New Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation(1)(2)

1.

Why Did the 2020 BLM
Protests Occur?
Adil Dyussenov
Tamerlan Aitken
Ilyas Yermekbayev
Yerassyl Kenzhe
Temirkhan Sagat

2.

What happened?
• On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
murdered George Floyd. A bystander’s video went viral. Within
days, protests erupted in over 550 U.S. locations, growing into
the largest civil rights movement in U.S. history (Buchanan et
al., 2020).
• Where and when?
Nationwide (USA) and globally, peaking May–August 2020.
• Why does it matter?
The protests forced a national debate on systemic racism,
police violence, and public safety – leading to policy proposals
(e.g., defunding police) and shifting public opinion.

3.

Why did the 2020 BLM protests occur?

4.

5.

May 25 2020

6.

Derek Chauvin
police
officer

7.

murdered

8.

George
Floyd

9.

protests
erupted

10.

protests erupted
In 550
U.S.
locations

11.

the largest
civil rights
movement
in U.S.
history

12.

Theoretical
Framework

13.

Political Opportunity Structure (POS) – *from social movement theory*
- Definition: The political environment (institutional stability, elite allies, repressive capacity) that
makes protest more or less likely.
- How it applies: The COVID-19 lockdowns created a unique opportunity – people had time,
were already questioning state authority, and face-to-face work lowered the *marginal cost* of
attending protests (Chenoweth et al., 2022).

14.

Framing – *from political communication*
- Definition: How an issue is presented shapes public
understanding and mobilization.
- How it applies: The George Floyd video was an
undeniable “diagnostic frame” – it turned an abstract
problem (police brutality) into a concrete, emotional, and
widely shared moral outrage (Drakulich & Denver.,
2022). This frame also activated independents (the
“persuadables”) whose views were not fixed by
partisanship.

15.

Grievance Theory – *classic protest
explanation*
- Definition: Collective action arises when people
perceive a serious injustice that is not being
addressed by normal politics.
- How it applies: Prior police killings of Black
people (e.g., Michael Brown, Eric Garner,
Breonna Taylor) built a reservoir of grievance
across many communities. Williamson et al.
(2018) show that localities with more
police-caused deaths of Black people had
significantly more BLM protests even before
2020.

16.

Key Actors
Actors
Institutions
The Context

17.

Actors
Grassroots organizers and
BLM GIobal Network.
Focused on transforming
grief into a sustained political
force with clear policy
demands.
Institutions The Context
The Minneapolis Police
Department (MPD) and the
legal system (Qualified
Immunity) acted as the
primary institutional
antagonists in the legitimacу
crisis. However, fragmented
police system consisting of over
18000 departments also allowed
for easier protests through the
entire country.
COVID-19 Pandemic served
as a "causal multiplier,"
providing the time, economic
frustration, and emotional
intensity needed for mass
mobilization.
Prior history of police brutality
against black community served
the pre-existing narrative.

18.

Why did the 2020 BLM protests occur?

19.

People chose to protest whe
seeking change) outweighed
to attend where more prote
police shootings had recen
Evidence: Chenoweth et al
BLM and the number of loc
attendance; perceived COVI
attendance because it corr
Deliberate indi
ger & powerful
me
ge Floyd’s murder acted as a
police violence as urgent,
and systemic.
022) find that the video shifted
hat positive framings of BLM
ose low in racial resentment.
Why did the 2020 BLM protests occur?
Long-term structural cause
Repeated police killings of Black people (2013-2020)
created widespread anger and a crisis of legitimacy
toward law enforcement and legal institutions.
Evidence: Williamson et al. (2018) show that cities with
more prior police-caused deaths of Black people had
significantly more BLM protests.

20.

Repeated police killings of
created widespread anger
toward law enforceme
Evidence: Williamson et al.
more prior police-caused
significantly mo
Long-term st
y structure
ople were not working or were
ssential jobs (lower income).
tending a protest was low
exposed to COVID-19 risk.
(2022) show that protesters
ely to be working in person,
d have lower incomes – i.e.,
ssure that made protest a
choice.
Why did the 2020 BLM protests occur?
Proximate trigger & powerful
frame
The 9-minute video of George Floyd’s murder acted as a
moral shock – it framed police violence as urgent,
undeniable, and systemic.
Evidence: Drakulich & Denver (2022) find that the video
shifted independents’ views, and that positive framings of
BLM increased support among those low in racial
resentment.

21.

The 9-minute video of Geor
moral shock – it framed
undeniable,
Evidence: Drakulich et al. (2
independents’ views, and t
increased support among th
Proximate trig
fra
vidual decisions
n benefits (expressing anger,
costs. They were more likely
sts were available and where
tly occurred in their county.
. (2022) find that support for
al protests strongly predicted
D-19 risk actually *increased*
elated with in-person work.
Why did the 2020 BLM protests occur?
Opportunity structure
-Lockdowns meant many people were not working or were
working in high-exposure essential jobs (lower income).
The marginal cost of attending a protest was low
because they were already exposed to COVID-19 risk.
Evidence: Chenoweth et al. (2022) show that protesters
were significantly more likely to be working in person,
have children at home, and have lower incomes – i.e.,
they faced pandemic pressure that made protest a
rational choice.

22.

-Lockdowns meant many pe
working in high-exposure e
The marginal cost of at
because they were already
Evidence: Chenoweth et al.
were significantly more lik
have children at home, an
they faced pandemic pre
rational
Opportunit
ructural cause
Black people (2013-2020)
and a crisis of legitimacy
nt and legal institutions.
(2018) show that cities with
deaths of Black people had
re BLM protests.
Why did the 2020 BLM protests occur?
Deliberate individual decisions
People chose to protest when benefits (expressing anger,
seeking change) outweighed costs. They were more likely
to attend where more protests were available and where
police shootings had recently occurred in their county.
Evidence: Chenoweth et al. (2022) find that support for
BLM and the number of local protests strongly predicted
attendance; perceived COVID-19 risk actually *increased*
attendance because it correlated with in-person work.

23.

Alternative explanation:
The 2020 BLM protests occurred because of “reverse racism”
and a strategic desire for racial quotas and privileges(Petev, 2023).
According to this view, activists used violence, cultural destruction (vandalizing statues),
and a repressive cult of tolerance to silence dissent
and gain political power – not to address genuine injustice.

24.

Aspect
Main explanation
Alternative
Primary cause
Grievance + opportunity +
rational response
Reverse racism and power
grabbing
Role of police killings
Central (legitimacy
crisis)
Minor (excuse for
violence)
Protesters’ motivation
Fear, anger, hope for
change
Desire for quotas and
privileges
What it gets right
Explains why protests
occurred where prior
killings were high
Notes that some
protesters engaged in
vandalism
What it misses
Cannot explain why
protests were
overwhelmingly peaceful
(94% non-violent –
Chenoweth & Pressman,
2020)
Ignores long history of
police brutality and
public opinion data
showing broad support for
BLM among minorities

25.

The alternative is not
supported by the evidence.
It mistakes a small minority
of destructive acts
(≈3-6% of protests)
for the whole movement.
Conclusion

26.

References
Additional literature
1.Chenoweth, E., & Pressman, J. (2020, October 16). Analysis | This summer’s Black Lives Matter protesters were overwhelmingly
peaceful, our research finds. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/16/this-summers-black-lives-matterprotesters-were-overwhelming-peaceful-our-research-finds/
2.Buchanan, L. (2020, July 3). Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. history. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html
3.Chenoweth, E., Hamilton, B. H., Lee, H., Papageorge, N. W., Roll, S. P., & Zahn, M. V. (2022, April 1). Who Protests, What Do They
Protest, and Why?(NBER Working Paper No.29987) National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w29987
Peer-reviewed articles
1.Drakulich, K., & Denver, M. (2022). The Partisans and the Persuadables: Public Views of Black Lives Matter and the 2020 Protests.
Perspectives on Politics, 20(4), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592721004114
2.Williamson, V., Trump, K.-S., & Einstein, K. L. (2018). Black Lives Matter: Evidence that Police-Caused Deaths Predict Protest
Activity. Perspectives on Politics, 16(2), 400–415. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592717004273
3.Petev, N. I. (2023) The specificity of modern protest movements: from socio-cultural destruction to the devaluation of morality (on
the example of BLM protests). Intellekt. Innovacii. Investicii Vol. 2, pp. 142–155, https://doi.org/10.25198/2077-7175-2023-2-142