With my previous posts (#blacklivesmatter – the story behind the hashtag, Is doing ‘something’ better than doing nothing? and Creating change through online and offline activism) I’ve tried to dig deeper into the origins and success of the BLM movement. However, this is not only a blog about social movements and activism but also about development. So, what does a movement very much set in the global north have to do with development work in the global south?
- It is trying to rattle global power structures
Three women running a movement that is uniting activists to participate in online and offline protests, addressing inequalities, and pushing for social and political change is powerful. The fact that it’s successful in creating social change means it’s definitely trying to shake up old patterns and present global power structures. Challenging a Western-centric world view that stems from colonialism, where racism is present and the global south is in need of ‘development’, the movement is working hard to give more voice, space, and authority to people of color (and women!). - It shines a light on structural racism
Structural and systemic racism exists everywhere – even in the aid industry – it is a global issue that affects us all. The BLM-movement is shining light on the injustice related to racism and how this affects people every day, a very important step towards fighting racism in every room and every country. Not only has the movement created a discussion on racism in the US, but they have made it a global discussion. - It makes people more aware of inequalities
The amount of noise the movement has made has raised awareness but also perhaps sparked a larger interest in understanding inequalities and challenging the status quo, which will be beneficial to opinion formation, funding, and engaging activists – not only for BLM but to organizations and causes related to the movement. - It has changed attitudes and political policies
Black Lives Matter pushes for opinion formation as the movement has influenced attitude and forced political change. Hopefully, these policies and opinions will be normalized and promote further social change in order to challenge other inequalities and injustices. - It engages people everywhere – online and offline
Once an activist, always an activist? Opening up people’s eyes to current inequalities will possibly engage more people as they understand the importance of making a difference and felt good about ‘doing good’, engaging in a variety of causes and countries around the world. - It has shown us ‘how it can be done’
Creating a successful movement, engaging an international audience, and pushing through social change isn’t easy, but the BLM-movement has proven it can be done. By doing so, they have given us a great case study and ideas on how we can communicate development and engage activists as well as the media.