History UsefulNotes / BlackLivesMatterMovement

* Parodied in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheNostalgiaCriticS9E8 Batman vs. Superman]] episode by none other than ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' and ''WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow'', where during the scene transition from Bruce Wayne (Doug Walker) cradling a dead worker (Malcolm Ray) to Lois (Tamara Chambers) and Clark (Joe Vargas) having an intimate conversation, a woman holding "Metropolis Lives Matter" image is shown.
** Also parodied in ''TMNT 2'' where a cop has a gun on the turtles and calls them monsters, and the Black Nerd says "Hey, Green Lives Matter."

** A subplot in "The Pandemic Special" has the South Park Police Department lose all their jobs as a reference to the protests following George Floyd's death. They become teachers for the newly-reopened school, but resort to the same violence, shooting Token for practically no reason and trying to claim he went to the hospital for the coronavirus and later shooting up the town after the kids escape the school.

* ''Series/LukeCage'':

%% Due to an overwhelming controversy surrounding this movement to this day, please make use of the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement.

-> "No justice, no peace."

''Black Lives Matter'' is a social and political movement created in response to police brutality and racially motivated violence against African-Americans in the United States. It arose in UsefulNotes/TheNewTens. The movement is decentralized, meaning there is no single BLM organization or hierarchy; the name is more of a slogan used by an array of activist groups and individuals.

** In June 2020 during the height of the BLM protests, series co-creator/executive producer Dan Goor announced that the show canned four "ready to go" episodes and will rework season 8 to address police misconduct.

%% Due to an overwhelming controversy surrounding this movement to this day, please make use of the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement. Keep in mind that UsefulNotes is not meant to be Wikipedia, and is primarily meant to talk about how real life ''intersects'' with media. Please keep this page as unbiased as possible.

%%The examples on this list have been alphabetized.

-> "No justice, no peace."
-->-- Black Lives Matter's slogan

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raised_fist.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Raised fist, which is commonly used for Black Lives Matter movement.]]

* ''Series/{{Superstore}}'': In the pilot, Bo randomly shouts "Hashtag Black Lives Matter, y'all!" during his proposal rap to Cheyenne. Cue a confused AsideGlance from Garrett (a black man).

** One 2016 ''Black Jeopardy'' sketch featured Creator/TomHanks as a Trump supporter who surprisingly ends up [[NotSoDifferent agreeing with the contestants on a lot of the questions]], such as distrusting the government. Then before the sketch ends, the Final Jeopardy prompt is revealed: "Lives That Matter." The implication is that Hanks' character will soon lose his good reputation.

''Black Lives Matter'' is a social and political movement created in response to police brutality and racially motivated violence against African-Americans in the United States. It arose in UsefulNotes/TheNewTens. The movement is decentralized, meaning there is no single BLM organization or hierarchy; the name is more of a slogan used by an array of activist groups and individuals.

Another major factor is President Trump's response during the 2020 protests. On top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued a hardline response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrases like "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] Perhaps the incident that really lit the powder keg was his response to a peaceful rally that occurred at Lafayette Square outside the White House on June 1, 2020. During that incident, Trump and his Attorney General Bill Barr ordered the National Guard and DC police to clear out the rally, and they responded forcefully by using tear gas and riot shields; Trump then walked across the street to St. John's Church so he could be photographed holding Literature/TheBible (which he happened to be holding upside down). By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. This was in stark contrast to previous high-profile killings, most of which took place in during the presidency of UsefulNotes/BarackObama, who at the bare minimum appeared sympathetic towards the movement and avoided antagonizing its members. It got to the point that even Music/TaylorSwift, who is typically the most apolitical major celebrities in all of entertainment, called out Trump for his callousness.

The movement calls for an end not only to the maltreatment of black people at the hands of the justice system (such as overpolicing of minority communities,[[note]]Historically, this has its roots in the end of segregation following the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement; affluent Caucasians who opposed integration moved into suburbs. It also has to do with the War on Drugs, which was ([[https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html according to Nixon chief of staff John Ehrlichman]]) originally conceived to criminalize minority populations and the left, helping to inflate urban crime rates and paint inner cities as ultra-violent, dilapidated and corrupt.[[/note]] PoliceBrutality, racial {{Profiling}}, and unduly harsh prison sentences), but also various policies and institutions that they consider racist. It also calls for changes that could lead to black empowerment and liberation. Besides street demonstrations, activists also work on voter registration and empowerment, advocate for reforming and/or defunding the police depending on the situation,[[note]]the latter is widely misunderstood; real life cops deal with domestic disturbances, homelessness, mental health, and drug abuse on top of crime, and "defund the police" means redirecting some funds and responsibilities to health and social programs that address these issues at the root[[/note]] and celebrate black success stories.

Despite the protests and several awareness that were made via social media, campaign, etc., the Black Lives Matter movement didn't pick up mainstream traction until 2020 after the breaking news of the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. However, the straw that broke the camel's back was when the death by suffocation of George Floyd at the hands of a white officer Derek Chauvin and a group of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota went viral. The death of George Floyd lead to massive public backlash among all Americans. Celebrities and people of all sizes and contents began to denounce police brutality and systemic racism with some even blasting the then-current President of the United States, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, for failing to "reduce police brutality and discrimination". As for businesses, most American corporations, organizations, TV networks, and websites (including TV Tropes) expressed their solidarity via social media and some pledged to donate ranging from a hundred to even hundred million dollars. The NFL publicly apologized for not previously supporting its pro-Black Lives Matter players. Likewise, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] agreed to convert its stadiums into voting centers for lower-income communities after several players, most notably UsefulNotes/LeBronJames, went on strike after the non-fatal shooting of Jacob Blake, which was also recorded. The activism of the movement also became a catalyst for many cultural and media changes that will be mentioned below.

Another major factor is President Trump's response during the 2020 protests. On top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued a hardline response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrases like "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] Perhaps the incident that really lit the powder keg was his response to a peaceful rally that occurred at Lafayette Square outside the White House on June 1, 2020. During that incident Trump ordered the National Guard to clear out the rally, and they responded forcefully by using tear gas and riot shields; he then walked across the street to St. John's Church so he could be photographed holding Literature/TheBible (which he happened to be holding upside down). By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. This was in stark contrast to previous high-profile killings, most of which took place in during the presidency of UsefulNotes/BarackObama, who at the bare minimum appeared sympathetic towards the movement. It got to the point that even Wrestling/DwayneJohnson and Music/TaylorSwift, who are typically the most apolitical major celebrities in all of entertainment, called out Trump for his callousness.

In contrast to previous years, the BLM movement had a substantial effect on the 2020 political landscape and discourse. Many cities and municipalities passed police reform laws like banning chokeholds, creating civilian first-responder programs to address societal problems affecting Black communities, and appointing independent civilian boards to hold police accountable. Voters in multiple states passed laws decriminalizing marijuana, putting a dent in the racially-biased War on Drugs. The nurse turned BLM activist Cori Bush became the first African American representative from Missouri. Yet most significantly, high African American voter turnout that resulted in Democrats winning back the Presidency and US Senate, resulting in UsefulNotes/KamalaHarris becoming the first Black Vice President and Raphael Warnock becoming Georgia's first Black Senator.

The hashtag [=#BlackLivesMatter=] trended on social media in 2013 after neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman was acquitted for shooting Trayvon Martin, a black teen, in Sanford, Florida, under controversial circumstances. Nationwide protests erupted condemning racially-motivated violence following the widely-covered deaths of two unarmed black men, Michael Brown (Ferguson, Missouri) and Eric Garner (New York City, New York) a year later. These continued throughout much of the [=2010s=] after more high-profile cases of African-Americans being killed in encounters with law enforcement. "I can't breathe", which were the last words of Garner and were also said by a number of other African-Americans killed in altercations with law enforcement, became a rallying cry. Similarly, after [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] player [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeagueQuarterbacks Colin Kaepernick]] knelt during the national anthem to bring attention to police brutality and his call to end institutional racism, "take a knee" also became a signature pose for Black Lives Matter.

The movement calls for an end not only to the maltreatment of black people at the hands of the justice system (such as overpolicing of minority communities,[[note]]Historically, this has its roots in the end of segregation following the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement; affluent Caucasians who opposed integration moved into suburbs. It also has to do with the War on Drugs, which was ([[https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html according to Nixon chief of staff John Ehrlichman]]) originally conceived to criminalize minority populations and the left, helping to inflate urban crime rates and paint inner cities as ultra-violent, dilapidated and corrupt.[[/note]] police brutality, racial profiling, and unduly harsh prison sentences), but also various policies and institutions that they consider racist. It also calls for changes that could lead to black empowerment and liberation. Besides street demonstrations, activists also work on voter registration and empowerment, advocate for reforming and/or defunding the police depending on the situation,[[note]]the latter is widely misunderstood; real life cops deal with domestic disturbances, homelessness, mental health, and drug abuse on top of crime, and "defund the police" means redirecting some funds and responsibilities to health and social programs that address these issues at the root[[/note]] and celebrate black success stories.

Despite the protests and several awareness that were made via social media, campaign, etc., the Black Lives Matter movement didn't pick up mainstream traction until 2020 after the breaking news of the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. However, the straw that broke the camel's back was when the death by suffocation of George Floyd at the hands of a white officer Derek Chauvin and a group of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota went viral. The death of George Floyd lead to massive public backlash among all Americans. Celebrities and people of all sizes and contents began to denounce police brutality and systemic racism with some even blasting the current President of the United States for failing to "reduce police brutality and discrimination". As for businesses, most of American Corporates, organizations, TV networks, websites (including TV Tropes) expressed their solidarity via social media and some pledged to donate ranging from a hundred to even hundred million dollars. The NFL publicly apologized for not previously supporting its pro-Black Lives Matter players. Likewise, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] agreed to convert its stadiums into voting centers for lower-income communities after several players, most notably UsefulNotes/LeBronJames, went on strike after the non-fatal shooting of Jacob Blake, which was also recorded. The activism of the movement also became a catalyst for many cultural and media changes that will be mentioned below.

As for why Black Lives Matter took off after Floyd's death, it could be due to coinciding with the then-ongoing UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. The pandemic closed down many entertainment venues like sporting events, concerts, and theaters so there isn't anything to distract people from the police killings and subsequent protests. Furthermore, COVID-19 disproportionately harms Black communities,[[note]]While 1/1200 White Americans have died, 1/800 Black Americans have died.[[/note]] which have already been languishing in substandard living standards caused by systemic racism, thereby leading to heightened tensions. For many, the pandemic disrupted so much of normal life that it became impossible to ignore the movement.

Another major factor is President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's response during the 2020 protests. On top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued a hardline response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrases like "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] Perhaps the incident that really lit the powder keg was his response to a peaceful rally that occurred at Lafayette Square outside the White House on June 1, 2020. During that incident Trump ordered the national guard to clear out the rally, and they responded forcefully by using tear gas and riot shields; he then walked across the street to St. John's Church so he could be photographed holding a bible (which he happened to be holding upside down). By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. This was in stark contrast to previous high-profile killings, most of which took place in during the presidency of Barack Obama, who at the bare minimum appeared sympathetic towards the movement. It got to the point that even Wrestling/DwayneJohnson and Music/TaylorSwift, who are typically the most apolitical major celebrities in all of entertainment, called out Trump for his callousness.

Floyd's (not to mention many other African Americans) death and the subsequent mass protests both in the USA and abroad had an immediate effect on the media industry, itself stalled due to the pandemic; the events brought questions about the types of stories and performers Hollywood chose to elevate to the forefront. Black Lives Matter activists have criticized the media for misleading the public with "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copaganda copaganda]]", a derogatory term used for works that overall portray the police as an exclusively heroic force; exaggerate the ability of the police to prevent or interrupt criminal acts; depict civil liberties and due process as primarily protecting criminals and allowing them to continue to harm innocent people, justifying police characters' breaches of them; portray self-serving police corruption as isolated; suggest that bigoted police officers will still put aside their views to treat individuals fairly; and suggest that individual moral turpitude (not inequality and social injustice) is the primary cause of lawbreaking and violence. Police-based reality shows such as ''Series/LivePD'' and ''Series/{{COPS}}'', which put police officers front and center and were accused of portraying communities of color as violent and unsafe, were cancelled. Many network television shows involving police (eg. the CopShow) promised to reexamine these portrayals or announced changes to that effect. In addition, noting an increased demand and new opportunities for black performers, some characters of color on animated shows who had been previously performed by white voice actors were recast with voice actors of the characters' ethnicity. Musical groups like Lady Antebellum and the Dixie Chicks tweaked their names to remove all words with racist connotations, therefore becoming "Music/LadyA" and "Music/TheChicks", respectively. Food products marketed with stereotypical slave mascots, like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's, were rebranded. Washington, D.C.'s UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague team retired the "Redskins" name, and Edmondton, Alberta did the same with its "Eskimos" team in the Canadian Football League. And Creator/{{Disney}} announced that its Ride/SplashMountain attraction would remove all references to the controversial film ''Film/SongOfTheSouth'' and retheme it after ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''.

Despite the protests and several awareness that were made via social media, campaign, etc., the Black Lives Matter movement fell into relative obscurity until 2020 after the breaking news of the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. However, the straw that broke the camel's back was when the death by suffocation of George Floyd at the hands of a white officer Derek Chauvin and a group of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota went viral. The death of George Floyd lead to massive public backlash among all Americans. Celebrities and people of all sizes and contents began to denounce police brutality and systemic racism with some even blasting the current President of the United States for failing to "reduce police brutality and discrimination". As for businesses, most of American Corporates, organizations, TV networks, websites (including TV Tropes) expressed their solidarity via social media and some pledged to donate ranging from a hundred to even hundred million dollars. The NFL publicly apologized for not previously supporting its pro-Black Lives Matter players. Likewise, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] agreed to convert its stadiums into voting centers for lower-income communities after several players, most notably UsefulNotes/LeBronJames, went on strike after the non-fatal shooting of Jacob Blake, which was also recorded. The activism of the movement also became a catalyst for many cultural and media changes that will be mentioned below.

Another major factor is President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's response during the 2020 protests; on top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued an aggressive response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] Perhaps the incident that really lit the powder keg was his response to a rally that occurred at Lafayette Square outside the White House on June 1, 2020. Trump ordered the national guard to clear out the rally, and they responded forcefully by using tear gas and riot shields. Then, Trump walked across the street to St. John's Church so he could be photographed holding a bible (which he happened to be holding upside down). By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. This was in stark contrast to previous high-profile killings, most of which took place in during the presidency of Barack Obama, who wasn't exactly an antagonist to the movement. It go to the point that even Music/TaylorSwift, who is typically one of the most apolitical major celebrities in all of entertainment, called him out on it.

Another major factor is President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's response during the 2020 protests; on top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued an aggressive response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] Perhaps the incident that really lit the powder keg was his response to a rally that occured at Lafayette Square outside the White House on June 1, 2010. Trump ordered the national guard to clear out the rally, and they responded forcefully by using tear gas and riot shields. Then, Trump walked across the street to St. John's Church so he could be photographed holding a bible (which he happened to be holding upside down). By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. This was in stark contrast to previous high-profile killings, most of which took place in during the presidency of Barack Obama, who wasn't exactly an antagonist to the movement. It go to the point that even Music/TaylorSwift, who is typically one of the most apolitical major celebrities in all of entertainment, called him out on it.

Another major factor is President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's response during the 2020 protests; on top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued an aggressive response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] Perhaps the incident that really lit the powder keg was his response to a rally that occured at Lafayette Square outside the White House on June 1, 2010. Trump ordered the national guard to clear out the rally, and they responded forcefully by using tear gas and riot shields. Then, Trump walked across the street to St. John's Church so he could be photographed holding a bible (which he happened to be holding upside down). By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. This was in stark contrast to previous high-profile killings, most of which took place in during the presidency of Barack Obama, who wasn't exactly an antagonist to the movement. It go to the point that even ''Music/TaylorSwift'', who is typically one of the most apolitical major celebrities in all of entertainment, called him out on it.

As for why Black Lives Matter took off after Floyd's death, it could be due to coinciding with the then-ongoing UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. The pandemic closed down many entertainment venues like sporting events, concerts, and theaters so there isn't anything to distract people from the police killings and subsequent protests. Furthermore, COVID-19 disproportionately harms Black communities,[[note]]While 1/1200 White Americans have died, 1/800 Black Americans have died.[[/note]] which have already been languishing in substandard living standards caused by systemic racism, thereby leading to heightened tensions. Another major factor is President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's response during the 2020 protests; on top of his mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump pursued an aggressive response that included deploying the military, branding protestors as criminals, and using the incendiary phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".[[note]]The phrase was first used by a racist Miami police chief in 1967 and since has been associated with harsh crackdowns on African Americans.[[/note]] By choosing a "law and order" approach instead of addressing the concerns of the Black communities surrounding policing and the pandemic, Trump lost much goodwill and made the protestors seem sympathetic in the eyes of the public. For many, the pandemic disrupted so much of normal life that it became impossible to ignore the movement.

Floyd's (not to mention many other African Americans) death and the subsequent mass protests both in the USA and abroad had an immediate effect on the media industry, itself stalled due to the pandemic; the events brought questions about the types of stories and performers Hollywood chose to elevate to the forefront. Black Lives Matter activists have criticized the media for misleading the public with "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copaganda copaganda]]", a derogatory term used for works that overall portray the police as an exclusively heroic force; exaggerate the ability of the police to prevent or interrupt criminal acts; depict civil liberties and due process as primarily protecting criminals and allowing them to continue to harm innocent people, justifying police characters' breaches of them; portray self-serving police corruption as isolated; suggest that bigoted police officers will still put aside their views to treat individuals fairly; and suggest that individual moral turpitude (not inequality and social injustice) is the primary cause of lawbreaking and violence. Police-based reality shows such as ''Series/LivePD'' and ''Series/{{COPS}}'', which put police officers front and center and were accused of portraying communities of color as violent and unsafe, were cancelled. Many network television shows involving police (eg. the CopShow) promised to reexamine these portrayals or announced changes to that effect. In addition, noting an increased demand and new opportunities for black performers, some characters of color on animated shows who had been previously performed by white voice actors were recast with voice actors of the characters' ethnicity.

In contrast to previous years, the BLM movement had a substantial effect on the 2020 political landscape and discourse. Many cities and municipalities passed police reform laws like banning chokeholds, created civilian first-responder programs to address societal problems affecting Black communities, and appointed independent civilian boards to hold police accountable. Voters in multiple states passed laws decriminalizing marijuana, putting a dent in the racially-biased War on Drugs. The nurse turned BLM activist Cori Bush became the first African American representative from Missouri. Yet most significantly, high African American voter turnout that resulted in Democrats winning back the Presidency and US Senate, resulting in UsefulNotes/KamalaHarris becoming the first Black Vice President and Raphael Warnock becoming Georgia's first Black Senator.

** Also parodied in ''TMNT 2'' where a cop has a gun on the turtles and calls them monsters, and Nerd says "Hey, Green Lives Matter."