The Black Lives Matter protests that have erupted in the United States may be the largest demonstrations in the history of the country, with the participation of more than 26 million people.
The figures come from four recent surveys, including one published by Civis Analytics, which found that 15 million people to 26 million people have been part of the protests that occurred after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.
“I have never seen self-reports of participation in such high protests for a specific topic in such a short period,” Neal Caren, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told the New York Times.
The figures come from four recent surveys that found that 15 million people to 26 million people have been part of the protests that erupted after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (protest in New York)
Polls suggest that at least seven million people participated in protests in the past few weeks.
In comparison, approximately three million to five million people attended the 2017 Women’s March in a single day. That event was highly organized in contrast to the BLM demonstrations, which have been much more organic.
“It really is hard to overstate the scale of this movement,” said Deva Woodly, an associate professor of politics at the New School.
Civil rights marches in the 1960s were not that great, the professor added.
“If we add up all those protests during that period, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people, but not millions,” he said.
Polls suggest that at least seven million people participated in protests in the past few weeks (protests in Los Angeles)
A review of international protests for independence by Erica Chenoweth, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, found that approximately 3.5 percent of a country’s population protests to overthrow the government leadership.
More than 4,700 protests have occurred in the United States since May 26, with an average of about 140 per day.
“The geographic spread of the protest is a really important feature and helps to point out the depth and breadth of support for a movement,” said Kenneth Andrews, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Professor Woodly explained that the protests are taking place in such a vast number because activists are obtaining guidance and framework for their Black Lives Matter protests.
There appears to be some correlation in activism and disdain for Trump and his administration. A poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that one in five Americans said they had participated in a protest since the start of the Trump administration. About 19 percent of Americans said they were new to protesting.
More than 4,700 protests have occurred in the United States since May 26, with an average of about 140 per day (protest in Minneapolis)
At least 1,360 counties in the United States, about 40 percent, have had some form of Black Lives Matter protests. Nearly 95 percent of these counties are predominantly white, and nearly three-quarters of the counties had populations of more than 75 percent white.
“ Without questioning the reality and importance of widespread white support for the movement in the early 1960s, the number of whites who participated steadily in the struggle was comparatively small, and certainly nothing like the percentages we have seen participating in the last years. weeks, “said Douglas McAdam, a professor emeritus at Stanford University who studies social movements.
Younger, wealthier Americans also participate in more of the protests. Most of the protesters come from the age group for people under 35.
At least 1,360 counties in the United States, about 40 percent, have had some form of Black Lives Matter protests (protests in Washington DC)
Recent videos of police violence against protesters or the black community were a big motivator as to why people participated for the first time.
With the coronavirus pandemic also devastating the United States, people also have more time to participate in activism.
“With being home and not being able to do as much, that could be amplifying something that is already critical, something that is already a powerful catalyst, and that’s the video,” said Daniel Q. Gillion, professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
‘If you are not moved by the George Floyd video, you have nothing inside. And that catalyst can now be amplified by the fact that people probably have more time to participate in protest activities. ”
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