Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a and protesting against incidents of and all against. While there are specific organizations such as that label themselves simply as "Black Lives Matter", the Black Lives Matter movement comprises a broad array of people and organizations. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself remains by any group. The broader movement and its related organizations typically advocate against police violence toward black people as well as for various other policy changes considered to be related to black liberation.
In July 2013, the movement began with the use of the #BlackLivesMatter on after of in of African-American teen 17 months earlier in February 2012. The movement became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans, that of —resulting in, a city near —and in New York City. Since the Ferguson protests, participants in the movement have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter activists became involved in the. The originators of the hashtag and call to action, and, expanded their project into a national network of over 30 local chapters between 2014 and 2016. The overall Black Lives Matter movement is a decentralized network of activists with no formal hierarchy.
The movement returned to national headlines and gained further international attention during the global in 2020 following the by. An estimated 15 million to 26 million people participated in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, making it one of the largest movements in the country's history. The movement comprises many views and a broad array of demands but they center on.
The popularity of Black Lives Matter has rapidly shifted over time. Whereas public opinion on Black Lives Matter was net negative in 2018, it grew increasingly popular through 2019 and 2020. A June 2020 poll found that 67% of adult Americans expressed some support for the Black Lives Matter movement. A later poll conducted in September 2020 showed that support among American adults had dropped to 55%, with notable declines among whites and Hispanics, while support remained widespread among black adults.
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than 50 groups representing the interests across the United States. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the , and the . Endorsed by groups such as , Brooklyn Movement Center, Million Women March Cleveland, and ONE DC, the coalition receives communications and tactical support from an organization named Blackbird.
Following the M4BL released the , which called for sweeping legislative changes surrounding policing; the policy bill included calls to divest from policing and reinvest funds directly in community resources and alternative emergency response models.
On July 24, 2015, the movement initially convened at were between 1,500 and 2,000 activists gathered to participate in open discussions and demonstrations. The conference in Cleveland, Ohio initially attempted to "strategize ways for the Movement for Black Lives to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions on a national level". However, the conference resulted in the formation of a much more significant social movement. At the end of the three-day conference, on July 26, the Movement for Black Lives initiated a year-long "process of convening local and national groups to create a United Front". This year-long process ultimately resulted in the establishment of an organizational platform that articulates the goals, demands, and policies that the Movement for Black Lives supports in order to achieve the "liberation" of black communities across America.
In 2016, they announced plans to fund the M4BL Movement For Black Lives in a "six-year investments" plan, further partnering up with others to found the . The sum donated by the Ford Foundation and the other donors to M4BL was reported as $100 million in 2016; another donation of $33 million to M4BL was reportedly issued by the .
