Black Lives Matter Movement

 Drew Augustine

Transnational and Global Politics

The coronavirus pandemic combined with the death of George Floyd helped spark Black Lives Matter protests not only in the United States but throughout the world. When George Floyd was killed by police officers in Minnesota it was during the time when covid was just beginning and people were told to stay in their homes. This really pointed out a lot of inequalities between people's lives. Some people were not able to stay at home because they had to go to work so them and their families could survive. Although at the time of George Floyds death people were supposed to stay in their homes, protests spread across the United States in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. People were able to see how much racism still existed and they went against the stay at home orders to protest.

As protests spread across the United States many other countries began to hold their own protests. Some were in support of George Floyd and the racism going on in the United States and some were for the issues they experienced in their own country. The time people spent at home during the pandemic allowed people to see the issues happening more clearly. Protests were held in many different countries and in some countries statues of people were taken down. In the UK discussions began about whether to change the name of some roads that were named after people with racist backgrounds. 

The coronavirus pandemic caused many deaths and was very harmful to the entire world but it did help spark change in the fight against racism. People were at home all day and they were able to watch the news and see a lot of things they usually missed. They observed all of the inequalities going on in whatever country they lived in and people took action. Protests happened throughout the world, many of them having to do with that country's specific issues. Although the pandemic caused a lot of harm, some good did come out of it such as people taking more notice of current issues going on and making efforts to stop them. 

Works Cited

Kirby, Jen. “‘Black Lives Matter’ Has Become a Global Rallying Cry against Racism and Police Brutality.” Vox, Vox, 12 June 2020, https://www.vox.com/2020/6/12/21285244/black-lives-matter-global-protests-george-floyd-uk-belgium.

Comments

  1. Jack CahalaneMay 10, 2022 at 8:44 PM

    I think that this was notable in highlighting some of the domestic aspects that can become prominent in international politics. I think that your dialogue regarding the awareness concerning current events is an important point in connection to the pandemic along with recent events transpiring around BLM in America.

    ReplyDelete

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