Resisting Repression: The Black Lives Movement in Context

Abstract

Although some naïve observers saw Black Lives Matter protests as coming from nowhere in response to a new problem of publicity about police violence, the insurgency of 2014-2016 was continuous with and built on longstanding movements of resistance against repression and unequal treatment in the criminal justice system. Black activists in the US have long protested racially disparate policing and the repression of Black political action. These actions have meshed with efforts by other reform movements. This chapter reviews Black and non-Black movements addressing racial disparities or biases in US criminal justice with an emphasis on the movements between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the emergence of the Black Lives mobilization in 2014. The author's experiences in a local movement around racial disparities in criminal justice are shown to be consistent with what happened elsewhere. Prior to 2012, both radicals and moderates engaged in similar tactics of writing reports and seeking to influence criminal justice policy and there were periodic eruptions of protest about police violence or discrimination. Protests built upon longstanding organizations and networks and received external support as they grew. Note: This is the almost-final version of a paper forthcoming in 2020 as a chapter in Racialized Protest and the State, edited by Hank Johnston and Pamela Oliver. Routledge in the Mobilization Series on Social Movements. https://www.routledge.com/Racialized-Protest-and-the-State-Resistance-and-Repression-in-a-Divided/Johnston-Oliver/p/book/9780367263539 This version has not been copyedited. The forthcoming published version contains edits and revisions not reflected in this preliminary version.

Converting ordinary resistance into collective action: Visibility struggles, discreet antiracist mobilisations and intermediation work in the French banlieues

“…Embodying a radical, autonomous and critical form of antiracism, these groups generally face harsh opposition from the public authorities: stigmatization as "separatist" and "anti-French", criminalization through judicial trials, etc. While this form of institutional and political backlash against antiracism has been observed elsewhere -critical race theory or the Black Lives Matter movement being under attack, sometimes labeled as terrorism (Oliver, 2020) -the French tradition of denying racial discrimination fuels a political opportunity structure that is closed on these issues (Beaman, Fredette, 2022). Led by minorities, the local non-profits we studied are not necessarily connected to these national radical movements, but endeavor nonetheless to highlight the systemic nature of discrimination.…”

Police Brutality and Racial Justice Narratives Through Multi-Narrative Framing: Reporting and Commenting on the George Floyd Murder on YouTube

“…The police killing of Floyd, an unarmed Black man, set off a chain reaction of protests against systemic racism underlying American policing. It marked the latest event highlighting the history of police brutality that has plagued Black people in the United States and has persisted throughout the country’s history (Hawkins & Thomas, 2013; Oliver, 2020), tracing back to the control that slavery afforded (Hawkins & Thomas, 2013). The history of police brutality has led to flashpoints between Black people and state institutions, fostering the explosive response to the George Floyd murder.…”

Against All Odds: Reflections from a “Scary” Black Woman

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If I did not define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive (Lorde, 1984, p. 137).

BLACK RESISTANCEhere has always been an underlying continuum of resistance by Black people that manifests in everything from slave revolts to suffrage movements to the Black Lives Matter movement (Oliver, 2020). Parallel efforts overlap these resistances within higher education through fights for justice and equality to be seen and heard within predominantly white institutions.

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