A PLAGUE OF DISSENT: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE UNITED STATES’ BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT IN 2020

Abstract

It is obvious that the global pandemic phenomenon of COVID-19 has shifted and destabilized many cultural, social, and institutional practices. Recently, the occurrence of shutdowns due to COVID-19 have motivated a host of sociological phenomena that are worthy of study. However, the occurrence of BLM is the sociological phenomenon during this time period - analyzed through the lens of COVID-19 - that this paper is motivated to better comprehend. The impact of COVID-19 on the BLM movement is an area of study that is entirely current, an ongoing phenomenon that is deserving of in-depth scholarship to expand the scope of knowledge in relation to it. While insight from some scholars has been published and is not entirely lacking, research regarding the intricate ties between BLM protests/demonstrations and COVID-19 is.