BLACK LIVES MATTER AS A DISTINCTIVE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: A LOOK AT IDEOLOGY AND TWO FOCAL POINTS FOR THE MOVEMENT
| dc.contributor.advisor | Paschall, Collin | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Wolfson, Adam | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Ginsberg, Benjamin | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Harris, Doug | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Rosenthal, Alexander | |
| dc.creator | Palmere, Michael G. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-02-28T19:56:07Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-02-28T19:56:07Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2021-12 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-12-20 | |
| dc.date.submitted | December 2021 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2022-02-28T19:56:07Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a distinctive American civil rights movement that began in 2012 following the killing of Treyvon Martin. Even though the not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman was the flashpoint that sparked a now decade-long social movement, the concerns of BLM are not exclusive to justice system failures. In addition to critiques of the criminal justice system, BLM is concerned with matters such as police brutality and removal of monuments that memorialize the Confederacy as well as colonial beneficiaries of slavery. The latter especially speaks to the claim that BLM is a social movement distinct from previous American civil rights movements such as the 19th-century abolitionist movement and the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. BLM situates its ideology in the literature of Critical Race Theory (CRT). This distinguishing aspect of BLM—that it seeks to undercut the philosophical citadel of American liberalism rather than revive the promise of America’s Declaration of Independence—is what detaches it from the charge of America’s mid-20th century civil rights movement. Briefly, this might be exemplified by the fact that it was not just Confederate monuments that were coming down in the last couple of years. Instead, it was also these symbols of colonialism such as a monument to Christopher Columbus coming down in South Carolina and even vandalism of statues depicting America’s slave-owning founders. This thesis will be divided into three chapters. The first chapter of this project establishes the thesis that the distinguishing aspect of BLM is that its ideology critiques liberalism’s color-blind ethic in a way that previous movements have not fully articulated. The second chapter presents the thesis that police lethal use of force procedures are regularly found to be confusing as both institutional actors (e.g., police department leadership, attorneys general) and the general public process police bodycam footage release. Institutional instability—that being confusing procedures that lack standard application—generates consensus among the public that something needs to be done. Finally, the third chapter provides the thesis that Heritage Law strength—that is, the structure of laws institutionalizing the protection of historical monuments—is a significant determinant for the cadence of Confederate monument removal. This project’s investigation of the ideology of BLM, as well as two focal points for the movement (police use of force reform and Confederate monument removal), will distinguish BLM from previous emancipatory, civil rights movements in American history, particularly the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/66865 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Johns Hopkins University | |
| dc.publisher.country | USA | |
| dc.subject | Black Lives Matter | |
| dc.subject | ideology | |
| dc.subject | Critical Race Theory | |
| dc.subject | liberalism | |
| dc.subject | police use of force | |
| dc.subject | critical juncture theory | |
| dc.subject | confederate monuments | |
| dc.subject | heritage laws | |
| dc.title | BLACK LIVES MATTER AS A DISTINCTIVE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: A LOOK AT IDEOLOGY AND TWO FOCAL POINTS FOR THE MOVEMENT | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Government Program | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Government | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Johns Hopkins University | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Advanced Academic Programs | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | M.A. |