The Black Lives Matter movement in Canada, 2013–2020: on the international character of the movement

Abstract

The article is devoted to the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and its evolution as an international movement, on the example of the activities of the Black activists in the United States and Canada in 2013– 2020. These issues have not been given much attention in domestic studies. However, examining the international connections of the Black Lives Matter activists helps to better understand the spread around the world of the mass protests against racism in 2020.
The paper analyzes the activities of the Black Lives Matter organizations in two countries and their interaction. The article shows that the Black Lives Matter Global Network from the United States pioneered the Black Lives Matter organization in Canada and provided a direct financial support to the Canadian activists. The Canadian and US activists have jointly participated in the direct actions in both the US and Canada. The Black activists in both countries shared a common ideological platform of anti-racism and an intersectional approach to analyzing the conditions of the Blacks in society; they also expressed a desire to create an international movement. The article is based on the media publications and the materials of the American and Canadian organizations of the “Black Lives Matter” movement; those documents have never been used by Russian researchers.