Black Lives Matter: Everything You Need to Know

Jee-Lyn García, J., & Sharif, M. Z. (2015). Black Lives Matter: A commentary on racism and public health.  American Journal of Public Health ,  105 (8), e27-e30. doi:10.2105/ajph.2015.302706 

Garcia and Sharif expound the dynamics of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and its association with the public health system by proffering engenders of BLM, such as the demises of unarmed African American individuals whose murders were engineered by state-violence. The authors argue that racism in the United States generates public health concerns, such as increased mortality and morbidities, such as stroke, heart disease, and obesity among the community members mentioned above. The article has an appealing presentation, with subtopics that explain vital concepts chronologically and precisely. However, the article’s shortcoming is its precise information that lacks critical data, which would have substantiated its claims. The text has critical points concerning how the healthcare industry can help to actualize BLM aims, which will help shape my research outcomes. 

Maraj, L. M., Prasad, P., & Roundtree, S. V. (2018). #BlackLivesMatter: Pasts, presents, and futures.  Prose Studies ,  40 (1-2), 1-14. doi:10.1080/01440357.2019.1668638 

The article evaluates the Black Lives Matter movement's pedagogical impacts in the United States, as embodied by cultural scholars in the country. Maraj et al. argue that BLM creates a substructure of exploration of the present and past racialized injustices experienced by the African-American community. The text's strength is its in-depth information that explores the BLM impact on the elite society in the nation, while its weakness is the use of advanced grammar that might only be conceptualized by a scholar. The article will provide vital data that I can use in my literature review section of the research I intend to undertake. 

Clayton, D. M. (2018). Black Lives Matter and the civil rights movement: A comparative analysis of two social movements in the United States.  Journal of Black Studies ,  49 (5), 448-480. doi:10.1177/0021934718764099 

Clayton explores past movements that were the foundation of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States in the contemporary society, such as Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party Movement, which highlighted the injustices advanced against African Americans in the United States. The author also indicates that today, the BLM movement has spread its influence in five countries and 30 United States’ cities through social media, print, and broadcast media. The article has a robust argument backed by statistical facts, which aid in a quick understanding of its core message. However, the data presentation would be better if the author provided future recommendations of the research design. The article will provide useful insights into the Occupy Wall Street Movement that mirrors BLM, strengthening my arguments in the theoretical framework section of my research. 

Szetela, A. (2019). Black Lives Matter at five: Limits and possibilities.  Ethnic and Racial Studies ,  43 (8), 1358-1383. doi:10.1080/01419870.2019.1638955 

The article investigates the Black Lives Matter movement founded in the United States after the racial profiling and murder of unarmed men from the Black ethnicity, such as Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, by White police officers. Szetela underscores the importance of BLM, such as exposing the systematic mass criminalizing and surveillance of African Americans in the United States and the need to create federal work opportunities for Blacks and the provision of total basic wages for every American. The reading's strength is its easy access to search engines, concise information, and well-explained points. However, Szetela might have bettered the article by incorporating a research design to ascertain her claims' relevance through real-time feedback from study participants. Nevertheless, the report has critical data that I will use when formulating questionnaires for data collection during my research. 

McCoy, H. (2020). Black Lives Matter, and yes, you are racist: The parallelism of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal ,  37 (5), 463-475. doi:10.1007/s10560-020-00690-4 

McCoy explores the history of racial injustices advanced against the Black community in the United States, engendered by World War 1, Jim Crow, and present state-supported violence practiced by the criminal justice system. The author also requests social workers to cease ignoring the racial inequalities that trigger movements, such as BLM and Red Summer that highlight the exigencies of the African American populace residing in the United States, such as unemployment, limited access to healthcare services, and forced segregation evinced in military recruitments, and housing, labor, and education sectors. The paper's strength is its precise and chronological description of racism's history, using specific events that the reader can relate to easily. However, the text lacks a research design that would have helped back its information, although I intend to use its data to create my study's methodology section. 

Tillery, A. B. (2019). What kind of movement is Black Lives Matter? The view from Twitter.  The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics ,  4 (2), 297-323. doi:10.1017/rep.2019.17 

Tillery introduces the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement as Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Cullors, who formed BLM after the demise of Trayvon Martin, an African American male who was shot by George Zimmerman. Still, the latter was later acquitted by court jury in the  State of Florida vs. Zimmerman . The author also asserts that BLM receives massive public support, as evidenced by an opinion survey, which proved that 65% of Americans support the movement mentioned above. The article has extensive information appropriately referenced and backed by statistical figures. However, its research design is poorly presented with subtopics combined instead of being separated for more straightforward conceptualization by a reader. Nevertheless, I will use the article’s data to create a robust literature review section of my research.  

Jones, L. K. (2019). #BlackLivesMatter: An analysis of the movement as social drama.  Humanity & Society ,  44 (1), 92-110. doi:10.1177/0160597619832049 

Jones reflects on the impacts of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, which resulted from the shooting of unarmed Black males advanced by state-supported violent police officers. The author indicates that BLM’s influence has spread to other regions outside the country because of elite powerbrokers, the internet, and protesters aided in reinforcing its agenda. The article’s strength is its well-expounded data concerning BLM and an appealing presentation of the research design section, while its weakness is the lack of the study’s limitations and recommendations for future consideration. Nevertheless, I intend to use the data shared to design a clear, viable, and relevant research methodology section. 

Leach, C. W., & Allen, A. M. (2017). The social psychology of the Black Lives Matter meme and movement.  Current Directions in Psychological Science ,  26 (6), 543-547. doi:10.1177/0963721417719319 

The article highlights social media's role, primarily Twitter, in advancing the agenda of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The authors contend that memes used by Twitter users when discussing BLM were instrumental in mobilizing political action, organizing protests by inducing the public's emotional response and motivation to fight racial injustice experienced by the African American community residing in the United States. The article's strength is its in-depth explanation of how social media influenced the spread of BLM, while its weakness is the lack of a traditional research design that would provide a robust backing of information shared. Still, I will use the article's information to write an extensive literature review concerning the association between social media and BLM. 

McMurtry-Chubb, T. A., & Lyne, W. (2017). Black Lives Matter and the Education Industrial Complex: A Special Issue of the Journal of Educational Controversy.  Journal of Educational Controversy ,  12 (1), 1-7. Retrieved from https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1305&context=jec 

The text investigates public education's role in the United States advances oppression against the Black community and outcomes embodied by African American students, such as Michael Brown, whose murder generated the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The author explores whether the education system teaches Black males that they are not superhumans that require being "overcome" or demons, as advanced by state-supported racist White law enforcers. The article's strength is its unique evaluation of how the education system supports or undermines BLM, while its weakness is the absence of research design and reference section. However, I will use the data provided to create a data collection questionnaire as I conduct my research. 

Chase, G. (2018). The early history of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the implications thereof. Retrieved from https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1757&context=nlj 

Chase explores the history of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, which Opal Tometi as a protest against the acquittal of George Zimmerman, a White individual who murdered African American male Trayvon Martin. The article’s strength is its extensive explanation of BLM’s history, while its weakness is the absence of a research design that would be sufficient backing for the information shared. Nevertheless, I will use the article’s information to write a robust theoretical framework for my research. 

References 

Chase, G. (2018). The early history of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the implications thereof. Retrieved from https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1757&context=nlj 

Clayton, D. M. (2018). Black Lives Matter and the civil rights movement: A comparative analysis of two social movements in the United States.  Journal of Black Studies ,  49 (5), 448-480. doi:10.1177/0021934718764099 

Jee-Lyn García, J., & Sharif, M. Z. (2015). Black Lives Matter: A commentary on racism and public health.  American Journal of Public Health ,  105 (8), e27-e30. doi:10.2105/ajph.2015.302706 

Jones, L. K. (2019). #BlackLivesMatter: An analysis of the movement as social drama.  Humanity & Society ,  44 (1), 92-110. doi:10.1177/0160597619832049 

Leach, C. W., & Allen, A. M. (2017). The social psychology of the Black Lives Matter meme and movement.  Current Directions in Psychological Science ,  26 (6), 543-547. doi:10.1177/0963721417719319 

Maraj, L. M., Prasad, P., & Roundtree, S. V. (2018). #BlackLivesMatter: Pasts, presents, and futures.  Prose Studies ,  40 (1-2), 1-14. doi:10.1080/01440357.2019.1668638 

McCoy, H. (2020). Black Lives Matter, and yes, you are racist: The parallelism of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal ,  37 (5), 463-475. doi:10.1007/s10560-020-00690-4 

McMurtry-Chubb, T. A., & Lyne, W. (2017). Black Lives Matter and the Education Industrial Complex: A Special Issue of the Journal of Educational Controversy.  Journal of Educational Controversy ,  12 (1), 1-7. Retrieved from https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1305&context=jec 

Szetela, A. (2019). Black Lives Matter at five: Limits and possibilities.  Ethnic and Racial Studies ,  43 (8), 1358-1383. doi:10.1080/01419870.2019.1638955 

Tillery, A. B. (2019). What kind of movement is Black Lives Matter? The view from Twitter.  The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics ,  4 (2), 297-323. doi:10.1017/rep.2019.17