This study examined how Nigerian immigrants communicated about, and got involved in, #BlackLivesMatter protests and/or advocacy due to racialized violence against Blacks in the United States during the summer of 2020. Using a qualitative open-ended questionnaire, a purposive sample of Nigerians (N = 70) was assembled. Constant comparative analysis revealed that communication about and participation in the BLM movement consisted of affective (feelings associated with protests), cognitive (psychological processes triggered by thinking about protests), and behavioral (actions and engagement in protests) responses. This process is labeled protest structures, a term that captures the socio-psychological processes that shape the communication of and involvement in protests and/or advocacy. We discuss further how social positioning impacts active participation in the fight for racial equality and social change.
AberleD. (1966). The peyote religion among the Navaho. Aldine.
2.
AltmanA. (2020, June 4). Why the death of George Floyd sparked an American uprising? Time Magazine. https://time.com/5847967/george-floyd-protests-trump/.
3.
AndersonM. (2015). April 9). 6 key findings about black immigration to the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/09/6-key-findings-about-black-immigration/.
4.
AsanteG.SekimotoS.BrownC. (2016). Becoming “black”: Exploring the racialized experiences of african immigrants in the United States. Howard Journal of Communications, 27(4), 367–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2016.1206047
5.
AshleyW. (2014). The angry black woman: The impact of pejorative stereotypes on psychotherapy with black women. Social Work in Public Health, 29(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2011.619449
BBC (2021, April 22). George Floyd: Timeline of Black deaths and protests. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52905408
9.
BenedictusL. (2013). July 15). How Skittles became a symbol of Trayvon Martin's innocence. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2013/jul/15/skittles-trayvon-martin-zimmerman-acquittal.
10.
BernsteinM. (2002). Identities and politics: Toward a historical understanding of the lesbian and gay movement. Social Science History, 26(3), 531–581. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0145553200013080
11.
Black Lives Matter (2021). About. Retrieved from: https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
BonillaY.RosaJ. (2015). # Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States. American Ethnologist, 42(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12112
14.
CarneyN. (2016). All lives matter, but so does race: Black lives matter and the evolving role of social media. Humanity & Society, 40(2), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597616643868
15.
ChaneyC.RobertsonR. V. (2013). Racism and police brutality in America. Journal of African American Studies, 17(4), 480–505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-013-9246-5
16.
CharmazK. (2000). Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. In DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 509–535). Sage.
17.
CreswellJ. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Sage.
18.
DaveD. M.FriedsonA. I.MatsuzawaK.SabiaJ. J.SaffordS. (2020). Black Lives Matter protests and risk avoidance: The case of civil unrest during a pandemic. Working Paper 27408, National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w27408.
19.
DragojevicM. (2016). Language attitudes as intergroup terrain. In MaassA.GilesH. (Eds.), Advances in intergroup communication (pp. 49–66). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b10467
20.
FeaginJ. R.McKinneyK. D. (2003). The many costs of racism. Rowman & Littlefield.
21.
FixM.GalsterG.StruykR. (1993). An overview of auditing for discrimination. In FixM.StruykR. (Eds.), Clear and convincing evidence: Measurement of discrimination in America (pp. 1–68). Urban Institute Press.
22.
FoscoM. (2018). June 6). The most successful ethnic group in the U.S. may surprise you. Ozy. Retrieved from: https://www.ozy.com/around-the-world/the-most-successful-ethnic-group-in-the-u-s-may-surprise-you/86885/.
23.
GillionD. Q. (2012). Protest and congressional behavior: Assessing racial and ethnic minority protests in the district. The Journal of Politics, 74(4), 950–962. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381612000539
24.
GlaserB. G.StraussA. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
25.
Golash-BozaT. M. (2015). Race and racisms: A critical approach. Oxford University Press.
26.
GoodmanA. H.YolandaT. M.JosephL. J. (2012). Race: Are we so different?Wiley- Blackwell/American Anthropological Association.
27.
HamelL.KearneyA.KirzingerA.LopesL.MuñanaC.BrodieM. (2020). June 26). KFF Health tracking poll – June 2020. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from: https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/report/kff-health-tracking-poll-june-2020/.
28.
HarwoodJ.GilesH.PalomaresN. A. (2008). Intergroup theory and communication processes. In HarwoodJ.GilesH. (Eds.), Intergroup communication: Multiple perspectives (pp. 1–17). Peter Lang.
29.
HesterN.GrayK. (2018). For black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops. PNAS, 115(11), 2711–2715. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714454115
30.
HoffmanL.GrangerN.Jr.VallejosL.MoatsM. (2016). An existential-humanistic perspective on black lives matter and cotemporary protest movements. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 56(6), 595–611. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167816652273
31.
InceJ.RojasF.DavisC. A. (2017). The social media response to Black Lives Matter: How Twitter users interact with Black Lives Matter through hashtag use. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 40(11), 1814–1830. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1334931
JohnsonC. R. (2013). Recognizing racial publics: An exploration of racial identity and community among Black women in understanding obesity and weight loss messages [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Oklahoma, Norman. Share Ok https://hdl.handle.net/11244/319490
34.
JostJ.OgletreeC. (2011). The Obamas and a (post) racial America?Oxford University Press.
35.
JucksR.HendriksF. (forthcoming). Stay safe and stay at home! Research on language and communication related to COVID-19. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 40(5–6).
36.
KeitaS. O. Y.KittlesR. A.RoyalC. D. M.BonneyG. E.Furbert-HarrisP.DunstonG. M.RotimiC. N. (2004). Conceptualizing human variation. Nature Genetics, 36(11), S17–S20. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1455
37.
KimY. Y. (1988). Communication and cross-cultural adaptation: An integrative theory. Sage.
38.
KimY. Y. (2019). Integrative communication theory of cross-cultural adaptation. In LibermanC.RancerA.AvtgisT. (Eds.), Casing communication theory (pp. 105–116). Kendall Hunt.
39.
LefflerC. T.IngE.LykinsJ. D.HoganM. C.McKeownC. A.GrzybowskiA. (2020). Association of country-wide coronavirus mortality with demographics, testing, lockdowns, and public wearing of masks. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 103(6), 2400–2411. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1015
40.
LozanoA. V. ((2021). March 20). People across U.S. protest anti-Asian hate following deadly spa shootings. NBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/people-across-u-s-protest-anti-asian-hate-following-deadly-n1261677.
41.
MasseyD. G. (2001). Residential segregation and neighborhood conditions in U.S. Metropolitan areas. In SmelserN. J.WilsonW. J.MitchellF. (Eds.), America becoming: Racial trends and their consequences (Vol. 1, pp. 391–434). National Academies Press.
42.
MensahJ. (2014). Black continental african identities in Canada: Exploring the intersections of identity formation and immigrant transnationalism. Journal of Canadian Studies, 48(3), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs.48.3.5
43.
Migration Policy Institute (2015). The Nigerian diaspora in the United States. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/RAD-Nigeria.pdf.
44.
NjokuA.AhmedY.BolajiB. (2020). Police brutality against Blacks in the United States and ensuing protests: Implications for social distancing and Black health during COVID-19. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 31(1-4), 262–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2020.1822251
45.
OkantahM. S. (2016, December). In search of the real brother man: An African centered approach to Black cultural identity. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 9(10), 411–423. https://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol9no10/9.10-25-Mwatabu.pdf
PeffleyM.HurwitzJ. (2013). Persuasion and resistance: Race and the death penalty in america. In GreeneH. T.GabbidonS. (Eds.), Race and crime: A text/reader (pp. 355–366). Sage.
49.
SmedleyA.SmedleyB. D. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real: Anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race. American Psychologist, 60(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.1.16
50.
SnowD. A.SouleS. A.KriesiH. (2004). Mapping the terrain. In SnowD. A.SouleS. A.KriesiH. (Eds.), The blackwell companion to social movements (pp. 3–16). Blackwell.
51.
TajfelH.TurnerJ. C. (1979). An intergroup theory of conflict. In AustinW. G.WorchelS. (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.
52.
ThomasD.Menasce HorowitzJ. (2020). September). Support for Black Lives Matter has decreased since June but remains strong among Black Americans. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/16/support-for-black-lives-matter-has-decreased-since-june-but-remains-strong-among-black-americans/.
53.
Ting-ToomeyS. (2005). Identity negotiation theory. In GudykunstW. B. (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 211–233). Sage.
54.
Ting-ToomeyS.DorjeeT. (2018). Communicating across cultures. Guilford.
55.
TonryM. (2011). Punishing race: A continuing American dilemma. Oxford University Press.
56.
TracyS. J. (2019). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Wiley.
VanD, N,SoulsS. A.TaylorV. A. (2004). The targets of social movements: Beyond a focus on the state. In MyersD. J.CressD. M. (Eds.), Authority in contention (pp. 27–51). Emerald.
