June 2022

Black Lives Matter and Power Events of the last few years, including the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the United States, have heightened the endorsement of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement created in 2013 by three Black community organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi (Black Lives Matter, 2013). Since its founding, the movement has expanded to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, with sponsored grass roots activism in Canada and the UK. Central to their efforts is their work to, “… eradicate white supremacy and build local power…”. The movement is not focused on one, high profile leader, but instead seeks to harness the power of a community. The centrality of power in their mission is emblematic of the expanding view among activists and others, that the movement towards greater equity and social justice in a community… in a society … requires the equitable accumulation of power and applying that power to influence the actions, beliefs, or conduct of others. Obviously, power can be used to further goals of justice and equity, but it can also be used to pursue oppression of others and constraints on the fair distribution of resources and the reinforcement of inequities.