For the last two centuries, groups have been fighting for equality through peaceful protests across the globe where there has been racial discrimination. The Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) has lately emerged and drawn widespread attention from the media. Media coverage of the BLM movement frequently parallels the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), highlighting the two movements’ shared goals, strategies, and impact. Social movements can be analyzed through their political influence, tactical strategies, media, and government response toward their campaigns. While BLM and the CRM focused on politically fighting for the rights of minorities, racism, and other injustices, they differed in implementation, mobilization, strategic tactics, and achievements.
Briefly outlining the origins of each movement is necessary for understanding their relationship to one another. From the middle of the 1950s to the end of the 1960s, a social movement known as the Civil Rights movement emerged and developed. The purpose of the movement was to eradicate racial prejudice and inequality against African-Americans and to ensure that they were granted full citizenship rights at the federal level. The BLM movement is an international activist organization with roots in the Black-American community (Chase, 2017). Since its inception as a hashtag, the grassroots movement Black Lives Matter has expanded to include more than 30 local chapters across the United States and beyond (Chase, 2017). Black Lives Matter uses nonviolent direct action to protest police shootings and the mistreatment of African Americans, drawing parallels to the civil rights movement of the 1960s (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). In 2014, after the police killings of two African-American men, the movement gained national attention through street protests. Aiming to improve many African-Americans, the movement is currently in full swing.
African Americans in the United States are engaged in an ongoing fight for civil rights. The Black Lives Matter movement is also raising some of the concerns raised by earlier Black liberation movements: People of African descent are stereotyped as criminals, and their lives are considered less valuable than those of other groups. Both groups have stood against racism and other forms of injustice. Many view the BLM movement as the next iteration of the civil rights struggle. From 1954 until 1965, this movement pushed for civil rights for Black-Americans. The movement BLM has highlighted police brutality against Black Americans. Thus, looking at the parallels and distinctions between the civil rights struggle and the BLM movement is illuminating.
The movement’s ability to strategically instigate change and disseminate its message is crucial to its success. The Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter (BLM) used nonviolent tactics to gain attention and sway policy (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Both groups have employed boycotts to gain attention and advance their causes. One of the best recognized in American history is the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As a result of civil rights leader Rosa Parks’ arrest for defying segregation rules, the Montgomery Improvement Association orchestrated a citywide boycott (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Involving 42,000 individuals for 381 days, the boycott effectively shut down municipal bus service, leading to the eventual and successful unification of all city buses (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). The Black Lives Matter movement, realizing the efficacy of boycotts, has organized several of its own. According to Kirshner-Breen (2017), Black Lives Matter and Walmart employees coordinated a boycott of Walmart on Black Friday in 2014, causing an 11% drop in sales that year.
Even though both movements used boycotts, the strategies employed to accomplish their aims were significantly different. By illustration, prominent preachers and civil rights activists convened the day after Rosa Parks’ arrest to coordinate the boycotts and distribute pamphlets urging black people to avoid taking the city bus. They provided fliers that communicated to the people and were used to attract support for the boycott. There is no denying that the fliers are not exactly a work of art, but rest assured that they had every last bit of vital information for spreading their message. On the other hand, a social media movement called #NotOneDime coordinated the BLM boycotts.
The BLM fliers are much more visually appealing and likely to attract attention. Still, they provide significantly less information than the fliers did more than 50 years ago in the Civil Rights movement. The BLM fliers were designed from the ground up for digital distribution rather than traditional hand-to-hand distribution (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). It is possible to see the differences between the actions in the approach taken and the tools used for communication. Unlike the Bus Boycott, which relied on leaflets and word of mouth to spread its message, BLM used social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to reach a massive audience (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). It is intriguing to think about how these two tactics compare effectiveness. Even though the Montgomery Boycotts were limited to a single city, they had a national and international impact. However, social media allows people worldwide to join the BLM boycotts.
Throughout history, governments have typically resisted social movements that sought to alter the established political order of society. Activities for civil rights and black lives are no different. The unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, was challenging for the BLM movement (Clayton, 2018). Massive demonstrations occurred following the murder of Michael Brown 18 years old black American, by a white police officer. After demonstrators were confronted by military police and riot squads, who imposed curfews on the crowds, things quickly escalated into violence. News outlets across the country covered the incident because of the police’s use of excessive force. Because of what happened in Ferguson, President Obama asked Congress for funds to buy 50,000 body cameras for police (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). The White House has also taken steps to modify local police agencies’ process of acquiring sophisticated military hardware.
The protests of the Civil Rights Movement were greeted with violence from the police at every turn. The Birmingham youth march of 1963 was one of the most significant events of its kind (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Schoolchildren walked across the city carrying the slogan “We Shall Overcome.” Youths were arrested and incarcerated until prisons became overcrowded. Firefighters turned high-pressure hoses on the youthful, peaceful demonstrators the following day. Journalists caught these shocking incidents on camera and broadcast them afterward. Kennedy used the spotlight to push for and secure the passage of a civil rights bill that guaranteed access to all public accommodations for people of color.
Both uprisings faced violent repression from the government, but they ultimately resulted in significant political change. The media played an essential part in both of these examples. The public became far more cognizant of the racial issues within the Criminal Justice System due to the coverage of the two events (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Both presidents at the time addressed the issue and proposed political changes in response to the growing public consciousness of the problem (Clayton, 2018). Origin discrepancies are indicative of more profound distinctions between the two movements. Compared to the more progressive tactics of the Civil Rights Movement, BLM demonstrations are sometimes seen as more conservative. Groups involved in the Civil Rights Movement planned continuous marches to spark a conflict that would grab the nation’s attention. Protests under the banner of “Black Lives Matter” are, on the other hand, typically organized in response to specific acts of racism (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). This makes the outcomes of BLM protests significantly less predictable, even though many analysts claim that socioeconomic circumstances are present in many locations for large-scale demonstrations.
In both the Black Lives Matter and Civil Rights movements, the media played a crucial role in effecting change. The President did not act both times before until media coverage of protests swayed public opinion. Although they shared a standard message, the two movements approached the issue of acquiring widespread support differently. The main reason these groups attracted extra attention is because of technological distinctions.
Since its inception, the Black Lives Matter Movement has relied heavily on social media. As a result of social media, BLM is liberated from relying on established media to disseminate and manage its message (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Twitter and Facebook have allowed BLM to reach an international audience of hundreds of millions. Activists can more easily reach a wider audience with articles written from their point of view thanks to the internet. The news is not the only thing people use social media for; it is also a great way to get people together for parties near and far (Jones-Eversley, 2017). Such revolutionary tools did not exist during the Civil Rights Movement. They were, therefore, forced to rely on more conventional media for their news. The Civil Rights Movement had to resort to other methods of getting attention because they could not generate news coverage (Benoudina & Maameri, 2021). Protest actions such as marches, speeches, and sit-ins received widespread media coverage (Clayton, 2018). Both movements have relied heavily on the media’s support to advance their causes but have used very different approaches.
The BLM and the Civil Rights movement both seek to influence government policy. Examining the impact of these two movements on politics is essential to any discussion of their success. After several challenges were filed in 1954, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine was unconstitutional and ordered the desegregation of schools across the United States, marking a significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). The movement won, but momentum stalled due to concerns about further violence.
In contrast to the Civil Rights Movement, which opposed overtly racist measures like segregation laws, the BLM movement’s goals are more nuanced. The BLM movement seeks a radical overhaul of government agencies like the Justice and Prison Systems (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). These systems are intricate and cannot be altered by just nullifying one statute or overturning one Supreme Court ruling. The Black Lives Matter movement is less interested in amending specific regulations than changing the overall framework within which politicians discuss and treat racial issues.
Many significant political victories were won during the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was arguably the most critical accomplishment since it outlawed racial discrimination on a federal level (Benoudina & Maameri, 2021). Many people thought this groundbreaking legislation had little chance of passing. A subsequent law, the Voting Rights Act, banned the use of literacy tests as a barrier to voter registration and participation. The widespread use of literacy tests severely restricted the voting rights of African Americans (Clayton, 2018). Larger scale, one of the significant successes of the Civil Rights movement was raising awareness of racial injustice (Benoudina & Maameri, 2021). One may argue that public support and opinion were crucial to the success of policy reform.
One could argue that the most significant success of the BLM movement has been drawing national attention to the issue of racial discrimination and shifting public opinion. There has been some policy shift due to the movement, but they want to see much more. As was previously said, they are concentrating on modifying the Justice System (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). The BLM movement has called for an end to “broken window” policing, the practice of cracking down on little offenses to deter more serious ones (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Furthermore, BLM has demanded that militarized weaponry not be used by police and that police department be made up of people of all races who live in the neighborhoods they patrol (Jones-Eversley, 2017). They have not yet successfully implemented these changes, but their political actions have caused federal and state lawmakers to see the need for them and become advocates for them (Clayton, 2018). BLM is confident in its ability to implement these policy shifts in the foreseeable future.
The goals of both movements are primarily political since they have made political progress by taking initiatives outside the formal process, such as engaging in civil disobedience. Intangible results, the Civil Rights Movement is ahead of the Black Lives Matter movement (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). The length disparity between the two phases is primarily responsible for this. Even though they have only been around for two years, the Black Lives Matter movement has already significantly impacted. At the same time, BLM can affect political change on a scale comparable to the Civil Rights Movement. The goals of Black Lives Matter (BLM) are unmistakably influenced by the unprecedented social change the Civil Rights Movement achieved (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). Additionally, the media was largely unsupportive of the Civil Rights movement. Politicians, regular individuals, and the media voiced their disapproval of various boycotts, sit-ins, and protests (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). They thought the movement was utilizing the wrong strategies and being too disruptive. Those participating in the marches were mostly held responsible for the outbreaks of violence they provoked. The protests were often ignored entirely by the media.
In conclusion, both movements share many similarities but have significant distinctions in tactics, political sway, and media coverage. Both campaigns have used similar tactics, such as marches, protests, and boycotts. As a result of this disparity in technology, the Civil Rights Movement had to rely heavily on face-to-face meetings, the attention of traditional media outlets, and word of mouth. Both revolutions were successful in rallying enough public support to sway lawmakers and effect legislative changes. However, Black Lives Matter sought to change the system, while the Civil Rights Movement sought to overturn legal segregation. Police and other government agents resisted each of these movements.
On the other hand, BLM could document and broadcast their treatment to the world thanks to the internet, while journalists were required to record the events during the Civil Rights Movement (Kirshner-Breen, 2017). The media was instrumental in both movements and was criticized for its coverage. The Civil Rights Movement had little say in how the matter was framed in the national media, but Black Lives Matter had a lot of say and control over the argument.
References
Benoudina, R., & Maameri, F. (2021). Black Lives Matter vs. the civil rights movement. Web.
Chase, G. (2017). The early history of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the implications thereof. Nevada Law Journal, 18, 1091.
Clayton, D. M. (2018). Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement: A comparative analysis of two social movements in the United States. Journal of Black Studies, 49(5), 448–480. doi:10.1177/0021934718764099
Jones-Eversley, S., Adedoyin, A. C., Robinson, M. A., & Moore, S. E. (2017). Protesting Black inequality: A commentary on the civil rights movement and Black lives matter. Journal of Community Practice, 25(3-4), pp. 309–324. Web.
Kirshner-Breen, S. (2017). Comparing Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. Web.