The Black Lives Matter movement (commonly referred to as ‘BLM’) is difficult to define. The struggle for black people around the world against the systemic inequalities that have disproportionately affected them has been a never-ending fight. As of recent, the movement for this cause has accelerated. In only 22 days after the unjust killing of George Floyd, close to 760,000 people took part in BLM protests in the United States alone (Neyman & Dalsey, 2021). This leads us to the question, why are members of society passionately taking part in protests now, despite racial inequalities being a constant concern for centuries? This essay strives to answer this question by analyzing the reason behind the change in attitude of the general public towards racial issues, emphasizing the extent of how people’s forced awareness of their self and identity helped them push for racial equality, and finally, explore why multiculturism is the desirable purpose for the movement.
Changing attitudes toward black issues.
White people have consistently held the upper hand over people of color throughout history when it comes to power. The systemic privilege and subsequently, power possessed by white people translates into the world and how it is catered to fit their desires (Collins, 2018), going as far as to be prescribed more lenient punishments by the justice system in comparison to black people. According to An unjust burden: The disparate treatment of Black Americans in the criminal justice system (2018), black people are 5.1 times more likely to be incarcerated as compared to white people. In spite of these findings, before COVID-19, an overwhelming majority of White Americans considered anti-Black racism as an insignificant issue (Horowitz & Livingston, 2016). After the outbreak, however, support from Whites for Black Lives Matter went from 40% (2016) to 60% (2020).
The mass change in opinion can likely be contributed to spiked social media usage during the pandemic as a result of burden caused by COVID-19 (Margraf & Brailovskaia, 2021). Spiking anxiety levels (2021) were further worsened by the influx of information produced and consumed by people on the internet. This intake of information online on a wide range of topics, called the ‘Infodemic’, further provides an abundance of opportunities for people to better rethink their opinions and ergo formulate refined ones (Cinelli, et al., 2020). Especially with this newfound information, people are leaning more towards phrasing their thoughts with political correctness, a salient feature of bringing order to our perceptions, as well as creating a comfortable environment for people to engage in social interaction in our growingly diverse world.
Additionally, a large reason as to why ignorance of racial issues exist is a result of the dilemma that communities of people face- the struggle of developing intergroup empathy (Cikara, Bruneau, & Saxe, 2011). In essence, the primary reason contributing to their apathy toward race issues is solely because White Americans had carried forward a divide between themselves and Black Americans, presumably passed through time to present day. This pre-existing separation between the two groups had caused an inability to wholly desire to understand the difficult lifestyle Black Americans are subjected to by birth (Cole, Duncan, Ogedegbe, Bennett, & Ravenell, 2017). It had consistently been ‘Black versus White’ in the U.S. Now, however, it has become more apparent that it is the system that is in need of change. ‘Black versus White’ is transforming itself into ‘People versus System’.
Self and identity; how it improved interaction with individuals other than the self.
The SIRDE (Social Identity, Relative Deprivation, Efficacy) model is contingent on the ability of an individual from a group being able to identify with the other members and/or the motivations of the group (Grant, Bennett, & Abrams, 2017). The relevance of this is accentuated at this point in time due to the security a group-identity obtains via the certainty of the self-identity of each constituent member, ergo, members of a group provide psychologically meaningful frames within which people are granted a circumstance to define themselves and navigate the societal framework (Abrams & Hogg, 1988). Human beings have the inherent tendency to come together during crises, proven true by the impromptu organization of mutual aid groups in various countries (Ntontis & Rocha, 2020). This reinforced the community drive. In spite of any previously harbored differences between the assortment of social groups, this globally shared trauma increased the way people were able to relate to each other; there was now common ground for individuals to relate via their personal experiences.
Due to this established group identity, people begun demanding and protesting for justifications as to why the members of their newfound group were made to comply with societal norms that nearly always have an unfair negative effect. BLM, during the pandemic, was fixated upon due to the publicization of racial issues, i.e., discriminatory treatment of the Black American minority (namely, the case of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor).
Another plausible reasoning behind the sudden surge in contributions of White Americans in the BLM protests (Parker, Horowitz, & Anderson, 2020) is the plethora of knowledge they obtained as a result of the Infodemic (Cinelli, et al., 2020) which included information on historical Black American struggles, structural racism, etc. (Krieger, 2020). As a result of this hyperawareness, the phenomenon of ‘White Guilt’ has intensified. The official concept of ‘White Guilt’ was first explored in 1978, by author Judy Katz (White Awareness). She admitted to feeling guilty for being in possession of the privileges that come along with being white while witnessing the struggles of the Black people around her.
Over time, as people were forced to deal with new nuances of a developing society, they also became less perceptive of those around them, which manifested as self-centrism. This was the foundation for a lack of compassion for the negatively impacted members of society around them (Niskanen, 2009). However, as the pandemic progressed, they were confronted with the realities of their own privilege that they had previously exploited ungratefully, giving them a new conscious perception of themselves, and as an outcome, the desire for redemption. This had most likely led to a state of guilt which materialized into the desire for compensating those at a systemic disadvantage with support for their cause.
Multiculturalism as an end goal.
“Culture is as natural as life. We shortchange ourselves if we view culture as artifice to be opposed to nature.” (How culture works, 2010) Culture comes naturally to living beings. It possesses unique definitions for each region. For Black Americans, their culture holds a deeper significance brought upon by their struggle and the mystery of their true origins as a result of the forceful displacement of their ancestors from their homelands (Mintz, 1992). Black American culture was created to seek out a common ground and create a sense of communal solace for those that struggled at the hands of the White American. A common way of perceiving the United States is via the concept that the country has “a culture of abundance.” (Susman, 2012). The nuances of this idea can be endlessly argued. It is also used as a method of masking the inequalities that lie beneath the surface of the culture.
The United States is a settler society, i.e., countries wherein the population primarily consists of immigrated citizens rather than the native peoples of the land (Verkuyten, 2007). Due to the nation being immigrant-concentrated, there exists an expectation for the intertwining of national identification and multiculturalism (2007). However, the tilted power dynamic which favors the white majority of the country, as proved before, diminishes this expectation. In fact, multiculturalism in the public eye received little to moderate support (Multiculturalism in American public opinion).
Multiculturalism is not contingent on sole acceptance of the minority cultures; it is meant to fulfill a feeling of security that many minorities lack. A study conducted (2019) shows that Black Americans feel the least safe out of any ethnic group in their own communities, other minority groups not lagging far behind. For a society to achieve true multiculturalism, all minorities must feel safe. As long as there is a presence of an askew power balance tilted in the favor of a particular group, there will also be a presence of people determined to maintain their right to be perceived as no less than any other.
To conclude, the changing attitudes toward racial justice indicate people’s ability to alter their psychological processes via their natural empathetic tendencies. Their willingness to partake in the struggle for racial equality proves that human beings are, to an extent, willing to give up certain luxuries to provide a set of people with the same opportunities as them. The BLM movement is also largely motivated by the goal of engaging in social activities with one another to improve as a larger cohesive unit. The bond of aforementioned social unit was further improved through the exploration of one’s own self-identity and therefore, the logic behind their thought processes. Ultimately, the objective to be achieved is that of a society where people can experience complete and utter security within their skin, surrounded by people who provide them with the social net to do so.
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