Will #BlackLivesMatter Protests Turn Into a Black Revolution?

“Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.” - Bob Marley

The Protests that have gripped America over the last 10 days in response to the treatment of African Americans, triggered by the senseless killing of George Floyd, have gone global. In London and Paris, Idlib and Wellington, from Europe to Africa, Asia and beyond, one mantra remains true: Black Lives Matter. These are not the first #BLM protests, as the movement began all the way back in 2013, almost 7 years ago, with the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted. Over the last 7 years, the Black Lives Matter movement has captured hearts and minds around the world as it exposes the shocking systemic racism that African Americans face every day, and the widespread discrimination and abuse felt by Black people around the globe. Only earlier this year, during the Coronavirus pandemic, Black Africans were evicted from their homes and jobs in China by racist attitudes, according to the Guardian. In Britain, railway worker Belly Mujinga was allegedly spat on before contracting the coronavirus and passing away, only for British Transport Police to confirm that no further action would take place. These events have culminated in the Black Lives Matter movement rising up globally to challenge existing systems of prejudice, taking to the streets to protest for the lives and wellbeing of Black people. But will this protest become a Black Revolution?

As Occupy Wall Street notes, the difference between a protest and a revolution is the outcome; whilst a protest may be the manifestation of objection to an event or policy, a revolution is the cause of a major change in a power structure. For Black Americans, the need to turn protest into revolution is a necessity to overcome the barriers that have been put in their way by centuries of racist oppression. In a way, parallels can be drawn between the Civil Rights Movement of the American 50s and 60s and today; the struggle of African Americans to overcome explicit or implicit structural barriers such as Zoning, a tool which has kept many African Americans unable to move into better socioeconomic conditions, or Police Racism that has caused African Americans to be incarcerated in some cases up to ten times the rate of White American counterparts. Much like the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans and their allies will have to win the support of key systems and players to bring about the systemic change that is desperately needed. Amongst these will be the public, lawmakers and those that can reform the racist institutions and hierarchies that have denied Black people agency for such a long period, with predominantly white Police departments acting largely without scrutiny included.

Polling suggests that 64% of Americans support the Black Lives Matter protesters, as opposed to 27% who do not. This support will be key as the Black Lives Matter movement looks to turn popular support into energy behind sweeping reform to systems to achieve a revolution. We’re already seeing the fruits of this labour from back in 2014, when protests broke into unrest in Ferguson Missouri following the killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by police. Yet, it was only earlier this year, that Ferguson elected its first Black Mayor, Ella Jones, who is now their first Black City Council Member. She joined politics after the protests, eager to make a difference, and in her first few days has already pledged to begin proceedings to carry out a vast and sweeping reform of the Ferguson Police Department, so as to address the systemic problem that caused the protests to erupt in the first place.

And this wave of action isn’t showing any signs of letting up, as more and more people join the protests. Certainly, as we’ve seen from the media coming out of America, the protests have turned violent in many cities as the Police turn on protestors, reporters, and in some cases medics, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets. Whilst many of these weapons are designed to be aimed at the ground, to bruise attackers or disperse a crowd, there are streams of pictures coming from the USA of protestors being shot point blank with these weapons, suffering horrific injuries. These images, in combination with Black Lives Matter’s advocacy and pressure on public officials, have led to a bipartisan move in New York to cut off police access to military-grade equipment, another victory for the movement as it tackles with police departments that have thus far acted with brutality.

This is where this movement has been radically successful, in winning hearts and minds. Whether this has been through influencing lawmakers, becoming the lawmakers themselves or by reforming systemically racist institutions, the Black Lives Matter movement will topple the barriers to true racial equality one by one, both in the US and across the globe, to manifest Black Revolution. The tide of the battle is turning as Black Lives Matter fights against those who wish to see them fail. Change is coming, and these protesters will be at the forefront of it.