Report Finds That 93% of Black Lives Matter Protests in the US Were Peaceful
Americans in all 50 states have exercised their first amendment right to peaceful protests as monitored by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
There have been over 7,750 protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. This report also re-confirms the notion that black men are more than twice as likely to be killed at the hands of the police than white men.
New @ACLEDINFO data show that while more than 90% of demonstrations since #GeorgeFloyd‘s killing are peaceful, they’re increasingly met with violence by government forces, non-state groups, and counter-demonstrators across the #US.
Key findings ▶️ https://t.co/Hrv4zYUgjt pic.twitter.com/W8jfOXzyIa
— Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (@ACLEDINFO) September 4, 2020
Despite conservative media continually denouncing ‘violent riots’ and repeatedly showing the most graphic riots—as far as rioters and looters are concerned—a report by ACLED has stated that 93% of Black Lives Matter Protests have been peaceful. The small portion of protests that do dissolve into rioting have only been found in specific blocks and not an entire city. Yet 42% of participants in a survey still believe that BLM protests are trying to incite violence.
Amongst family and friends, this has been an extremely difficult topic to discuss. Common arguments against rioting and looting are the loss of property for both public communities and private individuals. However, we all know the value of human life will always be more important than property damage.
To better understand why rioting occurs and how we might be able to learn from it, listen to Martin Luther King Jr speak ‘A Riot is the Language of the Unheard’. He condemns violent protests as “socially destructive and self-defeating.” He asks instead for listeners to understand there are reasons for rioting as a result of the conditions of systemic oppression. He argues to condemn those oppressive conditions just as arduously as one should condemn rioting.
This speech was given 53 years ago as of 2020, yet it’s message is still as relevant and necessary today as it was when he gave his speech. As protests are still appearing in every state, we continue to hope for a positive change. To sign petitions, find a protest near you, and more you can visit blacklivesmatter.com.
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