Anthropological Perspectives of the Black Lives Matter Movement

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement has been at the forefront of people's attention for many years now.  Despite this temporal frame many people still do not understand its origins and purpose.  Today's blog post is dedicated to utilizing the anthropological approach in discussing and explaining the BLM Movement to provide a greater understanding among the readership.  

The BLM Movement was started by three women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, in 2012 after the Trayvon Martin case, which involved a white man shooting and subsequently killing an unarmed teenager simply because the he (the white man) falsely believed that the youth was going to cause trouble.  Their initiative has since grown as an organized movement with multiple chapters across the US.  The primary mandate of this movement is  

“…an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” 

In other words, the three founders wanted to shift focus back onto issues faced by African Americans and other minorities, which are historically and culturally influenced, and that many wrongly believe(d) have been resolved.  They specifically wanted to bring attention to the suppression of African Americans in society that have led to the exploitation of Black labor and the subsequent trauma and death of these Black human beings continues to be central to the political and economic workings of the United States.  

But what specific historical and cultural influences are Garza, Cullors, and Tometi referring to?  An "Us vs Them" mentality that creates and fosters hate among and within populations has existed for centuries in cultures around the globe, but one that targets individuals based on physical characteristics is racialism.  Racialism is defined as an ideology, doctrine, or set of beliefs that suggests "races" exist and that there are significant differences among them.  We know that racialism is deeply rooted in human history, forming around the time of the first state level societies.  Ancient Egyptians and Greeks had these ideas, which were used to justify wars and conquering other peoples, as well as instilling pride within one's culture.

Racialist ideologies were passed down and adopted by subsequent populations, including various European groups.  As European groups came into contact with groups that were very much unlike their own in various capacities, such as in cultural beliefs, sociopolitical organization, economic practices, and most obviously biological characteristics, Europeans turned to science to understand and explain these differences, as well as elevate their status as best and the support their own white supremacy, which is the idea that whites are superior to people of other races.  It was through white supremacy that European groups sought means to legitimize and further secure racial domination and privileges in their societies, which very much influenced scientific inquiries.   

Several notable scholars contributed to the "legitimization" of European ideals of white supremacy through scientific racialism, including Carolus Linnaeus and Charles Darwin.  Carolus Linnaeus is considered the father of taxonomic classification, a nested classification system that is used to identify and describe evolutionary relationships among various species.  Part of this classification system is still utilized today in evolutionary biology and physical anthropological studies, but what is no longer used but was part of Linnaeus's original classification system is how he classified humans (Homo sapiens).  He identified four subspecies classifications of humans, which were based on race.  Each of these classifications were defined by a specific behavioral characteristics (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Linnaean Classification of Homo sapiens

Charles Darwin provided some of the basic foundations of evolutionary theory with his publication, The Origin of Species.  In his work he identified key evolutionary concepts, as well as claimed that Africans were most closely related to primates based on their "primitive" features.  

While several other scholars contributed to the wide body of scientific racialist literature, I highlight these two because of their notoriety as well as the continued influence of their work on white supremacist ideologies that continue to permeate throughout Western societies and cultures-both historically and today.  Historical examples are pretty obvious in regards to their influence and discriminatory text.  You can view examples below (Figures 2 & 3).  While viewing them I want you to look back at the scientific racialist information provided by Linnaeus and Darwin and consider how their contributions led to these discriminatory ideas.

 

Figure 2: Children's Story Book (1892)

Figure 3: New York Herald Comic Strip (1900)

Both of these images are very much influenced by both Linnaeus's and Darwin's ideas.  We see strong influence by Linnaeus in Figure 2 in the notion that the black children cannot take care of themselves, and Darwin's work is strongly portrayed in Figure 3 as the African American is positioned close to and strongly resembles the primate in the background.  But Linnaeus's and Darwin's notions still very much influence modern ideology in the recent past and today.  Check out Figures 4, 5, & 6 and consider what you see:

Figure 4: Cartoon of Michael Jordan, famous and talented basketball player (1980)

Figure 5: Sweatshirt that says, "Arrest black babies before they become criminals" (2007)

Figure 6: Political Cartoon about President Barak Obama and Black victims of police crime published in the New York Post (2009)

These images are quite striking and very obviously discriminatory and influenced by the scientific racialist contributions of both Linnaeus and Darwin.  Now many would argue that these are extreme examples and not the norm, and they are right.  If these were commonplace then people would be more inclined to understand the reasons and motivations behind the BLM Movement, which are attempting to bring these and less obvious incidences of white supremacy to the forefront of people's attention.  Far more obfuscated examples of white supremacy actually exist in Western societies, such as those demonstrated in Figures 7.

Figure 7: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the southeastern United States.  While many residents were warned to evacuate the area many either chose not to or were unable to due to monetary or other reasons.  The devastation of the hurricane was massive, and individuals who remained were without basic amenities, including electricity, clean water, and food.  Despite everyone existing in the exact same deplorable conditions the media chose to depict the situation differently among survivors based on their skin color, as noted below with the following captions for each of the following pictures:

A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005.

Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The notions that lend themselves to white supremacy do not just color individual's perceptions but also influence institutional policies, which leads to institutional racism.  Institutional racism is the mistreatment of individuals and groups of individuals by society and culture and the institutions (e.g. education, government, health care, etc.) within them.  Institutional discrimination has led to various types of discrimination (see here for more information), but examples specific to race, particularly African Americans, can be found in Figures 8-11.

Figure 8: Wage Disparities by Race (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015)

Figure 9: National Graduate Rates in 2009, Education Research Center

Figure 10: Racial Disparities by Race, US Census Bureau and Justice Statistics (2004)

Figure 11: People Injured by Law Enforcement by Gender & Race Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (2001-2012)

  

The BLM Movement is trying to bring all of this and more to the public's attention, but unfortunately, their message is being skewed and grossly misrepresented by the mainstream media, who misinform the general public about the realities of the BLM Movement.  Despite what the media may depict the BLM Movement has and continues to call for and sanctions peaceful protests, such as economic boycotts, organized protests that have led to the peaceful shut down of city streets (Figure 12), as well as a series of die ins, including the one staged at the 2014 American Anthropological Assocation meetings (Figure 13). These protests are carefully organized to ensure that they are conducted lawfully (i.e. the local governments are informed, permits applied for and acquired, etc.), but that information is never disclosed when these protests are publicized, which is due to the discrimination that the BLM Movement and protesters are trying to combat.

Figure 12: Peaceful Highway Shut Down Protest in Minneapolis (2015)

Figure 13: American Anthropological Association Die In (2014)

To the BLM Movement is attempting to draw attention to an endemic problem faced by African Americans, as well as other minorities.  These problems are rooted in historical dialogues that continue to influence our modern perceptions of specific human groups, specifically nonwhite populations.  So next time you hear someone speak out against the BLM Movement remember this post, as well as the following (Figure 14):

Figure 14

References

Black Lives Matter. 


Pearson, M.  2011. Think Race and Ethnicity.  Pearson.

Scupin, Raymond. Race and Ethnicity. second ed. Saddle River: Pearson, 2003. 12. Print.