Social Movement Report

Posted: January 4th, 2023

Social Movement Report

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Social Movement Report

Introduction

Racism continues to be a major hurdle in Canada and other parts of the world, which calls for more effective and robust ways for addressing the concern. The report focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement, which is one of the many social groups that disapprove unfair practices against the black community. The study calls on other parties to contribute towards overcoming racism by playing their roles in the best way possible. The paper argue that it is possible to suppress racism by acting as a team with a common objective rather than letting the Black Lives Matter movement to act independently.

Describing the Movement

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized social and political movement championing for non-violence civil disobedience in opposition to cases of racially instigated violence and police cruelty against black people. Whereas the group comprises of specific groupings such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network, that usually consider their groupings to be part of the larger Black Lives Matter, the movement comprises of a wide range of organizations and people (Black Lives Matter 2020). Other than opposing police brutality towards black people, the organization plays essential functions in calling for policy adjustments perceived to be connected to black liberation. The group adopted the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in 2013 on Twitter in reaction to the unprecedented release of George Zimmerman who allegedly shot dead Trayvon Martin who was an African American (Black Lives Matter 2020). Black Lives Matter – Canada is part of the larger social movement functions as a movement and organization calling to an end to state violence and dismantling anti-black racism (Black Lives Matter 2020). The movement serves as a platform upon which black people and communities in Canada can rely on to actively overcome all kinds of anti-black racism, and advocate for the liberation of blackness while enhancing the existence of the black community, freedom, self-determination to fight suppression, and foster black healing (Black Lives Matter 2020). Overall, the Black Lives Movement provides an avenue for many black people to stand up against police brutality and other forms of injustice.

Why the Group Receives Overwhelming Support

Racism, which can be perceived as a structured form based on the ranking and categorization of ethnic or racial groups into social groups whereby different teams are given dissimilar values and have dissimilar access to resources, opportunities, and power, causing some groups to be disadvantaged while others continue to thrive, continues to draw different reactions. The Black Lives Matter movement receives overwhelming support because it opposes racism manifested at the individual and structural levels (Black Lives Matter 2020). It acknowledges that institutionalized racism, which can be expressed at the structural level results in the seclusion of groups because the dominating side facilitates the development of norms, policies, structures, and practices leading to differential reach to opportunities, services, and goods (Black Lives Matter 2020). Usually, the group holds protests, which cause some form of disturbance, thereby attracting the attention of the target audience. The group may hold protests against the killing or unlawful arrest of black people with the objective of attracting the attention of administrators and security officers (Black Lives Matter 2020). The group held massive protests in the U.S. in 2014 following the death of two blacks, Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Areas such as Missouri and Ferguson experienced harsher effects of the protests because people’s properties were damaged and looted (Black Lives Matter 2020). The movement regained national and international attention in 2020 after the death of George Floyd in the hands of the police. The protests that lasted several days stressed on the importance of preserving the lives of black people just as it happens with whites. Indeed, the fame of Black Lives Matter has increasingly shifted over the years. Even though the popularity of Black Lives Matter had dropped in 2018, it rapidly grew through 2019 and 2020.

Canada has experienced its share fair of the operations of the Black Lives Matter movement, which makes the group to garner much local support, especially from those supporting its activities. For example, the group in 2015 held protests in Toronto and shut major highways as a reaction to the death of two black people at the hands of the police (Huffpost 2015). The incidents of the event in Toronto featured prominently during the Take Back the Night gala in Toronto (Huffpost 2015). The event that brought thousands of people together highlighted the need to shun sexual violence and police brutality that continue to affect the lives of the marginalized black community (Huffpost 2015). The event that happened thanks to the collaboration between the Black Lives Matter Toronto Coalition and the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre attracted many people and gained overwhelming support because it also advocated for the rights of members of the LGBTQ (Huffpost 2015). Many people chanted “no racist police, no peace, no justice” during the event that lasted the entire night, and sang liberation songs with the hope that such unity would help to address the disturbing threat. The high turnout during such events and protests shows that the group receives much support for its activities and aspirations in Canada.

Significance of the Movement and its Operations

The movement plays essential functions in creating societies where people get the same opportunities regardless of their color or racial affiliation. It reminds people that racism is wrong and could have devastating effects if unregulated. Stanley et al. (2019) inform that racial discrimination is perceived as an essential social determining factor of health and a key driver for ethnic and racial health imbalance. Stanley et al. (2019) acknowledge that diverse manifestations of racism can disrupt health through various identified direct and indirect ways. The indirect ways through which racism can affect health include differential reach to health determinants and societal resources by resource, as depicted by persistent ethnic imbalance in living standards, employment, education, and income (Stanley et al. 2019). Individually, incidences of racism can interfere with health directly through stress pathways and physical violence, with physiological and psychological effects, resulting in substantial physical and mental health repercussions. Furthermore, racism impacts on healthcare through institutions and individual healthcare giver, resulting in ethnic imbalance in reach to care and a quality one for that matter (Stanley et al. 2019). For instance, ethnic discrepancies in social and economic status can indirectly cause a differential reach to healthcare, while caregiver ethnic bias can impact on the outcomes and quality of healthcare services. There has been significant recent advancement in studies showing a direct connection between experiences of health and racism. A recent meta-analysis and systematic review revealed the connection between self-witnessed personally instigated racism and adverse mental and physical consequences, with the immense effects witnessed in mental health (Stanley et al. 2019). Related studies have also revealed that the experiences of racial discrimination is connected with other severe health implications and preclinical signs of diseases and health risks across different countries and ethnic affiliations, including in Canada and other parts of the world.

The activities of the Black Lives Matter movement are appropriate and likely to receive more global support because the practices help to overcome racism, which is a psychological stressor that could tamper with developmental trajectories. Macedo et al. (2019) performs a qualitative study with the objective of estimating the effects of racism on indicators of child social and emotional wellbeing at one to two years after being exposed to the unpleasant stimuli. The researchers gather data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (Macedo et al. 2019). The investigators also collected using a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews to acquire information that would help to understand how exposure to discriminative practices. The child’s caregiver were the primary source of information (Macedo et al. 2019). The study revealed that exposure to racial acts were related with increased risk for behavioral and emotional problems. The conclusions recorded in the study contributes to the understanding of the effects of racism on young children. Support for behavioral and emotional problems, and hyperactive behaviors for affected children might help ease the adverse consequences of racism (Macedo et al. 2019). Therefore, the actions of the Black Lives Matter movement are important and highly appreciated because they help to protect children from encounters that would affect their growth and development and future well-being.

The activities of the Black Lives Matter movement may help to suppress the effects of cumulative discrimination across different generations. Brian (2002) informs that discriminatory effects can accumulate across many generations and over lifetimes. It means that discrimination against parents of people in one generation may directly interfere with outcomes for their offspring and indirectly impact on life opportunities for succeeding generations in many ways, including through poorer health and education. Some studies, including that by….are able to connect discrimination witnessed by parents directly the outcomes experienced by children, although these studies also acknowledge that there are a variety of ways through which such a connection may happen. For example, prolonged racial discrimination in housing has continued effects for wealth accumulation and levels in future generations. Brian (2002) also reports that parents’ education can impact the educational achievements and aspirations of the youth. In addition, awareness about going through higher learning impact not only the rate of college attendance in this generation but also on the expectations and knowledge of future generations. Thus, parents and guardians who experience segregation may condition those under their care to avoid particular situations or places. Such people may also have occupational and educational aspirations, knowledge, or encounters that restrain prospects for their offspring. Brian (2002) points out that discrimination against parents at one generation may restrain prospects for their offspring even if the discriminatory acts come to pass or the children do not encounter any form of discrimination. Although proof of the implications of parental income on child performance and outcomes is still unclear, recent findings reveal that parental income may be significantly essential for young people in low-income households. For instance, if parents cannot enjoy to reside in proper places, or avail extracurricular learning experiences, their children are not likely to perform well in school. Thus, constraints, including racial segregation experienced by older generations, that restrain parental income may result in lower performance and achievement by future generations.

Further Analysis

Black Lives Matter alone cannot achieve its aspirations of creating societies where discrimination serves as the basis of making people different unless the group receives considerable support from other areas. Another possible way to overcome racial discrimination and to create a society where people interact with each other regardless of their cultural dissimilarities is to train people and learners on the merits of developing a society that has no place for racism (Berman & Paradies 2010). Educators in learning facilities and in other settings should remind people about the negative aspects of racism, and put emphasis on the positive effects of fostering a united community and society. It is important to constantly remind people the need to overcome racism because Berman and Paradies (2010) feel that it is difficult to adopt multiculturalism in many contemporary liberal democracies due to unclear description of racism and anti-racism, and misunderstanding about the functions of multiculturalism in suppressing racism. Berman and Paradies (2010) assert that the lack of clearness has resulted in in marginalization of anti-racism within multicultural societies. Therefore, educators should take the initiative to educate people about what they need to understand about racism and creating a society where racial differences do not cause division.

The government can play vital functions in developing a diverse society where people do not segregate each other because of their race. The state should support the activities of the various social movement groups, and always heed to their calls. The government should facilitate the registration of such social movements, and ensure that nothing obstructs their functions. Consequently, administrators should enable the registration of such social movements, and always protect them when under considerable threat. For example, the government should support the activities of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as other establishments such as the Me Too movement that plays essential functions in advocating for decreased sexual and racial discrimination, and Time’s Up movement that calls to an end to sexual violation. Besides, it is imperative to acquire valuable lessons from theoretical aspects such as Bell Hook’s feminist theory, which acknowledges the importance of appreciating the various social classifications in terms of sexual identity, class, gender, and race (Hooks 2014). The relevant authorities need to accept that all these factors that make people different are interconnected, and that ignoring the link develops a form of oppression towards marginalized groups, and alter the experiences of living as a marginalized in a society (Hooks 2014). Thus, borrowing some tips from Hooks will create room for campaigners to conduct their activities in a more liberalized manner that sends a strong message for change. The state, however, should formulate structures that ensure these groups conduct their functions and protests in an orderly manner to avoid disruptions and situations where people lose their valuable properties due to unregulated revolts and unrests.

Conclusion

The study addresses the reasons why the Black Lives Matter movement receives overwhelming support and illustrates why the activities by the group are essential. The group manages to attract overwhelming support from many people in Canada and other parts of the world because it addresses the issue of racial discrimination. The group uses protests to attract the attention of the target audience, and the approach seems to yield some positive results. The attempts by the Black Lives Matter movement are significant because they help to eradicate racial discrimination, which can result in adverse social, economic and psychological effects. The operations of the Black Lives Matter help to avoid a situation where the adverse repercussions of racism moves from one generation to the other, and where future children suffer because of the injustices their ancestors experienced. However, it is imperative to acknowledge that the Black Lives Matter movement cannot win the war against racism without the support of other groups. Educators should take the initiative to educate people about the benefits of developing a multicultural society, and should take the initiative to clarify the areas that remain unclear to many people, and which could push them to indulge in discriminatory acts. The government can also support the activities of the Black Lives Matter movement by facilitating the operations of such groups, including ensuring that they do not experience considerable hurdles during the registration process. The study also illustrates describes the significance of creating policies that do not promote discriminatory acts as a way of showing solidarity with the activities of the Black Lives Matter.

References

Black Lives Matter. (2020). Black Lives Matter – Canada. Retrieved 20 November, 2020, from https://blacklivesmatter.ca/

Brian, B. (2002). Culture and equality: An egalitarian critique of multiculturalism. Harvard: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01001-7.

Hooks, B. (2014). Ain’t I a woman: Black women and feminism. Abingdon: Routledge; ISBN-13: 978-1138821514

Huffpost. (2015). Black Lives Matter takes back the night and shuts down downtown Toronto. Retrieved 20 November, 2020, from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/09/28/black-lives-matter-toronto_n_8209932.html

Macedo, D., et al. (2019). Effects of racism on the socio-emotional wellbeing of aboriginal Australian children,’ International Journal for Equity in Health, 18 (132) https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-019-1036-9

Stanely, J. et al. (2019). The impact of racism on the future health of adults: Protocol for a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 19 (346), https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6664-xeHealtHeal