly.]

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Black Lives Matter protests are shaping how people understand racial inequality - The Conversation

Oregon Values & Beliefs Center survey shows lingering political divide when it comes to social and racial justice

A majority of Oregonians polled say they support the Black Lives Matter movement, but residents are split on whether society is in a better place because of it.

Results of an Oregon Values & Beliefs Center survey conducted in February show about six in 10 Oregon residents polled (59%) support the Black Lives Matter movement. Among them, 36% showed strong support. Three in 10 said they oppose the movement and about one in 10, or 9%, were unsure.

According to the Oregon Values & Beliefs Center, support for the movement is higher among those with more education and income, with support being highest among Multnomah County residents.

Still, surveyors noted a lingering political divide among Oregonians on the perceptions of the social justice movement, with 87% of Democrats in support and 69% of Republicans opposed.

In 2020, the deaths of three different African Americans two at the hands of police catapulted the social justice movement into prominence. In February 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was murdered by three white men in Georgia who mistook him for a burglar while he jogged in the woods. The following month, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot and killed by police in Kentucky while sleeping in her home. In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota catalyzed the public into action. The high-profile cases forced a spotlight on policing, racism and bias in America, sparking nationwide protests and marches.

While Black Lives Matter marches and demonstrations took place in major cities, Portland saw sustained protests in 2020 that garnered international media attention and defined the city for much of that time. Downtown Portland saw sometimes violent clashes between protesters and local and federal police. Police drew scrutiny from the public and lawmakers for their repeated use of tear gas, pepper spray and munitions that left one man with a fractured skull.

Antifascist protesters drew strong criticism for demonstrations that ended in repeated damage to downtown businesses. Some Oregonians say that drowned out the overall message and overshadowed the need for police reform.

Robert Williams, who lives in Multnomah County, told OVBC that the ongoing protests may have hurt the message.

"Getting awareness of the issue is necessary. I believe the extended violence that accompanied actions was instigated by non-BLM agency," Williams said.

While a majority of those polled support Black Lives Matter, Oregonians are torn on the social impact of the justice movement.

OVBC polling shows 36% of Oregon residents think society is in a better place as a result of the social justice movement that followed George Floyd's death. Survey results show 38% think the country is worse off and 19% of those polled said we're in the same place as before Floyd's death and the ensuing calls for reform.

"I think that BLM educated so many white Americans, resulting in (two) major impacts," Susan Heath said. "Some whites responded with compassion and concern (and may or may not still be involved in the movement), while others responded with fear and bigotry and joined the white nationalist backlash."

Marla Cox, a Marion County resident, said the uprising and protests in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement was harmful, leaving society more divided.

"Black Lives Matters burned cities, rioted, looted and no one did anything about it," Cox wrote in a survey response, saying the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 "was nothing" compared to damage done in many American cities.

Cox later said by phone that the movement has sown racial division.

"It caused me to be aware of race all at once," Cox said. "It's damaged me. I don't like seeing color. I just want to see the person as the person. I want to go back to the way it was before. I'm Lakota and my uncle was Chickasaw. My mother was born on the reservation. My grandparents were born on the reservation. You look at what's inside people, that's what we should be looking at. Not the color of their skin."

Pollsters note a significant age gap in response to the question of societal impacts. Oregonians ages 75 and older are much more likely (48% versus 28%) than those ages 18 to 29 to think our culture is in a better place.

"Overall, Republicans tend to be more pessimistic on the issue, with 69% saying our culture is in a worse place, whereas 58% of Democrats think we're better off," OVBC noted in a summary of results, saying optimism on the issue tends to increase with higher income and education levels.

Mixed opinions in the latest study are consistent with a June 2021 survey of Oregonians, which found 19% felt the Black Lives Matter movement has a positive impact on their community, compared with 22% who said it was negative.

The OVBC surveys, which reports a 2% margin of error and strives for representative sample size and accuracy, shows a lingering divide in the state regarding social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement in particular.

That divide has proven deadly.

On Feb. 19, five people were shot and one woman was killed just before a social justice march kicked off in northeast Portland's Normandale Park. Brandy "June" Knightly, 60 was shot and killed by a man who lived nearby and emerged with a gun, yelling at demonstrators in the park before shooting Knightly in the head and seriously wounding at least four others.

The Normandale Park confrontation isn't the first time a demonstration in Portland has turned deadly.

Aaron "Jay" Danielson, 39, was shot and killed in August 2020, while part of a large caravan of vehicles and members of far-right group Patriot Prayer drove through the city rallying for then-President Donald Trump. The group was met with resistance from counter-protesters. The man suspected of shooting Danielson that night, Michael Forest Reinoehl, later told a freelance journalist that he shot Danielson in self defense, believing he was about to be stabbed. Reinoehl was later shot and killed by federal officers in Washington as the attempted to serve a warrant for his arrest.

Oregonians are also split on solutions to reducing implicit bias and racism. When asked about potential strategies to reduce inequality between Black and white people in Oregon, a slim margin felt just two of the strategies: limiting the scope of policing and redrawing school boundaries, were effective.

Of those surveyed, 54% said limiting the scope of policing to focus on serious and violent crimes would have either a lot or some impact on reducing inequality. Similarly, 52% said redrawing school boundaries to create more racially and ethnically diverse schools would help.

Among the respondents, Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans (70% versus 35%) to think limiting the scope of policing would help. Democrats are also significantly more likely than Republicans (68% versus 35%) to think redrawing school boundaries to diversify campuses would help. College graduates are more likely to favor redrawing school boundaries than those with less formal education.

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Oregonians support Black Lives Matter, but few think it has helped - Portland Tribune

Warwick Sen. Kendra Anderson has decided not to run for reelection but instead to endorse a leader of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island Political Action Committee to replace her, reported The Providence Journal. Harrison Tuttle, 23, was announced Tuesday to be her successor.

Anderson said when she first ran, she saw no meaningful climate legislation signed into law. Now that her advocacy played a significant role in the passing of crucial climate legislation within the past year, she is passing her baton to another worthy candidate, per Providence Journal. Anderson said she believes Tuttle to be a powerful advocate for racial and economic justice with the knowledge and experience to represent the district.

Tuttle was reported to have led a number of initiatives with BLM including protests outside the Providence Public Safety Complex as well as co-author an op-ed with the president of the local NAACP chapter.

More on Tuttle from Providence Journal:

Among Tuttles priorities: repeal of the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights.

While some Democrats back reform, the Black Lives Matter RI PAC backs outright repeal on grounds the law shields police officers from being held accountable for misconduct.

In his statement, he summed up his more recent political endeavors this way:

After the murder of George Floyd, Harrison took to the streets in peaceful protest. Wanting to make a positive change, he became heavily involved in political organizing through Black Lives Matter RI PAC, before becoming their executive director.

Tuttle said he was shocked and honored to be offered the opportunity to run, reported Providence Journal. On his platform he had built 10,000 green affordable homes, rose the minimum wage to $19 an hour, legalized marijuana and much more to support initiatives that especially help people of color.

Tuttle vowed to take his fight for economic, climate and racial justice to the State House, reported Providence Journal.

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Rhode Island Senator Gives Up Re-election bid, Puts Black Lives Matter Leader in the Race - The Root

TORONTO, March 31, 2022 /CNW/ - Created in collaboration with the Black Inmates and Friends Association, Toronto Black Farmers and Growers Collective, and Keep6ix, Black Lives Matter - Canada has established a re-entry support program at Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism. Launching on March 28, 2022, Earthseed Community Garden Program builds on established programming led by Toronto Black Farmers and Keep6ix. An abolitionist experiment, the program is grounded in commitments to Black food justice, equitable employment, community support, political education, and self-expression through art.

Black Lives Matter. Canada Logo (CNW Group/Black Lives Matter Canada)

"Through a combination of paid and volunteer opportunities, we are excited to extend our support, creating a space for land-based community engagement alongside formerly incarcerated Black people," said Jessica Kirk, Black Lives Matter - Canada's Executive Director.

Formerly incarcerated Black people face numerous barriers resulting from racism, stigma, violence, and trauma upon reentry. Through programming and access to trauma-informed support networks, Earthseed is working with formerly incarcerated Black people to build community for those returning from incarceration. Additionally, Earthseed's harvest will feed its neighbours, offering free access to a community fridge. Creating a space for formerly incarcerated Black people to find support and reconnect is a necessary step towards healing and building networks of collective care.

Jacqueline from Toronto Black Farmers and Growers Collective said, "The earth grows everything we need. Here, it provides empowerment through therapy, healing and nourishment to those tending to it with love and kindness. This supports us giving back to others in a humane, caring and humble way.

Richard Miller from Keep6ix stated that, "Providing support to formerly incarcerated Black people that is based in an ethic of love, mutual aid, and collective care, can help create systems that empower individuals to not only thrive professionally but to also work towards personal healing."

Story continues

Black Lives Matter - Canada is a national network that resources and supports grassroots Black liberation efforts from coast to coast to coast.

SOURCE Black Lives Matter Canada

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View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2022/31/c8542.html

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Black Lives Matter - Canada, Black Inmates and Friends Association, Keep6ix and the Toronto Black Farmers and Growers Collective launch 'Earthseed,' a...

The protest is being promoted by EDL founder Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, while anti-fascists organise a counter-demo.

Racists are coming to Bristol to hold an anti-Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest at the plinth where slave trader Edward Colstons statue used to stand.

On Saturday 9 April, Anne Marie Waters, anti-Muslim activist and leader of far-right party For Britain, will give a speech celebrating Colstons legacy and condemning BLM from the vacant plinth. For Britain are asking their supporters to arrive at 1pm.

A Bristol Against Hate counter-protest, advertised by flyers circulating on social media, which describes the anti-BLM protest as a disgusting event, will be meeting at the empty plinth on Colston Avenue from 11am on the day.

For Britains protest is being promoted by anti-Muslim hate preacher Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson. Yaxley-Lennon has used his channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, which has over 156,000 subscribers, to publicise the protest.

In January, a protest organised by Yaxley-Lennon in Telford against Muslim grooming gangs attracted around 800 supporters. Since then Yaxley-Lennon has publicly joined For Britain and emailed his supporters encouraging them to also join the party. It is unclear if Yaxley-Lennon, who recently missed a High Court appearance, will join the protest in April.

White identity and anti-vaccine campaigns have been at the heart of the far-rights recent activism. There has been a significant backlash against Black Lives Matter, which means that we have witnessed a return to explicitly racist ideas in British far-right networks.

Waters, a long-time associate of Yaxley-Lennon, once stood to become UKIP leader. After narrowly missing out on UKIP leadership, she split from the party to found For Britain. Since then, For Britain has attracted former British National Party (BNP) organisers, including Eddy Butler, an ex-activist from neo-Nazi terrorist organisation Combat 18, and ex-BNP councillor Julian Leppert, who were seen as modernisers in the BNP.

While For Britain are one of the more noteworthy far-right parties in the UK, they have struggled to make a name for themselves. Last May, For Britain stood 59 candidates in local elections and did poorly; only eight received votes greater than 5%, with nearly half of their candidates receiving less than 2%. Of the two council seats For Britain held prior to the elections, they lost their seat in Hartlepool and retained Lepperts seat in Epping Forest.

When asked by the Cable to explain why For Britain were making such a provocative visit to the city, Waters said: BLM claimed they tore down Colstons statue because of historic links to slavery, yet they are silent on the slavery that takes place in the world today. The reason is simple; todays slave traders arent white, and BLM are anti-white.

For Britain say they are also protesting over the disappearance of money raised to support a Bristol-based BLM group. The Cable asked Waters if they were concerned about the allegations that, prior to joining For Britain, Yaxley-Lennon misspent donations he recieved on cocaine and sex workers. Waters said: I expect no better than your approach. Journalism is of a shockingly low standard and you are the perfect example.

In September 2017, Waters organised a poorly-attended march and rally against Islam in the centre of Bristol. Since then, For Britain has set up a branch in the city which holds regular meetings, which are advertised on social media. They are not the only far-right group to be active in Bristol. Fascist party Patriotic Alternative (PA) were leafleting in the city in October, and in August 2021 Bristol residents supported a White Lives Matter social media campaign.

Hitting back against the accusation that BLM is anti-white, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter UK told the Cable they were fighting for liberation for everyone.

We believe that racism and oppression are not contained in skin colour but structures of power and wealth, they said.

White people arent the problem, its the politicians and bosses who use race and culture wars to push poverty wages and cut benefits. They are the problem.

Buster Twotone, a spokesperson for Bristol Anti-Fascists, told the Cable: For Britain and Tommy Robinson are deliberately promoting the idea that Colston should be celebrated and historical statues are beyond criticism even though Colston made his money from the slave trade and his statue was paid for and erected by a business man and not the people of Bristol.

It is thought by some that by organising these demonstrations For Britain is hoping to rally a waning supporter base. Alex Roberts, presenter for anti-fascist podcast 12 Rules for What, said: Over the past couple of years For Britain has remained a marginal force on the British far right, despite attracting some experienced ex-BNP activists, a party that won a million votes at its peak.

Roberts added: Coming to Bristol to celebrate Colston after his statue was ripped down by the people of Bristol and the four citizens accused of pulling it down were acquitted by a randomly selected jury, appears to be a cynical attempt to rejuvenate For Britains declining prospects. Im sure Bristol will give these idiots a warm welcome.

The upcoming protest can be seen as part of a return to streets by the far-right. Julia Ebner, senior research fellow for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think-tank specialising in extremism, said: Over the last few months weve seen a revival of far-right street activism, especially since the end of the lockdowns. Groups like [Patriotic Alternative], Britain First and For Britain have stepped up their real-life recruitment and communication efforts by leafleting and staging protests.

Patriotic Alternative and Britain First have both targeted hotels housing migrants with unannounced protests. PA have been holding weekly events across the country, with their South West regional group holding a hike in the Mendips two weeks ago. Britain First have also been leafleting ahead of local election campaigns in south east London and Manchester.

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Ebner added: White identity and anti-vaccine campaigns have been at the heart of the far-rights recent activism. There has been a significant backlash against Black Lives Matter, which means that we have witnessed a return to explicitly racist ideas in British far-right networks. We saw the effects of this in the shocking extent of racist hate and harassment that targeted Black football players during the Euros.

The size of the anti-BLM protest in Bristol will depend largely on how heavily figurehead Yaxley-Lennon promotes the event. Without him, For Britain will struggle to mobilise dozens of supporters. If Yaxley-Lennon starts to mobilise hard, there could be hundreds or thousands of racists coming to Bristol and clashing with anti-fascists.

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police told the Cable: Were in contact with the organisers and our aim is to facilitate the event while also balancing the needs of people who live, work and who are visiting the city. Proportionate plans will be in place to monitor the protest and to ensure it takes place safely and with minimal disruption to the wider community.

On Saturday 9 April, Bristol Against Hate will meet at 11am at the vacant Colston plinth. For Britain will try to give an anti-BLM speech from the plinth at 1pm.

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Far-right to hold anti-Black Lives Matter rally in Bristol celebrating Colston's legacy - The Bristol Cable