Comments: Danielle Araújo (CES) | Moderator: Gaia Giuliani (CES)

About

From 2013 till now #BlackLivesMatter has grown and spread internationally, always as a decentralized network, without hierarchy or formal structure. The relevance of the slogan is fuelled by successive cases of police brutality on an international scale and the movement grows by the trust (donations) of millions of people who desperately need to believe they have the Power to build a better future. In the USA, at the same time that studies indicate a clear change in public opinion regarding issues such as institutional racism and police brutality, in the daily press the practical consequences of this movement in terms of public policies are questioned.

In Portugal Black Lives Matter is little more than a slogan displayed in anti-racist demonstrations. The Black Lives Matter cells existing in the country are not articulated with the Portuguese Black Movement and therefore have no political relevance. However, the influence of this movement is undeniable in a country where the anti-racist struggle as a social movement starts to build up at the very same time that the hashtag appears in the USA.

In 2020 the brutal murder of George Floyd at the knees of the police generated giant protests and the covid19 pandemic that hit black and poor communities most brutally forced the movement to extend its actions beyond protesting against police violence. In Portugal, Bruno Candé was murdered with a Colonial War weapon, and the Pandemic disproportionately hit black communities. Here too black collectives, in addition to protesting in the street, organised themselves to provide support to victims of structural racism.

Ana Cristina Pereira proposes a reflection around the US Black Lives Matter movement and its global ramifications in times of Pandemic. Is a movement that was born from a political claim becoming a form of welfare organisation?

3^rd session of the seminar series «Deconfined Talks II».

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This activity will be accessible through the Zoom platform and will be limited to number of available places:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82738068145?pwd=YXBhUElLb3NyR3pFVVNxRDYzMEk5QT09
ID da reunião: 827 3806 8145 | Senha de acesso: 802799

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