BLM, COVID-19, and Systemic Racism in the U.S.
This paper examines the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 murder of George Floyd, arguing that the United States stands at a critical historical crossroads. Drawing on recent literature, the paper traces BLM's origins in 2013, outlines the organization's mission to eradicate white supremacy and systemic racism, and highlights persistent racial wealth disparities that continue to disadvantage Black Americans. The paper also explores BLM's commitment to nonviolent protest and its impact on public attitudes toward policing, concluding that 2020 may represent a transformative turning point in American history comparable to 1865 and 1945.
- Introduction: Historical context and paper's purpose
- The Murder of George Floyd and National Outrage: Floyd's death ignites nationwide racial protests
- Black Lives Matter: Origins and Mission: BLM founding, goals, and nonviolent principles
- Systemic Racism and Racial Inequality in America: Racial wealth gap and institutionalized discrimination
- BLM's Impact on Public Awareness and Commerce: Shifting public attitudes and Black business support
- Conclusion: 2020 as a historic American turning point
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its argument in a clear historical frame, drawing parallels between contemporary unrest and earlier American crises, which gives readers immediate context for the stakes involved.
- It balances organizational sources (BLM's own mission statement) with academic and journalistic citations, lending credibility to claims about systemic racism and the movement's goals.
- The inclusion of an anecdotal encounter between an elderly white couple adds a humanizing, memorable illustration of how BLM's message is penetrating mainstream consciousness without overstating the point.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of direct quotation integrated with analysis. Rather than merely quoting sources, the author contextualizes each citation — for example, following BLM's mission statement with commentary on how it responds to centuries of institutionalized inequality. This approach shows readers not just what sources say but why those statements matter to the paper's central argument.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a compact but coherent structure: an introduction establishing historical context, a review-and-discussion section covering Floyd's murder, BLM's founding and goals, evidence of systemic racism, and the movement's public impact, and finally a conclusion that projects the historical significance of 2020. The progression moves logically from event (Floyd's murder) to organization (BLM) to broader social condition (systemic racism) to cultural effect.
Introduction
During the mid-1960s, the United States faced an existential threat when the combination of growing civil unrest over America's military involvement in Southeast Asia — Vietnam in particular — and pressure from a wide array of civil rights groups demanded equal treatment as well as the full complement of constitutional rights. The fact that the republic survived this severe test underscores the strength of the U.S. Constitution as a living document, capable of responding to changes in prevailing social views and innovations in technology.
Today, the nation is once again being sorely tested by a global coronavirus pandemic and a corresponding unprecedented economic downturn, but this time the demands for civil rights are far more broad-based and potentially disruptive to business as usual for mainstream politicians in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to review recent literature concerning social groups such as Black Lives Matter, what they want, and how they intend to achieve it. A summary of the research and important findings about this critical juncture in the country's history are presented in the conclusion.
The Murder of George Floyd and National Outrage
The murder of George Floyd by white police officer Derek Chauvin and fellow officers on May 25, 2020, sparked nationwide outrage that has since engulfed the entire world. At the time of Floyd's death, many communities in the United States had already been on lockdown for several weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease it causes. In other words, many Americans were already on edge, and Floyd's high-profile murder — broadcast on television screens around the world — was a lit fuse for a racial powder keg.
Black Lives Matter: Origins and Mission
Created in July 2013 in response to the acquittal of the white man charged with killing an unarmed Black teenager walking down the street in Miami Gardens, Florida (Harris, 2020), the founders of Black Lives Matter (BLM) — Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi — claim the organization has helped focus needed attention on the systematic racism that remains firmly in place in the United States today (De Silva, 2020). According to the organization's website, "Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes" (About BLM, 2020, para. 2).
One of the overarching goals of BLM is to effect meaningful changes immediately rather than forming committees to study how such changes might be achieved in the future. According to the BLM founders, "By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives" (About BLM, 2020, para. 3).
It is especially noteworthy that one of the founding precepts of BLM is the organization's commitment to nonviolent protest. When asked whether BLM had made progress in this regard, Cullors responded that "We created an environment where police and the use of policing was being questioned, whereas before Black Lives Matter, there was an allegiance to law enforcement that they didn't deserve and that really needed to be challenged" (as cited in Da Silva, 2020, p. 37). Because law enforcement authorities have long been held in high esteem by many white Americans, BLM's challenge to that esteem may be unsettling to some — but the fact that it had to be said at all reinforces the purposes for which BLM was created.
Conclusion
Like the fateful years of 1865 and 1945, American historians in the 22nd century will likely point to 2020 as a year in which the United States changed forever. The country stands at an important crossroads in its history, and it is becoming increasingly clear that many Black Americans are no longer content to accept a status quo in which they remain second-class citizens in a country purportedly dedicated to equality. Castigated by some mainstream Americans, the organizers of Black Lives Matter and similarly focused groups will likely be written about in history books and hailed as national heroes. It is reasonable to conclude that the founders of Black Lives Matter will be recognized for helping to save the nation's soul during a particularly critical period in its history.
References
About BLM. (2020). Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
Da Silva, C. (2020, July 17). BLM co-founder: 'The entire world is saying black lives matter now.' Newsweek, 175(1), 37.
Harris, S. M. (2020, July). Black lives matter to systemic family therapists. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 46(3), 383.
O'Hara, M. E. (2020, July 27). Black-owned businesses see gains. Adweek, 61(16), 5.
Solomon, D., Maxwell, C., & Castro, A. (2019, August 7). Systematic inequality: Displacement, exclusion, and segregation. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2019/08/07/472617/systemic-inequality-displacement-exclusion-segregation/.
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