US Election 2020: Black Lives Matter faces test of influence in Biden vs Trump battle

With less than a week left for the US presidential election, Black Lives Matter (BLM) faces a test of influence as voters prepare to cast ballot amid a national reckoning on racial issues. From a mere social media hashtag to an immensely influential movement, in recent months the Black Lives Matter has been calling for the people of the United States to take note of racial biases against the African-American community.

In fact, Republican and Democratic candidates have even moved toward the political centre or further to the right, making it clear that they ‘back the blue’ and do not support defunding the police. 

Patrisse Cullors, who is one of three BLM co-founders, said, "We’re a very young organisation with a whole lot of visibility in a really short amount of time." She added that it would be “false for anyone to put it on us solely around what happens in the election cycle." 

According to the Associated Press, the organisation has millions of dollars at its disposal to push messaging around defunding police departments as a means to address systemic racism. BLM began seven years ago amid its organisers’ outrage over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida Man who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. In the years since, BLM has formed a network of chapters, building infrastructure and an organisation that drew funding from celebrities, including Beyonce, Jay-Z and Prince. 

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Results might be misinterpreted

Since the wave of protests sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May, BLM has undergone a somewhat quiet transformation. The words 'Black Lives Matter' began appearing in city-sanctioned street murals. As per reports, BLM’s network also banked millions of dollars from a surge of donations. 

BLM has even launched a political action committee in a bid to support candidates, campaigns and legislation. The organisation is also hosting pandemic-safe drive-in rallies, text-banking voters and leveraging its influence to run ads focused on increasing the Black vote. However, with the election just days away, there is some concern that the results might be misinterpreted as either endorsement or a rejection of BLM. 

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Justin Hansford, a Ferguson protester and law professor who now serves as director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University, said, "I do worry that people will see a Biden victory and say that it shows Black Lives Matter was supported. That’s sort of like the most twisted thing you can think because he has adamantly stated that he will increase police budgets." 

While Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has supported providing more funding to law enforcement so they can hire and train officers to better deal with calls involving emotionally distressed or mentally ill citizens, US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull federal funding from cities that vote to decrease police department funding. Hansford said that it there is going to be any sort of success for BML on a political platform, then it is going to be traction at the local level, in cities and state across the country. 

(With Agency Inputs; Image Credits - AP) 

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