8. The Impact of Governmental Strategies on Black Political Discourse Groups: Voices Heard from the Black Panther Party to the Black Lives Matter Movement

This chapter presents a historical perspective on national strategies that have led to the rise of black political discourse groups. From police brutality to perceived inequities regarding civil rights, the USA is familiar with civil discourse in the form of social movements. Research suggests that national strategies against groups, such as brute police force, can serve as a catalyst for backlash. Specifically, the emergence of the domestic terrorist group the Black Panther Party from the Civil Rights movement and the collective group the Black Lives Matter movement will be addressed. Unwarranted use of violence and deaths of civilians at the hands of national groups make it easier for political discourse groups to utilize the sentiments of an already aggrieved population. The way in which the sentiments are utilized can mobilize individuals to join the discourse groups and justify collective behavior in response to the strategies. This chapter utilizes the social strain/relative deprivation and backlash theories as a framework to assess the impact of policies on collective action and the mobilization of contentious groups after a backlash in the USA. Factors of perceived social strain, such as police brutality, are exacerbated by the sense of injustice and inequality in a country operating on the principle of “justice for all.” This does not suggest that aggrieved collective groups become terrorists, but that political responses to aggrieved collective groups can result in a backlash in the form of collective political discourse groups.