From a Hashtag to a Movement: Black Women Movement Actors’ Challenges to Leading a Radical Movement in a “Postracial America”

Abstract

There is limited literature on the connections of local political organizations affiliated with M4BL, led and facilitated by black women movement actors (BWMA). To address this gap in the literature, I conducted five focus groups in Maryland and the District of Colombia in 2016 to identify the challenges facing BWMA (i.e., leaders, organizers, and protestors) in local organizations connected to the Movement for Black Lives. Theoretically grounded in intersectionality and Black radical social movement theories, themes emerging from these focus groups identify a deep racial capital, but challenges a broader vision for movement work rooted in a global analysis. Findings also reveal the challenges presented to BWMA are the following: social media activism as a dominant participation mode, participants’ goals toward colorblind reform policies, and challenges to class-consciousness and coalition-building that signal a racial consciousness among these focus groups and healthy skepticism toward national and global coalitions. This research provides a nuanced discussion of the struggle to build a global working-class movement in local anti-racist organizations which would outline the schism from theory to action. The disconnection between global and local goals is a persistent theme. Implications for future research are discussed.