Who Are Black Lives Matter Activists? Niche Realization in a Multimovement Environment

Abstract

Within the context of a social movement, a niche is a set of its supporters’ characteristics that define the movement’s location in a multidimensional space. Niches may clearly separate movements from one another or niches may overlap. This article examines the realization of an activist niche by Black Lives Matter (BLM), which has become one of the most prominent movements of the early twenty-first century. It draws on surveys of 3,860 activists conducted in Washington, DC, in 2017 and 2018, and 393 surveys of activists participating in the March for Racial Justice in five cities in 2017. The results show that BLM activists formed a niche along five dimensions. First, BLM activists have a greater-than-average commitment to intersectional activism than do comparable activists in other movements. Second, they use social media more regularly for political purposes than do their peers working on other causes, which helps the movement operate in a decentralized fashion. Third, they are less satisfied with how democracy is practiced in the United States. Fourth, they are more likely to acknowledge justifications for using violence for political purposes. Fifth, they report having experienced high levels of anger in conjunction with politics.

Black Networks Matter

“…Beyond this historical event, our findings contribute to broader theories about social movements by examining what parts of those theories may have changedor shifted in importancein the social media era (Heaney 2022). This is not to say that Black Lives Matter in 2020 is necessarily typical of a new type of social movement.…”

Media Digital dan Gerakan Sosial: Analisis Logika Aksi Konektif

“…Aktivis BLM telah menghadapi kritik dan penentangan dari beberapa segmen masyarakat, seperti politisi konservatif, media, dan penentang protes, yang menuduh mereka sebagai kelompok yang kekerasan, radikal, atau anti-Amerika. Beberapa aktivis BLM juga mengalami perbedaan pendapat internal dalam gerakan tersebut, seperti ketidaksepakatan mengenai taktik, tujuan, atau kepemimpinan (Heaney, 2022). Selain itu, Aktivis BLM Juga menghadapi penindasan dari otoritas negara, seperti polisi dan jaksa, yang telah menggunakan kekerasan berlebihan, pengawasan, penangkapan, dan dakwaan untuk mengintimidasi dan mencegah mereka dari berdemonstrasi.…”

Content takedowns and activist organizing: Impact of social media content moderation on activists and organizing

“…There are many political implications of the current structure of algorithmic content moderation that should be considered. Because social media companies' content moderation algorithms' display of bias against marginalized individuals has been documented (Middlebrook, 2020; Rauchberg, 2022) and because activists are often individuals who identify with at least one marginalized group (Heaney, 2022; Kluch, 2022), erroneously removing content shared by individuals who are activists and who are marginalized exacerbates the marginalization (Middlebrook, 2020). Societally, this practice stunts movements, hampers representation, targets groups, silences individuals, violates rights to free speech, and multiplies the workload of the content creators who identify in these ways and experience this mistreatment.…”