In this chapter we have taken up the 2020 Portland demonstrations as a case study of social movements. We used the social problems process framework to contextualize the demonstrations. We considered how theories about the social, historical and political construction of race and racism help us understand how racist policies and racist ideas produce and substance racial inequities, and we identified harmful racist ideas about under-served communities and racist policies that strive to contain rather than enrich under-served communities.

We also looked at the uses of social media for social movements, and we located Garza, Cullors and Tometi within interdependant organizing traditions that touch back to Black Feminist Theory and to the emancipatory sociology of DuBios. We considered how #BlackLivesMatter makes a powerful set of claims that engage critical consciousness, calling attention to all the places Black lives don’t matter. We did the work that #BLM invites us to do, as we analyzed how policing under-resourced communities creates and sustains racism.

6.7.1 Key Terms

antiracist: a person who is supporting an antiracist policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea.

BIPOC: an acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Used to refer to individuals who have been historically underrepresented in social institutions in the United States because of their assigned race category.

Black Lives Matter: #BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate 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.

BREATHE Act: proposed legislation that offers a radical reimagining of public safety, community care, and how we spend money as a society.

carceral: of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

crime: a behavior that violates official law and is punishable through formal sanctions

criminal justice system: an organization that exists to enforce a legal code

community organizing mobilization of volunteers with shared interests and concerns to make social changes in their home community

demonstrator: a person that participates in a protest

deviance: a violation of contextual, cultural, or social norms

hashtag activism: the act of building up public support via social media for a cause

police: a civil force in charge of regulating laws and public order at a federal, state, or community level

prejudice: any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.

protest: a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. The right to assemble is in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution.

racism: a marriage of racist policies and racist ideas that produces and normalizes racial inequities

structural racism: the social structures that emerge from racist policies and practices

6.7.2 Discussion Questions

1. What claims about social problems did the Portland protesters make?
2. How has social media impacted social movements?
3. What social changes have been inspired by the BLM demonstrations?
4. What reactionary movements have emerged in the wake of the BLM demonstrations?
5. When is “All Lives Matter” a racist response to “Black Lives Matter”?
6.  When you hear “Black Lives Matter” what do you think? How has your opinion changed over the course of this week, if it has changed?