The Impact of Black Lives Matter on Political Mobilization and Antiracist Discourse

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is one of the largest and most prominent progressive social movements since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. While much research has been conducted on the political impact of BLM, less quantitative social science research examines the movement’s cultural impact or how it has shaped public discourse. Sociologists Jelani Ince and Fabio Rojas will examine how BLM protests and media attention have allowed BLM’s antiracist vocabulary to gain prominence and how this vocabulary is changing the ways in which Americans understand racial inequality. The researchers will use data on BLM protest events and media discussions of BLM to model increased attention to racial inequality via Google searches and Wikipedia page visits.