Black Lives Matter movement in popular culture


The history of the Black Lives Matter movement, beginning in social media in 2013 with the hashtag BlackLivesMatter, has been depicted and documented in various artistic forms and mediums including film, song, television, and the visual arts. In some instances this has taken place in the form of protest art. These cultural representations has also grown organically among artists who seek to partake in activist efforts in support or in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement. The themes conveyed in these artistic works address the history of racism and injustice toward people of color in the United States and typically express sentiments of anger and fear as well as solace and hope.
outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2020

Film

Series or documentary film

Books

Street murals and art began to be created in the mid-twentieth century, but became a way of "reappropriating public space in the name of inclusion, diversity, and equality" in the 1960s, such as the Wall of Respect made in Bronzeville, Chicago in 1967. It features portraits of noted Black figures including Harriet Tubman, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X.

Street painting

A number of cities have painted murals of "Black Lives Matter" in large yellow letters on their streets. While some find that the street paintings are an important validation of the movement, critics charge that it is a distraction from working on meaningful change.
" painted at Black Lives Matter Plaza, Washington, D.C. in June 2020
, Inc., a global organization in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, established Black Lives Matter Arts+Culture to add to and maintain cultural awareness of this movement, uplift Black artists, and diversify art institutions in keeping with the "art culture of the Civil rights, Black Power, and Women's rights movements" of the 1960s and 1970s.