Black Lives Matter at five: limits and possibilities

Abstract

This article contends that the theoretical framework and strategic orientation of Black Lives Matter – as understood through the work of co-founders Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and the policy platform “A Vision for Black Lives” – obstructs the realization of the movement’s own goals as well as the possibilities for a broader vision of social justice. As the article lays out this argument, it emphasizes the ways in which scholars in academia evade these problems of theory and strategy, as part of their uncritical celebration of the movement and its leaders. This celebration obscures the considerable problems that confront Black Lives Matter as it proceeds past its fifth-year anniversary.