Transatlantic Black Lives Matter: Motivations for Participation and Non-Participation in Black Lives Matter Beyond the USA

Social movements have long since been a staple in civic life with each new generation presenting new tactics and means for engagement. The introduction of Black Lives Matter in 2014 brought racial disparities at the hands of law enforcement in the US to the attention of thousands of people around the world through their use of social media and their protests which were heavily followed around the world. Whilst studies have looked into how the movement’s usage of social media has been pivotal to their growth,and how it has encouraged political participation in a new generation, researchers are yet to delve into the mechanics of the movement and how this is received on a larger scale. Furthermore, how those who have different lived experiences contextualise their support or disagreement of the movement given their difference in cultural context and history of racial tension.This study looks to explore the perception of a globally recognised movement outside of its home, the USA, by taking into consideration where the advocacy is happening and how/why people participate on different levels. This perspective is key in beginning to understand how individuals arrive at various conclusions,and how that journey towards arriving at their conclusions have been influenced along the way. The results of this research project were gathered through the use of a quantative and qualitative survey of 383 people from countries outside of the US, mainly Europe and the UK. The results found that the majority of respondents questioned whether Black Lives Matter as it stands,was relevant in their country, with many calling for a more inclusive movement and therefore, messaging, that extends to other minorities that are thought to receive the same level of injustice (if not more so) than black people with an emphasis on minorities such as Arabs, Gypsies, Jews, Muslims and Turks. The findings from this research create opportunities for future researchers to explore how movements embed their cause and messaging in countries that have different cultural and historical context in order to gain allies/sympathisers, how different information sources influence how people add context to their beliefs and how the decentralised nature of the movement has had an impact on the way they are received.