Black Lives Matter (BLM), is an international social movement that was formed in the United States in 2013. It states it is dedicated to fighting racism and anti-Black violence, especially in the form of police brutality. The name Black Lives Matter signals condemnation of the unjust killings of Black people by police and the demand that society value the lives and humanity of Black people as much as it values the lives and humanity of white people.

The hashtag of #blacklivesmatter sparked momentum online, ultimately having a massive, real-life impact with the controversial acquittal of George Zimmerman in 2013, who was accused of unjustly shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American teenager in 2012. Since then, the #BLM movement has been recognized all over the world, providing insight and exposure into the practices of law enforcement, and raising the question of what is considered police brutality. The May 2020 police killing of George Floyd increased the momentum of the BLM movement, as did the 2020 deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

Critics of the BLM movement state the tactics of BLM are disrespectful, overly-confrontational, ineffective, and are sometimes violent (around 7% in Summer of 2020). Economist Glenn Loury, while supportive of the fundamentals of the BLM movement, has criticized public retribution against white politicians who state "All Lives Matter" and the apparent polarizing effects of the BLM movement.

A June 2020 poll from WGBH News, Boston Globe, MassLive and State House News Service that conducted by Suffolk University, showed that the vast majority of the people of Massachusetts support the BLM movement.

Do you support the Black Lives Matter movement in Massachusetts?