Black Lives Matter movement in popular culture

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The Black Lives Matter movement has been depicted and documented in various artistic forms and mediums including film, song, television, and the visual arts. In some instances this has taken place in the form of protest art (also referred to as activist art or "artivism"). [1] These cultural representations have also grown organically among artists who seek to partake in activist efforts in support or in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement. [2] [3] The themes conveyed in these artistic works address the history of racism and injustice toward people of color in the United States and typically express sentiments of anger and fear as well as solace and hope. [4]

Contents

George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2020 George Floyd Tributes Outside Cup Foods Minneapolis.jpg
George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2020

Film

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: The Killing of George Floyd (2020), documentary
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "Black Lives Matter explained: The history of a movement (2020), documentary
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "The Rise of Black Lives Matter" (2016), documentary

Television

Series and documentary films

Episodes

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "It's Time for Change in the US", The Late Late Show with James Corden , June 1, 2020 — including Dave's performance of "Black" at the 2020 Brit Awards on February 18, 2020.

Literature

Books

Magazines

Music

The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed

1. “Why do you have your guns out?” – Kenneth Chamberlain, 66
2. “What are you following me for?” – Trayvon Martin, 17
3. “Mom, I'm going to college.” – Amadou Diallo, 23
4. “I don't have a gun. Stop shooting.” – Michael Brown, 18
5. “You shot me! You shot me!” – Oscar Grant, 22
6. “It's not real.” – John Crawford, 22

7. “I can't breathe.” – Eric Garner, 43

Choral composition by Joel Thompson [25]

Art

Project Row Houses Round 46 Opening -- Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter on March 25, 2017. Project Row Houses Round 46 Opening-Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter on March 25, 2017.jpg
Project Row Houses Round 46 Opening — Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter on March 25, 2017.

Street art and paintings

Street murals and art began to be created in the mid-twentieth century, but became a way of "reappropriating public space in the name of inclusion, diversity, and equality" in the 1960s, such as the Wall of Respect made in Bronzeville, Chicago in 1967. It features portraits of noted Black figures including Harriet Tubman, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X. [37]

Street painting

A number of cities have painted murals of "Black Lives Matter" in large yellow letters on their streets. While some find that the street paintings are an important validation of the movement, critics charge that it is a distraction from working on meaningful change. [37]

Part of the mural reading "Black Lives Matter" painted at Black Lives Matter Plaza, Washington, D.C. in June 2020 2020.06.05 Protesting the Murder of George Floyd, Washington, DC USA 157 34232.jpg
Part of the mural reading "Black Lives Matter" painted at Black Lives Matter Plaza, Washington, D.C. in June 2020
Black Lives Matter mural in San Francisco Black Lives Matter Mural San Francisco 01.jpg
Black Lives Matter mural in San Francisco
  • Black Lives Matter street painting of "Black Lives Matter" is painted in massive yellow letters and naming of Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street in Washington, D.C. was ordered in early June 2020 by Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the city. The mural was painted near the White House on several blocks of 16th Street by local artists and volunteers, such as several people from the Department of Public Works. [37] [38]

And we had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city. That message is to the American people that black lives matter, black humanity matters, and we as a city raise that up.

Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, D.C. and painting Black Lives Matter on the street near the White House [39]

Street art

  • New York street art — The murder of George Floyd, the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Elijah McClain, and others due to police violence triggered the creation of street art in New York City. The art represents a memorial to those who died as well as a means to support the Black Lives Matter movement. [41] The works include Taking the knee, Breonna Taylor, Color is not a crime, and Say their names. [42]
  • Various artists took to the streets of New York, in the Harlem and Lower Manhattan areas to express their support of the movement by painting the words Black Lives Matter in the streets in Bold letters, adding their own twist and using some of the letters to promote a message. [43]

Social media

External images
Searchtool.svg Collage of social media Black Lives Matter images by Teddy Phillips, Naimah Thomas, and other artists
Searchtool.svg "Just a reminder that MLK Jr...", by Dani Coke
Searchtool.svg "Why COVID-19 is Ravaging Black America", by Dani Coke
Searchtool.svg Unnamed (Do nothing cycle), by Ciara LeRoy
Searchtool.svg "Freedom", by Ciara LeRoy

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter</span> Social movement originating in the US

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Seven Last Words of the Unarmed is a choral composition by Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter art in Portland, Oregon</span> Public art in Portland, Oregon related to the Black Lives Matter movement

Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement were created in Portland, Oregon, United States, during local protests over the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans. Oregon Arts Watch contextualized the artistic works, stating that a "whitewashed pre-COVID lens" on American life, which obscured systemic racism, had been "cracked", and describing artists' response to racial violence being brought into the public eye was a "marathon, not a sprint".

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Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement have been created. These works are either seen as a direct tribute to those who have died or more broadly to the movement. Often the pieces are created in the streets as to be more publicly visible. As such several attempts have been made at preserving the art created in protest on the basis of their artistic merit and cultural significance. Increasingly, the erasure of the artwork has been a problem for preservationists. As such, the artworks below represent a fraction of the works created.

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The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to promoting the Black Lives Matter movement. The organization is often mistaken for other organizations within the Black Lives Matter movement because it often solely employs the phrase "Black Lives Matter" as its name and it also owns the domain name "blacklivesmatter.com" as its official website. While BLMGN often simply calls itself "Black Lives Matter," it is not the sole organization within the broader Black Lives Matter social movement. It is, however, the largest and most well-funded, and it also claims to speak on behalf of the movement. Efforts which were started in late 2020 by its then Executive Director Patrisse Cullors began to centralize its operations.

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New York City has been the site of many Black Lives Matter protests in response to incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The Black Lives Matter movement began as a hashtag after the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin, and became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Garner was killed in the Staten Island borough of New York City, leading to protests, demonstrations, and work towards changes in policing and the law. Following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, the global response included extensive protests in New York City, and several subsequent changes to policy.

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