How to Transform #Blacklivesmatter Protests Into Lasting Change
As anger simmers and boils over after the tragic death of George Floyd, who was killed by Minnesota police last week, leaders such as former President Barack Obama and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have called on an end to the violence that they believe is undermining protestors’ very real and justifiable demands for change, while also suggesting paths forward for protestors to make a lasting difference.
Protests have continued to roil dozens of cities across the United States since George Floyd, a black man, was killed by Minnesota police on Memorial Day Weekend. Some of the protests have begun to take a dark turn towards rioting and looting at night, although, there’s much speculation that outside forces on the far right and/or far left have sabotaged the largely peaceful protests to sow chaos.
Minnesota’s governor called in the National Guard, while around 40 cities, including New York City, have instituted curfews to try to curtail the rioting. Governors and mayors have appealed for calm to avoid a civil meltdown, while largely supporting peaceful protests. Many community leaders, politicians, and elected officials have also been quick to offer advice about how protestors can engender lasting change.
In an article published on the website Medium, President Obama outlined his advice for how to build upon the swelling protests to make real change.
President Obama believes the protests “represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States.” But he continued to say that violence puts innocent people at risk and “detracts from the larger cause.”
In his article, President Obama implored people to consider the importance of voting. While protests put a spotlight on the problem, he explains, elected officials need to institutionalize change by passing specific laws and adopting new policies. Protests and politics, especially at the state and local levels, are two strategies that complement each other, according to President Obama.
Finally, Obama says that instead of securing vague promises of improvements from elected officials, the #Blacklivesmatter movement needs to make specific demands for police and criminal justice reform.
Governor Cuomo also offered advice to protesters during his press conference on Monday, touching upon many of the same topics in Obama’s article. Cuomo recommended protestors focus on “effecting change” which requires that they “be specific” in their demands.
Former Vice President Joe Biden also published an article on Medium on May 31, in which he called the protests “right and necessary.” The 2020 presidential candidate went on to say: “We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us.”
Biden says he is prepared to listen, as he did when he visited the site of protests in his home state of Delaware. On Monday, Biden also met with 14 faith leaders and local lawmakers at a nearby church. They made a variety of recommendations to Biden, including that he appoint a czar to study police brutality, if elected president.
Creating a dialogue between elected officials, police, and protestors is an important first step towards defusing the current tensions. But as these leaders have pointed out, bringing about change will require a much longer, sustained campaign with specific demands, that buildings on a strategy of both protests and politics.