U.S. Office of Special Counsel
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protesters and organizations seeking to raise awareness of, and respond to, issues associated with racism in the United States.[1]
BLM is thus an umbrella term for a constellation of ideas, objectives, and groups. There is no “leader” of the BLM movement. Rather, there are numerous organizations that use BLM terminology to varying degrees, including some whose names include the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” Of these, the most prominent is the BLMGN. BLMGN is a chapter-based organization made up of more than 40 chapters worldwide. BLMGN’s stated goals are to “eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.”[2] In furtherance of these goals it organizes programs around black arts and culture, protests to achieve policy change, and provides toolkits and other resources for discussing and responding to racism.
BLMGN has not previously been involved in partisan political activity. During the 2016 presidential election cycle, BLMGN representatives considered endorsing a presidential candidate and reportedly met with candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties.[3] But ultimately BLMGN opted not to endorse any candidate or political party, and in fact expressly disavowed a Democratic Party statement of support.[4] In the current election cycle, BLMGN has begun a campaign titled #WhatMatters2020 that aims to increase turnout among BLMGN supporters in the 2020 election. The #WhatMatters2020 campaign does not identify any particular politicians or political parties. Rather, it aims to register potential voters and educate voters about issues such as racial injustice, police brutality, education, healthcare, and environmental conditions.
BLMGN’s website is almost entirely focused on issue advocacy.[5] The website has online petitions related to police reform[6] and COVID-19;[7] descriptions of its immigration reform-related campaigns;[8] and videos about BLMGN chapter initiatives.[9] The only express reference
- ↑ See generally Monica Anderson, The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter emerges: Social activism on Twitter, Pew Research Center, Aug. 15, 2016, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/08/15/the-hashtag-blacklivesmatteremerges-social-activism-on-twitter/.
- ↑ Black Lives Matter, https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/ (last visited June 25, 2020).
- ↑ Taylor Lewis, Black Lives Matter Activists Will Not Endorse a 2016 Presidential Candidate, Essence, Sept. 22, 2015, https://www.essence.com/news/black-lives-matter-activists-will-not-endorse-2016-presidential-candidate/ (noting that BLMGN met with presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Jeb Bush).
- ↑ Lauren Gambino, Black Lives Matter network disavows political ties after DNC backs movement, The Guardian, Aug. 31, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/31/black-lives-matter-democratic-nationalcommittee (After the Democratic National Committee adopted a resolution claiming solidarity with BLM, BLMGN issued a statement saying “We do not now, nor have we ever, endorsed or affiliated with the Democratic Party, or with any party . . . . The Democratic Party, like the Republican and all political parties, have historically attempted to control or contain black people’s efforts to liberate ourselves. True change requires real struggle, and that struggle will be in the streets and led by the people, not by a political party.").
- ↑ The websites of the BLMGN chapters that OSC reviewed also contain no evidence of partisan political activity. See, e.g., Black Lives Matter Chicago https://www.blacklivesmatterchicago.com/about-us/ (last visited June 24, 2020); Black Lives Matter DMV http://www.blacklivesmatterdmv.org/about/ (last visited June 24, 2020).
- ↑ https://blacklivesmatter.com/defundthepolice/.
- ↑ https://blacklivesmatter.com/petitions/.
- ↑ https://blacklivesmatter.com/global-actions/.
- ↑ https://blacklivesmatter.com/activist-shorts/blm-chicago/; https://blacklivesmatter.com/whatmatters/.
