White Lives Matter

Last updated

White Lives Matter logo White Lives Matter.jpg
White Lives Matter logo

White Lives Matter (WLM) is a white supremacist slogan that emerged in 2015 as a reaction to the Black Lives Matter social justice movement. [1] The phrase has been used by neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan groups, and other white supremacists to recruit new members into white supremacist movements and demonstrations. [1] [2] Proponents of the slogan argue that they use it to raise awareness against a supposed "white genocide" and build support for a white ethnostate, [3] and it has been frequently found at "pro-white" rallies across the United States. [1]

Contents

Rallies

Netherlands

Election posters

During the 2022 Dutch municipal elections in Rotterdam, stickers containing the untranslated phrase "White Lives Matter" or "traitor" (Dutch : landverrader) were put on election posters belonging to the 50Plus, DENK, GroenLinks and PvdA parties. They made a joint statement and filed criminal complaints with the police, who investigated. [4] [5] National party leaders Lilianne Ploumen (PvdA) and Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks) distanced themselves from the texts. The stickers referred to a Telegram group named after the phrase which had spread other stickers in other localities, including one claiming "Race-mixing is white genocide". [5]

Bridge projection

On New Year's Eve 2022-2023, the untranslated phrase was projected onto the Erasmus Bridge, among other racist slogans including the Fourteen Words and "black pete did nothing wrong" (Dutch : zwarte piet deed niets verkeerd). Police believe it was done from a boat. The Public Prosecution Service started an investigation. [6] [7]

United Kingdom

The phrase WLM has also been active in the United Kingdom, albeit with a low turnout. [8] On June 22, 2020, as players, with "Black Lives Matter" printed on their shirts in place of their names, were taking the knee before kick off to a Burnley F.C. away match to Manchester City, a plane flew over the Etihad Stadium carrying the banner "White Lives Matter Burnley". [9] The incident was widely condemned by football authorities and anti-racism campaigners, who described the banner as racist and divisive. The next month, the pilot and his wife were both fired from their workplaces for having made racist social media posts. [10] Later in the month, a "White Lives Matter" slogan was etched into a park hillside in Bedworth, England. Police, who were treating it as racially-aggravated criminal damage and a hate crime, were aware of footage on social media appearing to show someone in clothing "resembling a Ku Klux Klan outfit" at the same site. [11] In response to the use of the phrase "White Lives Matter," many individuals and organizations in the UK have emphasized the need to promote inclusivity and equality for all individuals, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or background.

United States

California

In April 2021, a rally in Huntington Beach, California, organized by a group called the "White Lives Matter Foundation," drew a small crowd of supporters and a much larger group of counter-protesters. [12] The event remained largely peaceful, but there were some clashes between the two groups and several arrests were made. In May 2021, a similar rally organized by the same group in Raleigh, North Carolina, was canceled due to low turnout and concerns about potential violence. [13] A counter-protest organized by local anti-fascist groups still took place, but it also had a relatively small turnout.

In October 2023, during the Israel–Hamas war, around seven members of White Lives Matter California held a demonstration on a bridge in Walnut Creek, holding up signs reading "No More Wars for I$rael" and promoting the neo-Nazi propaganda film Europa: The Last Battle . [14]

Ohio

Church arson

On March 25, 2023, Molotov cocktails and an explosive were used in an attempt to burn down the Chesterland Community Church in Ohio. Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, Ohio, was arrested based on cell phone data location and charged with the arson meant to prevent the church's hosting of a drag show performance. A search of his home turned up Nazi flags and a "White Lives Matter, Ohio," tee shirt. [15]

Tennessee

Two White Lives Matter rallies were planned to take place on October 28, 2017, in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. [16] [17] These rallies involved the National Socialist Movement, Traditionalist Worker Party, League of the South, and Vanguard America, all sometimes collectively known as the Nationalist Front. [16] [18] Many of these groups had been involved in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August, 2017. [16]

Group leaders stated their purpose was to address the "ongoing problem of refugee resettlement in Middle Tennessee," failure to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico, the removal of Sudan from the list of countries in the Trump travel ban, fight against the DREAM Act, as well as the Burnette Chapel shooting by Sudanese native Emmanuel Sampson. [17]

The Shelbyville rally involved about 100 White Lives Matter supporters and about 200 counter-protestors. [19]

The afternoon event in Murfreesboro was canceled by the organizers; the authorities estimated that around 800 to 1000 people took part in the anti-racist march and counter-protest. [19]

In addition, local community and faith activists organized an off-site rally under the moniker of "Murfreesboro Loves". Hundreds participated in the event in support of refugees and minorities. [20]

Other locations

In 2021, "White Lives Matter" rallies were held in Raleigh, North Carolina; Philadelphia; New York City; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Fort Worth, Texas. These rallies had counter-protestors outnumber the far-right attendance, in at least one instance there were hundreds of counter protestors. [2]

World's Indigenous Peoples day

A growing number of White nationalist groups around the world have held an annual White Lives Matter activism which coincides with the United Nations designated International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples observed on 9 August each year. The UK's Patriotic Alternative and New Zealand's Action Zealandia have done this. [21] [22]

Involvement with the media

The "White Lives Matter" movement has received some media coverage, but much of it has been critical and has focused on the movement's ties to white nationalism and white supremacy. [23] [24] Some members of the movement have used social media to organize rallies and events and to promote their ideology. In recent years, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have taken steps to remove content promoting hate speech, including content related to the "White Lives Matter" movement. [25]

Usage

Kanye West

On October 3, 2022, during his Yeezy SZN 9 fashion show in Paris, Kanye West wore a shirt with the slogan "White Lives Matter" written on it, [26] [27] a move described by Forbes as controversial. [28] Conservative commentator Candace Owens posed for a photo with West wearing a matching shirt with the slogan. [26] [27] He explained his choice in the following way: "At a certain point, it felt like I saw White people wearing shirts that said Black Lives Matter, like, they were doing me such a favor by having a t-shirt that reminded me that my life mattered. Like I didn't already know that. So, I thought I'd return the favor and let White people know, that hey, your life matters, too." [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White pride</span> Racial expression

White pride and white power are expressions primarily used by white separatist, white nationalist, fascist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist organizations in order to signal racist or racialist viewpoints. It is also a slogan used by the prominent post-Ku Klux Klan group Stormfront and a term used to make racist/racialist viewpoints more palatable to the general public who may associate historical abuses with the terms white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One People's Project</span> USA far-right monitoring organization

One Peoples Project (OPP) is an organization founded in 2000 to monitor and publish information about alleged racist and far-right groups and individuals, mostly in the United States. The group has about fifteen volunteers in addition to its most prominent members, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, its founder, and Joshua Hoyt, who joined the group in 2002. It has been called "the most mainstream and well-known anti-fascist or antifa" organization in the United States. Its motto is "Hate Has Consequences".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thin blue line</span> Figurative reference to the position of police in society

The "thin blue line" is a term that typically refers to the concept of the police as the line between law and order and chaos in society. The "blue" in "thin blue line" refers to the blue color of the uniforms of many police departments. The thin blue line symbol has been used by the Blue Lives Matter movement since 2014, and it has become emblematic of white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and alt-right movements in the US, particularly displayed by attendees of the Unite the Right rally in 2017 and the January 6 Storming of the US Capitol in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Socialist Movement (United States)</span> American Neo-Nazi organization (1974-)

The National Socialist Movement (NSM) is a Neo-Nazi organization based in the United States. It was a part of the Nationalist Front. Once considered to be the largest and most prominent National Socialist organization in the United States in the United States, in recent years its membership and prominence has plummeted. It is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aryan Guard</span> Neo-Nazi group based in Alberta, Canada

The Aryan Guard was a neo-Nazi terrorist organization based in Alberta, Canada, whose members are primarily located in the city of Calgary. It was founded in late 2006, and was reported to have disbanded in 2009 as a result of internal conflict including pipe bombing attacks. However, the group denied this late in 2009, and claimed it was still operating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Heimbach</span> American white supremacist (born 1991)

Matthew Warren Heimbach is an American white supremacist and neo-Nazi. He has attempted to form alliances between several far-right extremist groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proud Boys</span> North American neo-fascist organization

The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditionalist Worker Party</span> Defunct neo-Nazi and white nationalist American political party

The Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) was a far-right neo-Nazi political party active in the United States between 2013 and 2018, affiliated with the broader "alt-right" movement that became active within the U.S. during the 2010s. It was considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center's list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity Evropa</span> Neo-Nazi group in the United States

Identity Evropa was an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist organization established in March 2016. It was rebranded as the American Identity Movement in March 2019. In November 2020, the group disbanded. Leaders and members of Identity Evropa, such as former leader Elliot Kline, praised Nazi Germany and pushed for what they described as the "Nazification of America".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unite the Right rally</span> 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia

The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and far-right militias. Some groups chanted racist and antisemitic slogans and carried weapons, Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols, the Valknut, Confederate battle flags, Deus vult crosses, flags, and other symbols of various past and present antisemitic and anti-Islamic groups. The organizers' stated goals included the unification of the American white nationalist movement and opposing the proposed removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee from Charlottesville's former Lee Park. The rally sparked a national debate over Confederate iconography, racial violence, and white supremacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationalist Front (United States)</span> Loose coalition of white supremacist groups in the United States

The Nationalist Front is a loose coalition of radical right and white supremacists. The coalition was formed in 2016 by leaders of the neo-Nazi groups National Socialist Movement (NSM) and Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP). Its aim was to unite white supremacist and white nationalist groups under a common umbrella. Originally the group was named the Aryan Nationalist Alliance and was composed of neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan and White power skinhead organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanguard America</span> American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, neo-fascist organization

Vanguard America is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, neo-fascist organization. The organization is also a member of the Nationalist Front. The group gained significant attention after it was revealed that James Alex Fields had marched with them at the Unite the Right rally before being arrested on murder charges. The group has its roots in the alt-right movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's okay to be white</span> Slogan associated with white supremacy

"It's okay to be white" (IOTBW) is an alt-right slogan which originated as part of an organized trolling campaign on the website 4chan's discussion board /pol/ in 2017. A /pol/ user described it as a proof of concept that an otherwise innocuous message could be used maliciously to spark media backlash. Posters and stickers stating "It's okay to be white" were placed in streets in the United States as well as on campuses in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriot Front</span> American white nationalist group

Patriot Front is an American white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group. Part of the broader alt-right movement, the group split off from the neo-Nazi organization Vanguard America in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally in 2017. Patriot Front's aesthetic combines traditional Americana with fascist symbolism. Internal communications within the group indicated it had approximately 200 members as of late 2021. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the group generated 82% of reported incidents in 2021 involving distribution of racist, antisemitic, and other hateful propaganda in the United States, comprising 3,992 incidents, in every continental state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Communist Action</span> Right-wing to far-right political organization

Anti-Communist Action, also shortened to Anticom, is a right-wing to far-right political organization based in the United States and Canada. The group has described itself as "the right's response to antifa." Anticom has espoused neo-Nazi ideology and members have attended neo-Nazi events. The group has done security for various alt-right and white supremacist rallies. Anticom has overlapping membership with the neo-Nazi terrorist group Atomwaffen Division and has shared information on combat and bomb-making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unite the Right 2</span> 2018 white supremacist rally in Washington, D.C.

The "Unite the Right 2" rally was a white supremacist rally that occurred on August 12, 2018, at Lafayette Square near the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. It was organized by Jason Kessler to mark the first anniversary of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which ended in deadly violence and attracted both national and international attention.

The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is a militant alt-right Southern California-based street fighting group which has variously been described as "a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists", white nationalists, white supremacists, and far-right persons. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), it "is inspired by identitarian movements in Europe and it is trying to bring their philosophies and violent tactics to the United States." Its members are primarily located in the areas of Orange County and San Diego, and as of 2018, have been variously numbered at 20 to 50. Individual RAM members are also members of other organizations, such as the self-described Identitarian Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement, the "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys, and the neo-Nazi skinhead Hammerskin Nation, according to Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GypsyCrusader</span> American far-right political commentator

Paul Nicholas Miller, better known as GypsyCrusader, is an American white supremacist internet personality. Described as antisemitic and racist by various advocacy groups and the US Department of Justice, he frequently broadcasts himself on the internet cosplaying as various contemporary popular culture personas. In June 2021, Miller pleaded guilty to charges related to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, leading to a 41 months' imprisonment. He is known to have cosplayed as the Joker, the Riddler, Mario, and others while video chatting with strangers on the now defunct website Omegle. He is known for his advocacy for a race war, espousing white supremacy and neo-Nazism. He has been tied to multiple alt-right and far-right organizations, including the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action Zealandia</span> New Zealand white nationalist group

Action Zealandia is a white nationalist group in New Zealand that emerged following the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 as the successor to an earlier group called the Dominion Movement. According to Newshub, Action Zealandia has restricted its membership to "physically fit, tidy European male[s] of sound mind and good character." In addition to its online activities, the group has plastered stickers, posted banners, and networked with other far-right and neo-Nazi groups in New Zealand and abroad. Action Zealandia has also attracted media attention after members made an online threat against Christchurch's Al Noor Mosque, attempted to start a terror cell, purchase weapons, and participated in the 2022 Wellington protest.

Anti-fascist research group Kafka, commonly abbreviated to Kafka, is a Dutch anti-fascist and far-left research group, founded by Hans van Drunen. Its name was said to be an acronym for Kollektief Anti-Fascistisch/-Kapitalistisch Archief before 1994, but the research group has since indicated that they had named themselves after the writer Franz Kafka.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "White Lives Matter". Anti-Defamation League . Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "'White Lives Matter' rallies flop as hardly anyone shows up". NBC News. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  3. ↑ "White Lives Matter". Southern Poverty Law Center . Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Rotterdamse partijen doen aangifte van racistische stickers op posters" (in Dutch). NOS. February 28, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Groenendijk, Peter (February 28, 2022). "Leefbaar noemt ophef over racistische stickers hypocriet: 'Wij maken dit al veel langer mee'". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch).
  6. ↑ "Racistische leuzen geprojecteerd op Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam tijdens jaarwisseling" (in Dutch). RTL Nieuws. January 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ "OM: racistische uitingen Erasmusbrug strafbaar, onderzoek gestart". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). January 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ "First UK 'White Lives Matter' Margate March Sees Tiny Turnout #WLM". HuffPost. October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ Kelly, Ryan (June 24, 2020). "Explained: Why 'White Lives Matter' and 'All Lives Matter' misses the point of Black Lives Matter". Goal.com. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  10. ↑ Polden, Jake (June 24, 2020). "Burnley fan behind White Lives Matter banner is sacked from his job". mirror. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ "'White Lives Matter' slogan put on Bedworth park hillside". BBC. June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  12. ↑ Cook, Peter (August 31, 2021), "Los Angeles", Lives in Architecture, London: RIBA Publishing, pp. 83–96, retrieved May 9, 2023
  13. ↑ "Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Mobilizes Legal Observer Program to Protect Protesters During Families Belong Together Rally". Human Rights Documents Online. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ Hosseini, Raheem (November 10, 2023). "Neo-Nazis are exploiting the Israel-Hamas conflict to stoke another crisis: A 'race war'". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ Member of pro-Nazi group used Molotov cocktails in attempt to burn down Ohio church planning to host a drag event, FBI says, CNN , Kia Fatahi and Liam Reilly, October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 Timms, Mariah and Allison, Natalie (October 27, 2017) "White Lives Matter Murfreesboro rally: What we know now", The Tennessean
  17. 1 2 "White Supremacist Nationalist Front Plans Rallies in Tennessee". Anti-Defamation League . Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  18. ↑ Staff (October 24, 2017) "The far right returns to middle Tennessee", Southern Poverty Law Center
  19. 1 2 Lowery, Wesley (October 28, 2017) "'White Lives Matter' organizers cancel second rally after taunts from counterprotesters", The Washington Post
  20. ↑ Junewicz, Nikki (October 29, 2017) "'Murfreesboro Loves' protests white nationalism from a distance", Fox17.com
  21. ↑ "Far-Right Hijacks Global Indigenous Peoples Day With Racist Stunts". Vice. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  22. ↑ Weir, Elliot (August 9, 2021). "Action Zealandia, NZ's largest neo-Nazi group, on the hunt for new recruits". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  23. ↑ Bertrand, N. (2017, November 3). The ‘White Lives Matter’ Movement Has Been Linked To Extremist Killings And Domestic Terrorism. BuzzFeed News.
  24. ↑ Cauterucci, C. (2016, August 30). ‘White Lives Matter’ Is About A Lot More Than Free Speech. Slate.
  25. ↑ Agudelo, Felipe I.; Olbrych, Natalie (July 2022). "It's Not How You Say It, It's What You Say: Ambient Digital Racism and Racial Narratives on Twitter". Social Media + Society. 8 (3): 205630512211224. doi: 10.1177/20563051221122441 . ISSN   2056-3051.
  26. 1 2 Polus, Sarah (October 3, 2022). "Ye, Candace Owens wear 'White Lives Matter' shirts at Paris Fashion week". The Hill . Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  27. 1 2 Cowen, William Trace (October 3, 2022). "Kanye West Wears 'White Lives Matter' T-Shirt Design at YZY Season 9 Presentation". Complex Networks . Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  28. ↑ Dellatto, Marisa (October 3, 2022). "Kanye West Wears 'White Lives Matter' Shirt At Yeezy Fashion Show". Forbes . Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Kanye West Explains "White Lives Matter," Anti-BLM Stance". Hot New Hiphop. October 6, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.