FlorenceJenna_Dissertation

Nationalist Movements and the Potential for Violence: A Case Study of the African-
American Community in the United States
Jenna Florence
Conflict, Security, and Development
Supervisor: Christine Cheng
Submission Date: 24 August 2016

In the past few years, Black Nationalist groups have garnered much media and public attention
in the United States. This is mainly due to the recent outbreaks in protestor violence at Black
Nationalist events. Many Americans now label these groups as violent, with destructive and
harmful agendas. This study will make the case that blaming these Black Nationalist movements
for the violence that has been demonstrated recently is not correct, and that it is profound and
systemic horizontal inequalities that are causing the high levels of violence currently being seen
in the United States. To best illustrate the full extent of horizontal inequalities in the United
States, this study will analyse data on the economic, political, social, and cultural conditions of
Black America. Contemporary data on the community has been collected from government
census data, independent think tank research and surveys, and media reports. By observing the
direct link between horizontal inequalities and nationalist violence, there is a strong case to be
made that lack of development and strong racial inequalities has become a security issue. While
this case study was limited to the United States, the Black Lives Matter movement has already
spread internationally. Not only is this a development issue that is causing violence, but it has
and will continue to be a security issue if not properly addressed.
3

This dissertation is the sole work of the author, and has not been accepted in any previous
application for a degree; all quotations and sources of information have been acknowledged. I
confirm that my research did not require ethical approval. If your research did require
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send your research records to the Senior Programme Officer Panagiotis Stasinopoulos.) [X] Yes
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Signed: Jenna Florence Date: 24th
of August 2016
4

Table of contents
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………5
1.1 Defining Nationalism……………………………………………………………….6
1.2 Measuring Inequalities……………………………………………………………...8
1.3 The Greed Thesis: Vertical Inequalities…………………………………………….9
1.4 The Grievance Thesis: Horizontal Inequalities…………………………………….10
1.5 Nationalist Literature Review……………………………………………………....11
2. Research Question…………………………………………………………………….14
2.1 Methodology……………………………………………………………………….15
3. The History of Slavery and Race Relations in the United States………………….17
4. Horizontal Inequalities within the United States: Adding Fuel to the Fire………19
4.1 Political Inequality………………………………………………………………...19
4.2 Economic Inequality……………………………………………………………….23
4.3 Social Inequality…………………………………………………………………...27
4.4 Cultural Inequality…………………………………………………………………31
5. What Has Triggered Today’s Blacks: The Must-Needed Conversation on Prisons,
Gun Violence and Police Brutality ………………………………………………….37
5.1 Gun Violence………………………………………………………………………38
5.2 Incarceration Rate………………………………………………………………….39
5.3 Police Brutality ……………………………………………………………………41
6. The Rise of Black Nationalism: The Connection between Horizontal Inequalities
and Violence………………………………………………………………………….44
6.1 Trayvon Martin……………………………………………………………………44
6.2 Michael Brown…………………………………………………………………….46
6.3 Eric Garner………………………………………………………………………...47
6.4 Alton Sterling……………………………………………………………………...50
6.5 Sylville K Smith…………………………………………………………………...54
7. Why Have Some States Seen Protestor Violence and Other States Have Not?
…………………………………………………………………………………...56
8. Conclusion …………………………………………………………............................66
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………69
5

1. Introduction:
This dissertation seeks to understand the root causes of nationalist violence. There has
been no straight, clearly stated position in the literature that makes the direct connection between
horizontal inequalities that exist in a society and the increase in nationalist violence, and so the
aim will be to clearly articulate the direct connection between that of pre-existing horizontal
inequalities with the emergence of nationalism and its associated violence. This study will make
the claim that horizontal inequalities must also exist in conjunction with economic inequality in a
society to create violent nationalism. To illustrate my analysis, I will be using the African
American community in the United States as my case study.
In the past few years, Black Nationalist groups have garnered much media and public
attention. This is mainly due to the recent outbreaks in protestor violence at black nationalist
events. Many Americans now label these groups as violent, with destructive and harmful
agendas. Recent new stories and public opinion articles have been very forceful in their claim
that black nationalist groups, such as the newly created Black Lives Matter movement, have
violent agendas. In a recent survey, the results found that “among white residents, 43% consider
“Black Lives Matter” to be a non-violent civil rights campaign while 41% say it advocates
violence.”1
Prominent politicians and news reporters have been very vocal in their dislike of the
Black Lives Matter movement, blaming this group for the recent protestor violence. A few
examples include the Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who stated that he “blame[s] former Black
1
PBS News Hour And Marist Poll, "Summary Of National Survey Findings," (2015)
6

Lives Matter protests”2
for the recent violence, and Bill O'Reilly, a popular Fox News TV host,
stated that the Black Lives Matter was “a hate group, and…[he’s] going to put them out of
business."3
Other statements include those of Republican politicians, such as Ted Cruz, who said
that Black Lives Matter protest movements “in Baltimore and Ferguson were vilifying law
enforcement and endangering the safety and security of us all,"4
and Fox News’s Kimberly
Guilfoyle, who stated that the Black Lives Matter "agenda is it's OK to go ahead and kill cops."5
This study will make the case that blaming these Black Nationalist movements for the
violence that has been demonstrated recently is not correct, and that it is profound and systemic
horizontal inequalities that are causing the high levels of violence currently being seen in the
United States. The argument will be made that the emergence of violence necessitates the
presence of additional conditions: violent nationalism is more likely to be a product of horizontal
inequalities that co-exist in conjunction with contemporary economic inequalities, not the groups
that facilitate the violence, such as the Black Lives Matter movement.
1.1 Defining Nationalism
What constitutes the difference between a nation and a state? For this dissertation, a state is
constructed on two guiding principles: the ownership of territory and the exclusion of all external
bodies in domestic affairs and policies.6
The Montevideo Convention on Statehood of 1933
affirms the qualifications needed for official reorganization of statehood. The Montevideo
2
Lavender, “Top Texas Official Blames Black Lives Matter For Dallas Shooting,” (2016)
3
Lussenhop,"How Black Lives Matter Was Blamed For Killing Of US Police Officers," (2015)
4
Ibid
5
Ibid
6
Krasner, Sovereignty, (1999)
7

criteria declares that “a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity
to enter into relations with other states”7
is needed for there to an official state.
In contrast to an understanding of a state, a nation is a society of people who often share
the same culture and history, have a deep sense of camaraderie, and have developed a common
national consciousness.8
For some scholars, however, there also needs to exist a sense of
perceived distinctiveness and self-differentiation.9
For there to be an affinity for a particular
nation, the defined population needs a common descent as well as shared political and social
experiences.10
Here, the idea is that the nation is a community, one in which membership can
only be experienced inherently and unconsciously, and in which external assimilation is not fully
possible.11
Building on the concept of a nation, where most people have in common the same
language, religion, and history, nationalism can be explained as the loyalty and devotion to a
homeland in which these attributes are shared. Nationalist scholar, Walker Connor, claims that
the loyalty that is given to the nation by its people does not necessarily relate in conjunction to
the state. For Connor, the presence of nationalism does not always coincide with loyalty to the
state.12
Another prominent nationalist scholar, John Hutchinson, believes that nationalism is an
establishment that is carried forward by powerful institutions. In his work, he states that tensions
7
Article 1, Convention on Rights and Duties of States, (1934)
8
Seton-Watson, Nations and States, (1977) pg. 1
9
Connor, Etnonacionalismo, (1998) pg. 88-89
10
Norkus, "Max Weber on Nations and Nationalism: Political Economy before Political Sociology," (2004)
11
Anderson, Imagined Communities, (1991)
12
Connor, (1998) pg. 42
8

can be created by strong national revivalist movements, especially when there is a clash between
new and old traditions. He claims that there can be a strong potential for national revivalist
movements to attempt to alter the history of the past, while endeavouring to give new
significance to historical past events.13
1.2 Measuring Inequalities
Two schools of thought currently exist that attempt to explain the root causes of conflict
and poverty in a given society. The two theories differ based on the way inequality is measured.
One school examines the root causes of violent conflict by focusing on the individual inequality
(vertical inequality), while the other school more broadly examines group inequality (horizontal
inequality).
Vertical inequality focuses on each individual and family within a society without regard
for their ethnicity, religion, or cultural background. A popular tool used to measure the degree of
income inequality within a society is the Gini coefficient. The index measures the vertical
inequality of a country by focusing on the income inequality gap for each household, regardless
of an individual’s ethnicity or religion. This method implies that inequality is disbursed evenly
between ethnic and religious groups within all aspects of society, and that there is no select
group of individuals that is treated more unequal than others within the same society.
In contrast, when examining horizontal inequalities, the stress is put on the importance of
looking at the inequalities between clearly distinct groups of people within the same society
instead of just examining inequality at an individual level. In order to have significant levels of
13
Hutchinson, Nations as Zones of Conflict, (2005)
9

horizontal inequalities, there must be groups that are distinctly different from other groups living
and coinciding with one another in a society with vastly different levels of equality.
1.3 The Greed Thesis: Vertical Inequalities
The first school of thought on the causes of conflict and violence within a society is the
greed thesis, which uses vertical inequalities as its measurement. This thesis makes the claim that
violence and conflict is generally caused by individuals’ economic greed. Paul Collier, among
others, have argued that violence and conflict are specifically caused by economic incentive and
the desire for self-enrichment.
Collier’s theory, in particular, states that the propensity for violence is very much
dependent on the prospect for economic mobility and opportunity. The “greed” theory, as it is
often referred to in the literature, makes the claim that violence will occur within a society if
there is economic motivation and feasibility for individuals to pursue violence. Collier argued
that the driving forces of conflict are fuelled by a variety of economic factors, for example,
uprising are more successful if there is an opportunity to finance rebel groups and conflict is
more likely if there is there are natural resources to extract. Other conditions that promote
rebellion would include material support from diasporas and/or support from antagonistic
governments.14
Collier’s work also identified four measurable types of grievances that he argued could
fuel the likelihood of conflict: political repression; ethnic hatred; political exclusion; and income
inequality. His research suggests that these grievances as well as the opportunity and desire for
economic mobility and increase in wealth for certain individuals drive the propensity for
14
Collier, “Greed and grievance in civil war,” (2004) pg. 565
10

violence and can increase the duration of conflict within a society.15
Collier’s Greed Thesis as
well as his use of grievance formulas as explanations for driving conflict has come under heavy
criticism.
1.4 The Grievance Thesis: Horizontal Inequalities
Frances Stewart also examines the root causes of violence within a society. Stewart
claims that grievance (not greed) is the key to understanding conflict and the propensity for
violence. Stewart’s work identifies four main conditions in which inequalities must exist in order
for violence to occur, which is the existence of horizontal inequalities.
The first main type that can promote violence is the economic inequality of a distinctive
group. This would comprise of access to natural resources, such as land. It also includes factors
such as the ownership of assets, both financial and resource-based, of the group in question. The
second main type of inequality is the absence of social inclusiveness, which includes access to
public services, such as education, health care and housing. The social aspects of the society also
include the educational and health status and wellbeing of the given group as a whole. The third
indicator of the existence of horizontal inequalities is political representation of a group in
society. This incorporates the division of power among distinctive groups within positions of
authority, such as the presidency, the cabinet, local and regional governments, the army and the
police. The last indicator of horizontal inequalities is the lack of cultural inclusiveness. This
encompasses acknowledgment, acceptance and tolerance of diverse languages, religion and
cultural practices of different distinctive groups.16
1.5 Nationalist Literature Review
15
Ibid, pg. 571
16
Stewart, “Horizontal Inequalities: A Neglected Dimension of Development,” (2001) pg.2
11

While reviewing the literature on nationalist violence, there are two main reoccurring
themes highlighting the root causes of nationalistic conflict. These two themes are very limiting
in their scope and often times too simplistic when trying to explain the causes behind the
occurrence of nationalist violence. Both theories are often based solely on economic differences.
Economic factors that manifest in the literature include access to land resources, wealth of the
ruling elite, and group economic wealth over another group. Inequality of different nationalist
groups are often times only expressed through economic means, without due consideration of
other inequities between groups.
Another factor often used to predicate nationalistic violence and limited in scope is the
use of selective case studies. The case studies used in trying to explain the occurrence of
nationalist violence are heavily based on countries that have clear regional or semi-autonomous
nationalist groups. A more introspective examination into highly assimilated groups within the
same country as a point of nationalistic violence is often times overlooked or completely
ignored.
Likewise, scholar, Luis De La Calle Robles has written extensively on the causes of
nationalist violence in affluent and European countries. Like those before his, Robles’ model is
almost entirely based on economic motivations for violence. While Robles does give some
thought into the importance of cultural factors, his choice of measurement is very limiting. The
questions he uses in his study to determine the potential for violence in a developed society has a
very narrow focus. His model also does not measure or articulate the inequality of these cultural
factors as a possible cause of violence.17
17
Calle Robles, Luis de la.,“Accounting for nationalist violence in affluent countries,” (2010)
12

Another major criticism of Robles’ work is that in all of his examples of nationalistic
violence, the author only uses examples where there are clear semi-autonomous or regional
national groups separate from the other parts of the country. He uses examples such as Quebec
in Canada, the Basque Country in Spain, and Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, in
which they seek their own agendas as part of the regional area.18
However, he fails to address
the rise of nationalism and its associated violence in countries that have an assimilated
population without a clear regional separation from the home country, such as the African-
American population in the United States.
For Fredrick Solt, the rise of nationalism is created by the growing economic inequality
within a country. In his work, Solt first measures individuals’ level of nationalism by using data
from the World Values Survey, conducted from 1981 to 2007, and the International Social
Survey Program conducted from 2003 to 2004. The data gathered in these surveys were scored
on a 4-point scale, ranging from (1) not at all proud, through to (4) very proud. The surveys
provided data on national pride for 78 countries. He then uses the Standardized World Income
Inequality Database to measure the Gini index for income inequality. He uses the range of 0,
which states that each household has an equal amount of income, to 100, stating that a single
household has all the income.19
In his findings, Solt states that there is a clear direct correlation between the growing rise
of nationalism and the increase in income inequality. In his work, he finds that when income
inequality is at the lowest level, the probability that an individual in typical conditions will be
very proud of their nation is 47%, plus or minus 9%. When income inequality is at the highest
18
Ibid
19
Solt, "Diversionary Nationalism: Economic Inequality And The Formation Of National Pride," (2011) pg. 824
13

level, the probability increases to 83%, plus or minus 7%.20
Solt concludes, “across the countries
and over time, where economic inequality is greater, nationalist sentiments are substantially
more widespread.”21
However, even though Holt addresses the relation between income
inequality and nationalism, he does not address the violence that may be a result of the increase
in nationalism.
20
Ibid, pg. 828
21
Ibid
14

2. Research Question
The United States offers an interesting case for examining the rise of nationalist
movements. Throughout the country’s history, the United States has had a highly contentious
past of race relations with clear, distinct horizontal inequalities between the white majority and
the African-American minority. These horizontal inequalities have manifested themselves in
political, economic, social, and cultural factors, both in recent times and historically.
White supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, have existed for many years,
promoting white superiority and white nationalist rhetoric. Black nationalist groups, such as the
Black Panthers Party, created during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and led by its founder,
Malcom X, have promoted and advocated for a separation of races and for complete equality.
Very strong racial divisions and strong nationalist movements have been commonplace in the
United States both historically and more recently. These divisions and the violence of the past
have been attributed to the agitation of these groups.
This is also true today. Black Nationalist movements are currently being blamed for
recent protests and ensuing violence in the United States. What is driving the existence of Black
Nationalist movements in the United States? New groups, such as the Black Lives Matter
movement and the New Black Panther Party have received a lot of media and public attention.
The New Black Panther Party condones violence in its goal for black separatism while the Black
Lives Matter movement has endorsed the need for peaceful protest. Can the current racial
violence in the U. S. be explained by the agitation of such groups or are other more profound
factors at play?
15

Today, income inequality and horizontal inequalities between the black and white
communities is on the rise. It appears that conflict is also becoming more prevalent as is a strong
resurgence in Black Nationalism. What is the likelihood that these movements will become
violent? Why have some states in the U. S. experienced more racial violence than other states in
the union? Is it possible that there are a variety of factors beyond greed or grievance that can
predict when a conflict will most likely turn violent?
2.1 Methodology
This study briefly reviews the history of racism in the United States and the rise of Black
Nationalist movements. Briefly, we examine the New Black Panther Party and the Black Lives
Matter organization. Borrowing from the theoretical work of Stewart and Solt (2011), we
examine next the contemporary conditions of the African American community by determining
the existence and extent of horizontal inequalities.
To best illustrate the full extent of horizontal inequalities in the United States, this study
will analyse data on the economic, political, social, and cultural conditions of Black America.
Contemporary data on the community has been collected from government census data,
independent think tank research, surveys, and media reports. Due to the very recent rise of these
black nationalist movements and the violence associated with them, the data being collected will
be from very recent sources. This is why the majority of the data that will be used will be coming
from census data, think tank surveys and research, and media reports.
The second part of the study reviews recent episodes of vigilante and police violence
against black men and the consequences of this violence for the county, particularly among
select states. Here we analyse and compare demographics and data from state records and
16

documents. In the final analysis, this thesis suggests that while vigilante and police violence
against black men have been trigger moments for inducing counter-violence there are additional
factors that must exist in order for reactionary violence to occur. We expect to find that all four
horizontal inequalities need to be present for violence to flare up within a society. Despite
arguments that black groups are responsible for racial conflict and violence, this study suggests
that it is the existence of profound horizontal inequalities that drive racial conflict and create the
conditions for greater violence and the demands for separatism and change.
3. The History of Slavery and Race Relations in the United States
17

Since the foundation of the United States in 1776, horizontal inequalities have existed
between African-Americans and the white majority. With the creation of the United States also
came the institution of slavery and the basic concept that the black man was not equal to the
white man. Even with the Declaration of Independence stating that all men were created equal,
this did not pertain to black slaves living within the United States. In fact, many of the famous
founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves themselves. It wasn’t until the
American Civil War, which took place in the 1860s, about 30 years after Great Britain made
slavery illegal, that African-Americans were freed from slavery.
The world-famous Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on
January 1, 1863, was signed into effect during the United States’ third year of civil war. The
Proclamation declared that all slaves within the rebellious states would be granted freedom.
While this document was momentous in the freeing of blacks in America, it did not grant them
equal rights, such as the right to vote.22
This would not come for many more years to come.
After the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the American Constitution,
which liberated all slaves regardless of where they resided, not just in the Confederate States.
This amendment now included states that had been part of the Union which still had slaves. In
response, many freed blacks located in the Southern Confederate States and states that still
legally owned slaves, were now confronted with the difficulty of being a black person
surrounded by many antagonistic and unfriendly whites.23
After the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment, the United States was ill-equipped to
tackle the proposal of granting full citizenship to the newly freed black populace. The
22
National Archives, "The Emancipation Proclamation," n.d.
23
Leidner, “Thirteenth Amendment,” (2015)
18

Reconstruction Period, aimed at restructuring and assisting the South which was devastated by
the war, was implemented by Congress from 1866 to 1877. Reconstruction was meant to provide
the South with the means for being able to be readmitted into the Union. However, this also
meant that blacks and whites were now being forced to live together in a society without slavery.
The South saw the period of Reconstruction as a humiliating, punitive, and vengeful imposition,
and did not welcome the North’s involvement.24
During Reconstruction, there were two new amendments added to the United States
Constitution. One was the Fourteenth Amendment, which was passed in June 1865, and granted
citizenship to all people born in the United States, which also included former black slaves. The
second amendment added was the Fifteenth Amendment, which was passed in February of 1869.
This gave African-American men the right to vote, and it stated that no person would be denied
the right to vote based on the colour of one’s skin.25
However, for many blacks, the right to vote
would be short-lived. Following the Reconstruction period, many states denied blacks their legal
right to vote, and this wouldn’t be changed until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
For many whites, especially in the defeated Confederate South after the war ended, there
was massive opposition towards black freedom and the idea of equal rights. Over the years,
many brutal fear tactics were used by whites to try to keep African-Americans from gaining any
power or equality within the American society. By using intimidation and fear in their favour,
whites deepened and exploited the already pre-existing horizontal inequalities within the United
States for many years to come.
24
Ibid
25
PBS, “14th
Amendment Ratified," (2002)
19

4. Horizontal Inequalities within the United States: Adding Fuel to the Fire
For horizontal inequalities to be present, a group must experience economic, political,
cultural, and social inequities within a society. African-Americans in the United States have been
victims of all four categories. For the purpose of this dissertation, I will only highlight major
horizontal inequalities in the post-slavery era.
4.1 Political Inequality
20

One of the four major factors of horizontal inequalities is inadequate and unequal
political representation and participation. In 1877, the year that federal troops withdrew from the
South officially ending the Reconstruction period, protection of the rights of black citizens
quickly declined and the rise of white supremacy quickly returned. During this time, whites used
terror tactics and the judicial courts to prevent African-Americans from voting.
Due to the 15th Amendment, states in the South weren’t legally allowed to keep blacks
from voting. However, this did not restrict lawmakers from writing in provisions that made it
very difficult for blacks to vote. Some of these provisions included an annual poll tax, a literacy
test, and a "grandfather clause,” which made anyone whose grandfather wasn’t qualified to vote
before the Civil War ineligible. When these provisions weren’t effective, intimidation often
worked. African-Americans would be threatened with losing their jobs, be denied credit, be
evicted from their houses, and suffer from verbal abuse. If these extreme measures didn’t keep
blacks away from the voting booths, then mob violence and lynching did.26
In the state of Mississippi alone, lawmakers were able undermine the percentage of
African-American men eligible to vote by about 84 percent. During the Reconstruction period,
approximately 90 percent of African-Americans were registered to vote. By 1892, this number
had dropped to less than 6 percent.27
In the state of Louisiana in 1896, there was more than
130,000 black registered voters. However, by 1904, those numbers had dropped to 1,342 eligible
voters.28
The rush to exclude African-Americans from the voting booth wasn’t just limited to the
26
Jones, Troesken and Walsh, "A Poll Tax By Any Other Name: The Political Economy Of Disenfranchisement,"
(2012) pg. 4
27
Bevel, The Nonviolent Right To Vote Movement People's Almanac, (2012) pg. 113
28
Thernstrom and Thernstrom, America In Black And White: One Nation, Indivisible, (2009) pg. 30
21

South. In 1867, one of the nominees for governor of Ohio included Allen Granberry Thurman,
who ran his campaign on the promise of excluding African-Americans from voting.29
This pattern continued into the mid-1900s. “By 1940, only 3 percent of the 5 million
black southerners of voting age in the South were registered and eligible to vote.”30
In the state of
Mississippi, less than 1 percent of African-Americans could vote.31
It wasn’t until the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 that there was a ban of literacy tests and poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act
also allowed for there to be federal regulation in districts that didn’t have at least 50 percent of
African Americans registered to vote.32
In 1964, five African-Americans were elected into Congress and 94 African-Americans
were elected into the state legislatures.33
While some progress has been made since the Voting
Rights Act, as of 2009, only 628 blacks out of the 7,382 state legislatures held seats in the United
States’ legislature. This amounts to only 9% of the total number of seats available in all of the 50
states’ legislatures. In some states, such as Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, and Maine, there are no black
legislatures.34
Figure 1.135
29
National Museum Of American History, "The Impact and Legacy of the Emancipation Proclamation," (2012)
30
Sabato and Ernst, Encyclopedia Of American Political Parties And Elections, (2006) pg. 484
31
Bevel, (2012) pg. 358
32
HISTORY.Com, "Voting Rights Act," (2009)
33
Thernstrom, "Redistricting, Race, And The Voting Rights Act," (2010)
34
National Conference Of State Legislators, "African-American Legislators 2009,"n.d.
35
National Conference Of State Legislators, n.d.
22

STATE Total
Legislative
Seats
Total
African
American
State
Legislators
% of
Total
Seats
Total
Senate
Seats
African
American
Senators
% of
Senate
Seats
Total
House
Seats
African
American
House
Members
% of
House
Seats
Total 7382 628 9% 1971 161 8% 5411 467 9%
Source: National Black Caucus of State Legislatures and the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
A new study claims that when support of a policy by African-American gains traction
within the black community, the actuality of the policy succeeding declines36
. It has been shown
that when a policy has white Americans endorsement, there is a positive correlation with
ratification. In contrast, policies that are endorsed by African-Americans have a negative
correlation. The study also states that the party that African-Americans associate with, whether
either Republican or Democrat, doesn’t matter because state legislative results do not change.37
Even more recently, in this current 2016 presidential election, some states in the U.S.
have tried to restrict voter rights, such as requiring strict personal ID laws. One state in
particular, North Carolina, specifically targeted African-Americans in the new law. Major
advocacy groups, such as the NAACP, have been fighting the restrictive and discriminatory
nature of this law. The law was just recently struck down by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals for the upcoming 2016 election.38
The appeals court stated that the North Carolina
Legislature "requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices — then, data in
hand, enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of
36
Stephanopoulos, “The False Promise of Black Political Representation,” (2015)
37
Ibid
38
Domonoske,"As November Approaches, Courts Deal Series Of Blows To Voter ID Laws," (2016)
23

which disproportionately affected African Americans."39
The court wrote that the new
amendments to the voting procedure "target African Americans with almost surgical precision."40
African-Americans have always and continue to be underrepresented in political office
and are restricted in the participation of the political process. Ongoing political inequality within
the States is just one aspect that leads to violent Black Nationalism.
4.2 Economic Inequality
Another category of horizontal inequality that must exist for violence to occur is clear,
distinct economic inequalities between groups. While economic inequality in the United States
has been on the rise across the broad for all groups within the United States, the economic
disparity between blacks and whites is unavoidable.
The income inequality in the United States has continued to grow at a faster rate than
most of the industrialized world, with the top 10 % of Americans earning 9 times the income of
the bottom 90 % of Americans and the top 1 % of Americans report to earn 38 times more
income than 90% of Americans. 41
Distinct levels of income inequality are especially noticeable when examining the
difference between African-Americans and whites in the States. Recent data shows that the
average African-American family currently possesses only 6 % of the capital that an average
39
Domonoske, "U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter ID Law," (2016)
40
Ibid
41
Mendelson and Priester, "Income Inequality," (2015)
24

white household owns.42
In 2011, white American families had approximately $111,146 in
assets. In comparison, African-Americans had only $7,113 in assets.43
Figure 1.244
When it comes to home ownership, 73 % of white American families own a house, in
contrast to 45% of African-American families.45
For white landowners, the median values of
their homes are usually around $85,800, where African-American landowners’ value on their
homes is around $50,000.46
The radical differences in home values often are cited to have
originated from the concept of white neighbourhoods versus black neighbourhoods, which was
created by the 1934 National Housing Act. The segregation of neighbourhoods by colour made
legal by the 1934 National Housing Act targeted black neighbourhoods as credit risks. Even
though the Housing Act was overturned in the 1960s, the effects of this policy still remain.
42
Dietrich et al., "The Racial Wealth Gap," (2015) pg. 5
43
Ibid, pg. 1
44
Ibid
45
Ibid, pg. 2
46
Shin, "The Racial Wealth Gap: Why A Typical White Household Has 16 Times The Wealth Of A Black One," (2015)
25

Neighbourhoods that are majority African-American often show signs of high poverty rates, with
houses that have deteriorating infrastructure and low monetary value.47
Not only do blacks have houses that are appraised at lower values than whites, but home
mortgages for African-Americans often have higher interest rates. Recently, Wells Fargo
admitted to giving African-Americans subprime loans, while giving white borrowers with the
same credit score prime mortgages instead, which left African-American homeowners at a much
higher risk of default or foreclosure. Wells Fargo approved for loan and mortgage officials to
adjust the interest rate and payment fees on a loan based on the borrower’s credit-related factors,
which resulted in African-Americans paying more than whites.48
Data shows that the 400 wealthiest Americans own more wealth than all black
households in the United States combined. To put that into numbers, 400 American individuals
in the entire United States now own more wealth than 16 million black families.49
The economic
collapse in 2008 intensified this long-lasting racial wealth divide between blacks and whites in
the United States. By the end of the 1990s, the average white American family had about 6 times
the amount of assets as black families. By the year 2013, that number had doubled to almost
twelve times the amount of assets.50
Figure 1.351
47
Ibid
48
Department of Justice, "Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Wells Fargo Resulting in More Than $175
Million in Relief for Homeowners to Resolve Fair Lending Claims," (2014)
49
Inequality.Org, "Racial Inequality," (2016)
50
Ibid
51
Ibid
26

Source: Pew Research Center analysis of Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances data, December 2014
4.3 Social Inequality
The disparity in income inequality is not the only factor that has led to violent
nationalism in the States. Social inequalities are a contributing cause as well. In the United
States, discrimination, segregation, and white supremacy have played an essential role in shaping
current race relations. Starting in the 1890s after the end of slavery, the South authorised laws
which legally allowed for the segregation of blacks and whites. The effects of segregation can
still be seen today.
After the Reconstruction period in the South, there was the formation of “Jim Crow”
laws, which established different rules and regulations for blacks and whites. These laws
garnered a lot of support in the South, partly because they were based on the notion of white
supremacy and also as a backlash to Reconstruction, which had decimated the South’s economy.
27

During this time, many poor whites were afraid of losing their jobs to recently freed black men.
The newspapers nourished this fear, and created a strong prejudice that African-Americans
committed more crimes. These newspapers were even known to create false stories to incite fear
in white Americans.52
Jim Crow laws affected blacks in all aspects of their lives. For example, black and whites
weren’t allowed to enter through the same door, drink out of the same water fountain, eat at the
same restaurant, attend the same school, sit together on the same bus, and marry someone of the
opposite race. Public services, such as prisons, hospitals, and orphanages, were also segregated
and highly unequal. In Alabama, there was a Jim Crow curfew, which stated that African-
Americans were not allowed to leave their homes after 10 at night. In Georgia, there were black
and white parks, and in Oklahoma, there were black and white phone booths. In North Carolina,
separate textbooks were used for blacks and whites, and in Florida, the textbooks weren’t
allowed to be warehoused together. Texas had enforced these laws so well that by 1914, there
were 6 whole towns that blacks were not allowed to live in.53
With rise of segregation and social inequalities, white supremacy groups like the Ku Klux
Klan emerged to spread and capitalize on the fear of African-Americans. These groups were
allowed by the government to run rampant, without any government oversite or accountability
for their actions committed against black communities. The ability for white supremacists to
intimidate and commit violent and terrorist acts, such as arson, rape, and murder, against blacks
52
Constitutional Rights Foundation, "A Brief History of Jim Crow,” (2016)
53
Pilgrim, "Jim Crow Museum: Origins Of Jim Crow,” (2012)
28

without due judicial process or lawful convictions lasted for many years, and some still argue
that it still exists today.54
Even though segregation was made illegal over 50 years ago, there are still many parts of
the United States that are still highly segregated and unequal. The segregation of neighbourhoods
means that blacks and whites still don't attend the same schools, go to the same stores, or have
the option to attain the same public and private services.55
Census data from 2010 to 2014 show that racial segregation in cities and rural areas
remain relatively high. The Brookings Institution suggests that segregation is slowly decreasing
in large cities, but it remains high in the United States overall. If perfect integration is 0 and
complete segregation is 100, the United States’ largest cities have segregation scores of about 50
to 70, which means that more 50 % of African-Americans would need to move to be able to have
complete integration.56
Figure 1.457
54
O'Malley, "A Blood Red Record: The 1890S And American Apartheid," (1999)
55
Vaidyanathan, "Why Don't Black And White Americans Live Together?," (2016)
56
Frey, “Census Shows Modest Declines In Black-White Segregation," (2016)
57
Ibid
29

The United States Housing and Urban Development has collected data that illustrates
housing patterns in large, highly segregated cities. The green areas on the map show the African-
American population in each city, and the orange areas on the map show the white American
population in each city.58
Figure 1.559
58
Vaidyanathan, (2016)
59
Ibid
30

Other social factors that are considered in horizontal inequalities are education and health
levels of a group as a whole. Disparities between blacks and whites when discussing health and
education are a bit astonishing. Recent data has shown that educational extremes between blacks
and whites and their life expectancy is large and growing larger every year. While even a one-
year variance in life expectancy should be considered as a substantial difference, data shows that
white males with 16 or more years of education are currently living 14.2 years longer than
African-American men with less than 12 years of education. The variance between African-
American and white women is 10.3 years. The trends in disparities between blacks and whites
with the educational and health gap are only widening.60
The disparity between African-American and whites in higher education is now larger
today than it was 50 years ago. Data shows that in 1962, it was estimated that only 4 % of
African-Americans had a college degree, while, in comparison, 10 % of whites did, which was a
60
Macarthur Foundation, "Differences In Life Expectancy Due To Race And Educational Differences Are Widening,
And Many May Not Catch Up" (2008)
31

6 percent gap between the two races. However, in 2012, 21 % of African-Americans had a
college degree and 31 % of whites did, a 10 percent gap between the two, which means that the
gap grew 4 whole percentage points since 1962.61
As shown by the data above, African-Americans suffer from high levels of social
inequalities. From lack of education to poor healthcare, many black Americans are highly
disenfranchised. Segregation is still alive today in many cities in the United States, with some
cities having more than 80 percent of their black citizens living in segregated neighbourhoods.
This is definitely a component that leads to violence and is now manifesting itself in violent
Black Nationalism.
4.4 Cultural Inequality
Another factor that must be taken under consideration when looking at horizontal
inequalities is cultural inclusiveness and tolerance of a group’s difference in cultural practices. In
the United States, black and white culture is vastly different from one another. As well, white
and black Americans tend not to communicate or interact with one another on a social basis.
A recent survey shows that the overall social networks of white Americans are 91 percent of only
other whites. Social networks of white Americans are only one percent black. Of those
surveyed, a full 75 percent of whites have no minority members with totally white social
networks. For black Americans, racial heterogeneity is much higher, with 83 percent reporting to
have black members with eight percent composed of white Americans within their social
network.62
61
Nichols, "Black-White Higher Education Gap Larger Today Than 50 Years Ago," (2013)
62
Cox, Jones and Navarro-Rivera, "Race, Religion, And Political Affiliation Of Americans' Core Social Networks,"
(2016)
32

African-Americans surveyed have reported more problems in their communities than
whites. The average African-American is almost 20 percentage points more likely to say there
were a range of issues in their community than white Americans. Some of the areas that were
highlighted were lack of good jobs, lack of opportunities, lack of funding for public schools,
crime, and racial tensions.63
Figure 1.664
Public Religion Research Institute, Race, Class, and Culture Survey, September 2012
When looking at parenting approaches, a survey targeted toward white and black
Americans gave a choice between two different options, which was obedience or self-reliance. It
was found that blacks are much more likely than white Americans to choose obedience over self-
reliance as important for their children to obtain. Black Americans, by a three to one margin,
favoured their children having obedience instead of self-reliance. In contrast, white Americans
favoured self-reliance over obedience with a margin of 59 to 41 percent.65
63
Jones, "Self-Segregation: Why It's So Hard For Whites To Understand Ferguson,” (2014)
64
Ibid
65
Ibid
33

During a discussion in relation to the survey findings, Michael McBride, an African-
American pastor who works to stop violence in the community, described his own story police
brutality and violence that occurred in March 1999. He stated that the police officers attacked
him because they felt he wasn’t obedient enough to them, which is experience he, and so many
other black Americans, have to deal with on a daily basis.66
A cultural pride in the United States is based on the right of the people to protest unfair
government practices and express their right to freedom of speech. Recent opinion polls and
surveys have found that the American public largely agree on the consensus that protesting and
speaking up when there is unfair treatment by the American government ultimately makes the
United States a better country. About 63 percent of the American populist agrees that protesting
unfair government behaviour and policies is always a good thing for the United States, with
about 32 percent disagreeing.67
However, when protestors are African-Americans, the general public is less likely in
general to see the benefits of protesting, seeing an overall decline in the support for black
protestors and their goals. About 54 percent of the general populist agree that the United States is
always better when African-Americans protest and campaign against prejudicial conduct by the
government. Compare that with the 63 percent that state that when Americans as whole protest,
that’s a 9 percent gap. However, when comparing just whites who were asked, the gap is even
larger. 67 percent of white Americans agree that Americans as a whole protesting maltreatment
66
Ibid
67
Cox and Jones, “Most Americans Believe Protests Make the Country Better; Support Decreases Dramatically
Among Whites if Protesters Are Identified as Black,” (2015)
34

always leave the United States better, with only 48 percent of whites saying the same when they
were asked about African-Americans protesting. That is a stunning figure of a 19-point gap.68
Figure 1.769
Many cultural factors that are defined as “black culture,” such as rap music, has been
appropriated by white Americans and has been embraced by many white and non-white
teenagers alike. However, the concept of “black culture” is usually associated with violence and
gang customs. Many white Americans and the media have blamed “black culture” for the rise in
crime and racial polarization, and this has often led to attacks on black artists and their messages,
even though many white artists and musicians have promoted the same messages as well.
There are many examples of this in the United States’ media. One example that stands
out is rap musician, Kendrick Lamar’s performance and song choice at the Black Entertainment
68
Ibid
69
Ibid
35

Awards in 2015. Lamar’s poignant lyrics addresses police brutality and racism, with a highly
controversial performance involving police cars and strong symbols of police violence against
blacks. An American news commenter for Fox News, Geraldo Rivera, drew some serious
conclusions from the performance, stating that Lamar’s lyrics, and the whole hip-hop genre in
general, is doing “more harm to young African-Americans than racism”70
in the United States.
He also stated in his analysis that hip-hop was the real oppressor of black people.71
This wasn’t
an isolated accident. Sean Hannity, another reporter for Fox News, claimed that black musicians,
such as Prince and Jay Z, were as dangerous an icon as the symbolism of the Confederate flag.72
Not only have black artists and figureheads been castigated in the media, many white
Americans have been escaping media attention for clearly racist songs and propaganda.
Recently, the national headquarters for Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a fraternity at the University of
Oklahoma, had a video surface on YouTube that showed members singing racist lyrics about
their fraternity. The lyrics that were heard in the video are:
“There will never be a n***** in SAE.
There will never be a n***** in SAE.
You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me
There will never be a n***** in SAE.”73
Clear cultural castigation and bias towards African-Americans in the media, combined
with other significant cultural factors, have created strong cultural horizontal inequalities. With
70
Sacks, “Rivera Says Hip Hop Has Done More Damage than Racism,” (2015)
71
Ibid
72
Weiner, “Sean Hannity Wonders Why You Can Buy a Jay Z Album but Not a Confederate Flag,” (2015)
73
Kingkade, “Frat Boys Caught Singing 'There Will Never Be a N***** In SAE',” (2015)
36

all four categories of horizontal inequalities present in the African-American community in the
United States, violence is a result of this deep institutional racism and discrimination.
5. What Has Triggered Today’s Blacks: The Must-Needed Conversation on Prisons, Gun
Violence and Police Brutality
Groups such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the New Black Panther Party have
quoted police brutality, gun violence, and incarceration rates as the driving force for their
protests. It is to these claims that we now turn.
5.1 Gun Violence
Gun violence has surged in African-American communities in recent years. In 2013, data
showed that a little over 11 percent of all African-American lives were lost due to violent deaths
caused by firearms. Compared to white Americans, which has less than 6 percent of all potential
lives lost by firearms, the gap of 5 percent, almost double the rate, is quite large. Loss of life due
37

to firearms also varies dramatically by the cause of death. 77 percent of white American firearm
deaths are caused by suicides, with less than 19 percent of deaths caused by homicides. In
contrast, African-Americans have the complete opposite figures. For black Americans, 14
percent of firearm deaths are due to suicides, with 82 percent caused by homicides.74
The
dramatic 63 percent gap in homicide death between African-Americans is why there has been
such outrage in black communities.
Taking an even closer look, firearm homicide statistics for African-American men
between the ages of 20-29 is approximately 89 men per 100,000. When put into an international
context, this quite troubling. Honduras, a country that has one of the highest documented
homicide rates, had and estimated rate of 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people, which included
homicides not carried out by firearms.75
These figures are very troubling for the black
community.
Figure 1.876
74
Reeves and Holmes, “Guns and Race: The different worlds of black and white Americans,” (2015)
75
Reeves and Holmes, (2015)
76
Ibid
38

5.2 Incarceration Rates
The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. With 1.6 million
prisoners in 2010, the incarceration rates are considerably higher for African-Americans than
whites. About 60 percent of citizens currently incarcerated are people of colour. In 2010, the
incarceration rate for African-American men was 3,074 per 100,000 citizens. In contrast, white
American men had rates of 459 per 100,000 citizens.77
African-American men, especially young men, are disproportionately represented in the
United States prison populace. In 2008, young African-American men between the ages of 18-34
were 6 times more likely to be imprisoned than white American men of the same age. According
to a 2008 study, 37 percent of young African-American males that have not received their high
77
Guerino, Harrison, and Sabol, “Prisoners in 2010,“(2011)
39

school diplomas are in prison or jail, compared to 26 percent of young African-American males
without a high school degree that are working.78
Figure 1.979
The number of individuals that are committing violent crimes has been on the decline in
the past 20 years. However, the number of individuals serving life sentences has continued to
grow, with very little benefit in overall safety for the public. There has been no demonstrated
correlation between more public safety and increasing lengthy sentences. Since 1984, the number
of people serving life has more than quadrupled, with now every 1 in 9 people serving life
sentences, and almost one-third have been given life without parole. 80
Figure 1.1081
78
Tsai and Scommegna, “U.S. Has World's Highest Incarceration Rate,” (2012)
79
The Sentencing Project, (2015)
80
The Sentencing Project,"Trends in U.S. Corrections," (2015) pg. 8
81
Ibid
40

5.3 Police Brutality
While recent headlines have brought much attention to police killings, especially ones
targeted at African-Americans, data shows that this has been a long, systemic problem within the
law enforcement. The Department of Justice reported that from 1976-1998, police officers were
five times more likely to kill an African-American than a white American.82
An investigation
conducted by the FBI from 1980 to 2012 shows that there were of 12,000 police homicides.
From these 12,000 homicides, African-American men between the ages of 15 to 19 were 21
times more likely than their white peers to be killed by the police.83
In 2015, data shows that young African-Americans are still much more likely to be shot
and killed by police than all other Americans, with blacks at a risk of being killed at a rate of
nine times more than all other Americans that were killed by police. According to a recent study,
there was recorded to be a final tally number of 1,134 homicides in 2015 by police officers. Even
though African-American males ages 15 to 34 make up only 2 percent of the American populace,
data shows that they have made up over 15 percent of all homicides by deadly force committed
by police officers in 2015. This data shows that black men between ages 15 to 34 are 5 times
more likely to be killed by police officers than white peers of the same age.84
82
Sadler et al, “The World Is Not Black and White: Racial Bias in the Decision to Shoot in a Multiethnic Context,”
(2012) pg. 286-313
83
Gabrielson et al, “Deadly force in Black and White: A propublica analysis of killings by police shows outsize risk
for young Black males,” (2014)
84
Lartey et al, “Young black men killed by US police at highest rate in year of 1,134 deaths,” (2015)
41

Overall, the data concludes that in 2015, African-Americans on a whole were killed by
police officers at about the same rate of white, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islanders combined.
In 2015, approximately 25 percent of African-Americans killed by police officers were unarmed,
compared to 17 percent of white people.85
Taking this into account, 97 percent of cases did not
result with any police officers being charged with any misconduct.86
For African-Americans, there is very different level in confidence in the American justice
system when it comes to prosecuting police officers involved in shootings than white Americans.
A recent survey shows that white Americans are almost three times more likely to demonstrate a
moderate amount of confidence in the justice system’s investigations into police shooting
compared to African-Americans. 52 percent of white Americans claim that they have a large
degree of faith and confidence in enquiries into police shootings, while just 18 percent of
African-Americans have the same faith and confidence. Approximately 76 percent of African-
Americans have little to no confidence in investigations regarding police officers, with about 45
percent claiming that they have no confidence at all in the investigations.87
Figure 1.1188
85
Lartey et al., (2015)
86
Mapping Police Violence, "Police Killed At Least 346 Black People in The U.S. in 2015," (2016)
87
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, "Stark Racial Divisions in Reactions to Ferguson Police
Shooting," (2014)
88
Ibid
42

6. The Rise of Black Nationalism: The Connection between Horizontal Inequalities and
Violence
When examining current Black Nationalist groups in the United States, they have similar
agendas in common. The objectives of these groups are directed at addressing the horizontal
inequalities within the United States, even if that is not directly stated by the groups. While some
of these groups are more extreme in their mission statements than others, there are common
themes that directly relate back to horizontal inequality.
For the New Black Panther Party, the group’s number one objective is to have “the power
to practice self-determination, and to determine the destiny of our community and the black
nation.”89
This is clear national separatist desires. The group’s list of objectives is directly
connected to all four horizontal inequality categories. The New Black Panther Party outlines the
89
The New Black Panther Party For Self Defense, "10 Point Platform," (2016)
43

desire for better economic, social, cultural, and political equality and the ability to control the
future of the Black Nation. Some of the listed objectives made by the group include better
employment opportunities, education, healthcare, and housing. All of the objectives of this group
are areas in which the African-American community is currently disenfranchised and currently
suffer from serious horizontal inequalities. Other demands of The New Black Panther Party
include the releasing of prisons, ending police brutality and ending the death penalty.90
The Black Lives Matter movement also articulates similar demands. The group asks for a
call to action and a response to the “virulent anti-Black racism that permeates [the United’s
States’] society.”91
Black Lives Matter has stated that the mission of its movement is to bring
attention to not only extrajudicial killings of African-Americans by police officers and vigilantes,
but also to expand the discussion to include all the ways African-Americans have been made
targets for state violence and deliberately kept powerless at the hands of the state. Black Lives
Matter stated that its overall mission is to have a nation-wide conversation about the inequality
that faces the black community and the ways in which African-Americans have been deprived of
basic human rights and dignity.92
While Black Lives Matter has preached the importance of peaceful protesting, and the
New Black Panther Party has not directly condemned violence, both groups have witnessed deep
hostility and bloodshed among their party members. However, these groups are not to blame for
the violence that has been demonstrated recently.
6.1 Trayvon Martin
90
Ibid
91
Black Lives Matter, "About The Black Lives Matter Network," (2016)
92
Ibid
44

The inspiration for the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement, was accredited to
the death of the 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin, who was shot dead in 2012 by George Zimmerman
in Miami, Florida. The unarmed, black teen was shot in the back after just recently buying some
snacks from a local store. Soon afterwards, an altercation between Martin and Zimmerman is
overheard. About 30 seconds later, yelling and a gunshot was heard. The police arrived on the
scene minutes after Martin was shot. He was found dead, face front on the ground by the police.
After the police showed up, Zimmerman made the claim that Martin had assaulted him. He
stated that Martin had hit him hard on the nose, knocking him into the pavement, and only in
self-defence did he pull his gun and shoot the teenager.93
However, tests showed that Zimmerman's hands were on the gun, but Martin's were not.
When an autopsy was done on Martin’s body, the findings revealed that there was none of
Zimmerman’s DNA found under Martin’s fingernails, which would have indicated a struggle.
After the shooting, Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder. However, when the
case went to trail, the jury found Zimmerman not guilty on murder or manslaughter charges.94
Shortly after the verdict was released, mass protesting and violence erupted throughout the
country.
In California, there was mass protesting through the state. Los Angeles, Oakland and San
Francisco all saw violent protests flare up in response to racial tensions. In Los Angles, police
officers stated that some protestors started to become violent, with them perpetrating acts such as
jumping on top of cars and breaking windows and vandalizing fast-food restaurants. A local
Wal-Mart in a neighbourhood in Los Angeles was severely damaged. Aerial footage from
93
Botelho, “What Happened the Night Trayvon Martin Died,” (2012)
94
Ibid
45

broadcasting stations showed protestors violently kicking and punching individuals on the
street.95
In Oakland, police officers were having rocks and bottles thrown at them. Civilians were
also reported to be in the crossfire of the violent protesting. A witness described seeing a waiter
being struck in the face with a hammer trying to protect the windows of a restaurant.96
There
were also claims that reporters were violently attacked by protesters. One reporter tweeted that
she and her photographer had been hurt by the crowds during the protest, and that she saw
another TV cameraman had been attacked as well. Businesses, such as Sears, reported heavy
damage done to their buildings during the demonstrations. Witnesses at the scene state that they
saw protesters use heavy weights to smash approximately 30 windows and doors.97
“In addition,
a few members of the New Black Panther Party offered $10,000 as a reward for the "capture" of
George Zimmerman.” 98
This was clearly a violent threat posed to Mr. Zimmerman.
6.2 Michael Brown
On the 9th
of August, 2014, Michael Brown, a resident of Ferguson, Missouri, was shot
and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. Following the death of this 18-year-old
black youth, outrage over the injustice of this shooting began to bring the media’s and the
country’s attention to the violence perpetrated against young blacks, especially young black men.
With this shooting following that of Trayvon Martin’s, violence exploded on the streets of
95
BBC, "Trayvon Martin Case: Los Angeles Protest Turns Violent," (2013)
96
Ibid
97
Alston, Klapper and Quintana “Oakland Rally for Trayvon Martin Turns Violent; San Francisco Protest Remains
Peaceful,” (2013)
98
CNN, "Trayvon Martin Shooting Fast Facts," (2016)
46

Missouri, as well as other parts of the United States, and sparked the national movement, Black
Lives Matter.
There has been no clear story on what happened during the shooting of Michael Brown.
In a scuffle that lasted about 3 minutes, different witnesses remember very contradicting stories
to what actually happened between Brown and Wilson. While Wilson and a few witnesses were
adamant that Brown was trying to take the gun from officer from inside his cop car, acting in an
aggressive and threatening manner, others repute a different story. The autopsy conducted on
Michael Brown showed that the teenager was shot six times, twice in the head and four times in
the arm.99
After the death of Michael Brown, Ferguson, Missouri became a very troubled city.
Violent protests and riots erupted several times, with a state of emergency declared in light of all
the violence that had been occurring within the city. During the violent protests in Missouri,
people set cars on fires. There was looting and burglaries, and gun shots were fired on the streets.
All different types of objects were thrown at police officers, such as rocks and bottles. Many
businesses were heavily damaged, with windows being shattered and vandalism taking place. A
journalist claimed to be assaulted and mugged in a parking lot. Three police officers were hurt
during the demonstrations. One police officer got hit in the face by a brick. The other two police
officers were pepper-sprayed. Violence lasted for days, with police in riot gear standing on the
streets. Many witnesses described St. Louis as a warzone, with the city ablaze with violence.
Many arrests were made, for all different types of violent crimes.100
6.3 Eric Garner
99
Clarke and Lett, “What Happened When Michael Brown Met Officer Darren Wilson,” (2014)
100
Karimi, McLaughlin and Sidner, “Ferguson Protesters Arrested as County Declares State of Emergency,” (2015)
47

Much civil unrest in the United States has followed the death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-
old resident of Staten Island. He was known in the area by the local police for selling loose
cigarettes on the streets. Garner had been arrested twice before for alluding state tax by selling
his cigarettes illegally. On July 17th
, Garner was strangled to death by a police officer, which was
recorded on video. The police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, was documented on camera trying to
detain Garner by putting him in a chokehold, which is illegal in police department regulations.
Pantaleo was videotaped attempting to bring Garner’s body to the ground by taking one of his
arms and putting it under Garner’s underarm and the other around his neck. Video then showed
Pantaleo slamming Garner into a window, which brought him to the ground. While on the
ground, Officer Pantaleo moved his arm from around Garner’s neck to and then continued
pressing his head into the pavement. As Pantaleo was holding him there, Garner kept repeating
over and over, “I can’t breathe.”101
From the video footage, it appeared that the police officers on
the scene were not concerned with Garner’s cries for air.
The final report given on the autopsy of Garner showed clear signs of injuries carried out
by Pantaleo. The report stated that the external examination of the neck showed no visible signs
of violence, but internally there were clear signs of choking. The initial report made by the police
completed contradicted the results of the autopsy. The report given by the police gave absolutely
no mention of any chokehold or contact with Garner’s neck.102
Following the highly-publicized death of Eric Garner, protesting and violence broke out
in cities across the United States. In New York alone, thousands of people came out in support of
Garner and his family. As protestors in Lower Manhattan moved toward the Police
101
Fessenden, “New Perspective on Eric Garner's Death,” (2015)
102
Baker, Goodman and Mueller, “Beyond the Chokehold: The Path to Eric Garner’s Death,” (2015)
48

Headquarters, violence broke out. It was documented that some protestors wore scarfs and
bandannas over their faces. In Manhattan, police cars were the main target as protestors threw
traffic cones and trash cans, and smashed their fists against the windows of the cop cars. As this
was going on, violent protestors shouted, “Whose streets? Our streets!” Violence erupted in
Manhattan, and quickly spread over the Brooklyn Bridge. In Brooklyn, it was documented that
two police officers were soon assaulted by protestors. A YouTube video that was posted online
showed protestors chanting "Hands up, don’t shoot." In the video, it shows the protestors
changing to their chants to a more violent message. The group of demonstrators are seen
shouting out in unison "What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now.”103
A few
hours after the video was captured on film, two police officers were injured as a man threw a
trash can from the Brooklyn Bridge walkway down on top of the officers standing below.104
In California, protests also turned violent. When the jury in New York decided not to
prosecute Officer Pantaleo for Garner’s death, it was met with outrage and violence. In the city
of Berkeley, protestors blocked highway traffic and people were shouting “I can’t breathe,”
Garner’s last words. When the crowd of protestors moved into the downtown Berkeley and
Oakland, violence broke out as violent groups formed. Demonstrators were breaking windows of
local businesses, such as RadioShack, and other protestors started looting. One witness said they
saw a protester tried to stop some of the violence, and ended up being hit with a hammer for his
efforts.105
103
NBC New York, "Video Shows Protesters Chanting For "Dead Cops," (2014)
104
Ibid
105
Bever, “Eric Garner Protests Turn Violent for Second Night in California,” (2014)
49

As the violence escalated, some of the protestors attempted to set fire to police vehicles.
Others decided to lob bottles, Molotov cocktails and rocks at the police officers. In response,
police officers used tear gas on the violent protestors. This violence went on for days, with
protestors continuing to throw rocks and bricks at police officers. One of the police officers
ended up dislocating his shoulder when he was struck by a sandbag from a protestor. Officers
decided to fire back, using rubber bullets, flares and tear gas on the demonstrators. In the end, a
total of three officers were hurt and six people arrested.106
In Seattle, Washington, similar events occurred. While protestors marched to the police
headquarters downtown, some protestors tried to block traffic on a highway. These protestors
decided to throw rocks at the police officers who refused to let them onto the highway. In total,
seven protestors were arrested.107
6.4 Alton Sterling
The most recent shooting to reach the headlines was that of Alton Sterling. A Louisiana
native, Sterling was shot dead by a police offer in Baton Rouge. Sterling was confronted by
police for selling his CDs in front of a convenience store. From a video shot on a mobile phone,
two of the police officers at the scene are seen tackling Sterling and wrestling him to the ground.
While on the ground, another officer comes to help him hold Sterling down. During this
altercation, a police officer notices that Sterling has a gun on the back of his pants and, in the
video, someone screams that Sterling has a gun. At this point, the officer that was on top of
Sterling, holding him down, can be seen in the video pulling his weapon out and pointing it at
106
Ibid
107
Rudra, “Ferguson, Garner Protesters Clash With Cops Across Country,” (2014)
50

Sterling. The video then shows some yelling and then several gunshots. Later, an autopsy
conducted on Sterling showed that he died of several gunshot wounds to the chest and back.108
Immediately after Sterling’s death, protestors gathered in Baton Rouge to mourn. Soon,
across the country, cities gathered to unity in protest over the shooting. In a few short days later,
the protesting became some of the most violent the States has seen yet. In Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, many protesters hurled plastic bottles and cups of ice at police officers. In Phoenix,
Arizona, skirmishes broke out between the police and the protestors as police kept people from
trying to obstruct the ramps onto the highways. Police officers, outfitted in riot gear, were using
pepper spray and firing bean bags on protestors. In response, demonstrators started to strike back
by launching rocks and other rocks at the police officers.109
In St. Paul, Minnesota, many protestors decided to heave bottles, bricks, Molotov
cocktails, and fireworks at police officers. During this time, five officers were hurt. One police
officer was struck with a glass bottle, another police officer hit by a firework, and another was
hurt by a bulky piece of concrete that was dropped onto of him by a protestor from a bridge.
Protestors also got into skirmishes with police officers trying to prevent them from obstructing
the highway. Over 200 demonstrators were able to power past the Minnesota State Patrol who
were attempting to stop people from getting onto the highway. Around 50 to 100 protestors were
arrested on the highway.110
During Black Lives Matter protests in Dallas, five police officers were shot and killed
and seven were injured by gunmen, Micah Johnson. The Dallas attack against police officers was
108
CBS, "Latest On The Alton Sterling Shooting Investigation," (2016)
109
Fantz and Visser, “Hundreds Arrested in Protests over Shootings by Police,” (2016)
110
Ibid
51

the deadliest day for American law enforcement since 9/11. Johnson purposely targeted police
offices in retaliation for the all the black men that have been killed by police.111
Johnson directly
said that he wanted to “kill white people, especially white officers,” according to the Dallas chief
of police.112
Eugene Puryear, one of the Black Lives Matter organizers, stated that while the Dallas
shooting of five police officers was heart-breaking, it was ultimately inevitable due to the
escalated police violence perpetuated against African-Americans. "We're at a tipping point," he
said.113
Less than two weeks after the police officers were killed in Dallas, another shooter shot
and killed three police officers, with another three more injured in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Gavin Long, a former United States military soldier, was responsible for the killings. In response
to the killings, the FBI is looking into possible motivations for the crime. Long claimed that he
belonged to the Nation of Islam. A FBI official said claims that Long was identifying himself as
being allied with the black separatist movement. While there is no direct evidence that he was
influenced by black nationalist groups, Long had shown interest in the message of these
groups.114
In the weeks of rising tensions following police shootings of black men in Louisiana and
Minnesota, and officers being shot in killed in Dallas and Louisiana, three more states were
included in police shootings. Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia were all targeted by gunman in a
111
Emily and Tsiaperas,"Dallas Police Shooter Killed 4 Officers On The Street, 1 Through A Second-Floor
Window,"(2016)
112
Barrett and Kamp, “Gunmen Targeted Police in Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia, Authorities Say,” (2016)
113
Ellis, Imam and Park, “Black Lives Matter Protesters Return to Streets,” (2016)
114
Visser, “3 Officers Killed; 3 Injured in Baton Rouge,” (2016)
52

line of separate attacks. In Tennessee, Lakeem Keon Scott, a 37-year-old black man, was behind
the shooting of several individuals. Scott opened fire while on a Tennessee highway. He ended
up killing one woman, and wounding three others, including a police officer. All four victims
were identified as white. Police officials involved in the case said Scott may have decided to
target white individuals and police officers after the recent, troubling events surrounding the
black community and its relationship with police officers in other parts of the country, which was
a direct reference to the very recent police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.115
In Georgia, police officials said a man called 911 to report a car break-in. He then
proceeded to ambush and shoot the police officer who responded. Georgia officials said the man
shot the police officer at least three times, twice in his protective vest and once beneath the vest
in the abdomen. In Missouri, another police officer was shot as he was walking back to his police
car in an ambush attack. While currently the police departments have declined to connect these
two different police shootings to the case in Dallas or the officer-involved deaths of the two
black men, there has been investigation into the matter.116
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton claims that the violence seen during the Dallas
shootings was incredibly similar to the two deaths of police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael
Ramos in 2014. “Two of our police officers murdered during the height of demonstrations
around issues of racial injustice…. This is a continuing crisis in this country that needs to be
addressed.”117
6.5 Sylville K Smith
115
Barrett and Kamp, (2016)
116
Ibid
117
Ibid
53

The most recent shooting of a black man that has sparked violent protesting was in
Wisconsin. Shot by police officers because Smith was said to have a stolen gun, black nationalist
groups have erupted into outrage over the shooting. Quickly after the news spread of the
shooting in Milwaukee, hundreds of protestors flooded onto the streets. Soon, the protesting
became extremely violent, with demonstrators throwing rocks and bricks at police officers,
setting fire to buildings and cars, and vandalizing police cars and businesses.118
Later into the night of violent protesting, gunshots were fired and someone was reported
to be taken to the hospital in an armored ambulance. The violence escalated to the point where
the Wisconsin governor decided to call on the national guard to help assist police officers with
the protestors. In total, four police officers were wounded.119
In total, five individuals were shot
and murdered, and there were nine different gun shootings in nine hours in Milwaukee. One
Milwaukee resident, Khalif Rainey, said “This is a warning cry…[b]lack people in Milwaukee
are tired…They are tired of living under this oppression.”120
118
Karimi and Sutton, “Protests Break Out in Milwaukee After Officer Fatally Shoots Man,” (2016)
119
Kaleem and Pearce, “Riots in Milwaukee after Police Shooting: 'The People Are Fed Up’,” (2016)
120
Laughland and Yuhas, "Wisconsin Governor Activates National Guard After Night Of Protests In Milwaukee,"
(2016)
54

7. Why Have Some States Seen Protestor Violence and Other States Have Not?
All of these cases illustrate a dangerous rise in violence. While many report that the cause
of violence is due to just police brutality and a biased justice system, my thesis claims that, while
this is an important factor, there are more factors of inequalities that need to exist in order for
this level of violence to occur. All four horizontal inequalities need to be present for this level of
violence to flare up within a society.
The major theme connecting all of these cases together which is apparent to the casual
observer is the police brutality that has occurred. All of the black men listed above have been
subjugated to violence and death at the hands of police officers and a vigilante in an unjust and
controversial manner. In all cases as well, the justice system has failed in prosecuting the police
officers and vigilante involved in the death of these men.
However, this alone is not enough to generate the violence that has been demonstrated at
these protests. Every state listed in the cases above, and other cases as well that weren’t included,
55

that have seen violence have had strong levels of horizontal inequalities. All the states that have
been recorded in the media to have seen violent protests have profound cultural, economic,
social, and political inequalities, which is why these black nationalist groups cannot be held
responsible for the violence that has been occurring.
The states that have demonstrated the most consistent violence during these black
nationalist protests have been New York, California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Wisconsin and
Missouri. There are Black Lives Matter chapters in all of these states. California alone has 6
different chapters.121
The New Black Panther Party is also active in all of these states as well.
In a tool used to track levels of police brutality deaths within the United States,
California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona came in first, second, third, and fourth respectively in the
rank of the most police shootings of each state per year. New York came in seventh place, with
Missouri and Louisiana tied at fourteenth place.122
Not only are police shootings of black men especially high in states that have recorded
some of the highest levels of protestor violence, but these states also have strong other racial
inequalities as well. Looking at the data, the number of African-Americans living in any
particular state does not seem to demonstrate any significant results in whether there is violent
protesting. For example, Louisiana has a very large African-American population in comparison
to Arizona. However, both states have seen large amounts of black nationalist violence.
However, the population of African-Americans is important to take into account when looking at
some of the statistics.
121
Blacks Lives Matter, “Locate A Chapter," (2016)
122
Davis et al., “The Counted: People Killed by Police in the United States,” (2016)
56

While all states have varying degrees of horizontal inequalities, some states clearly have
much higher levels of inequalities across the broad. One of the states that has seen high records
of violence from black nationalist groups and violent protestors is New York. New York ranks
seventh overall in highest number of police shootings.123
New York City and surrounding areas
have one of the highest segregation levels in the United States, with 77 percent segregation. This
means that 77 percent of blacks would need to move in order to achieve full integration.124
In
addition, New York has become one of the most segregated states for African-American students
in the United States. Recent data shows that New York now has the highest proportion of
African-American students in high-minority schools, with the lowest amount of black exposure
to white students in the nation.125
New York also has a dramatic difference between whites and
blacks in the attainment of a bachelor’s degree, with a 22 percent disparity between the two
races.126
The racial inequality in incarceration rates is astronomically high in New York as well,
with a black to white ratio of 8.127
In California, another state that has seen high levels of violence, horizontal inequalities
are severe. Ranked as number one in police shootings in the United States128
, police brutality runs
rampant here, and the disparities in incarceration rates in California are one of the highest in the
nation. The disparity between blacks and whites in obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher is the
123
Davis et al., (2016)
124
Frey, (2016)
125
Chokshi, "The Most Segregated Schools May Not Be In The States You’d Expect," (2014)
126
Drewery, Ogunwole and Rios-Vargas, “The Population With a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher by Race and Hispanic
Origin: 2006–2010,” (2012)
127
The Sentencing Project, "State-By-State Data" (2016)
128
57

same for New York, which is 22 percent.129
California also ranks as one of the highest states for
the segregation of blacks in education.130
The state is also ranked 2nd
in the country for the
amount of hate groups located within its borders.131
Two states mentioned above that have both had police officers shot in the name of black
nationalism is Louisiana and Texas. These two states have almost mirrored, incredibly high
inequalities. For example, both of these states have the same disproportion of blacks incarcerated
in their states.132
Louisiana and Texas also have about the same percentage gap between whites
and blacks that have a bachelor’s degree133
, and both Texas and Louisiana also rank highly in
states where there are still cities with much segregation between blacks and whites.134
Wisconsin, a state coined as the worst state to live in if you are black, has the country’s
worst horizontal inequalities for blacks in the nation. The state has also seen very high levels of
violent protesting recently. Wisconsin has the highest black incarceration rate in the nation, with
a stunning disparity between whites and blacks reaching a11.5 black to white ratio.135
Milwaukee, which has the highest population of African-Americans in the state, has the highest
level of segregation between whites and blacks in the nation as well. With a score of 81, this
means that 81 percent of blacks would have to move in Milwaukee to have complete
segregation.136
The unemployment gap between blacks and whites in Milwaukee is one of the
129
Drewery, Ogunwole and Rios-Vargas, (2012)
130
Chokshi, (2014)
131
Potok, “The Year in Hate and Extremism,” (2016)
132
133
134
Frey, (2016)
135
136
Frey, (2016)
58

highest in the country, with a 17.3 percent employment rate for blacks and only a 4.3 percent
unemployment rate for whites.137
And the African-Americans that are employed have a huge
income gap as well, with blacks making a medium income of $25,600 compared to whites who
makes a medium income of $62,600.138
While almost all states have had Black Lives Matter protests, not all of them have ended
in violence. There are some states that have had positive and peaceful protests. New Hampshire
is one of the states that has not had any violence occur in conjunction to the Black Lives Matter
protest. While there have been some marches held in Manchester, New Hampshire, those
interviewed claimed it was to honour and raise awareness for all black lives in the United States.
One young high-schooler interviewed said that he believed that the New Hampshire police do
well in their jobs, and the march was to demonstrate support for blacks nationwide.139
Looking at the data, New Hampshire has much lower horizontal inequalities than other
parts of the United States. In New Hampshire, recent figures show that the percentage of those
with a bachelor’s degree or higher is the same for both blacks and whites. The only other state
that has blacks and whites obtaining the same amount of advanced degrees is Maine.140
The New
Hampshire government has especially targeted educational attainment disparities between
minorities groups and whites, and has established a variation of programs to address this issue.141
Looking at police brutality, New Hampshire tied in last with the least number of police
137
Vega, "Where The Biggest Inequality Gaps Are In America," (2016)
138
McLaughlin and Workneh, “Milwaukee Uprisings' Reflect Wisconsin's Terrible Treatment Of Black Lives,” (2016)
139
The Washington Times, "Black Lives Matter Activists Organize Manchester March," (2016)
140
141
Ayscue and Jau, “Diversity in the Distance,” (2014)
59

shootings.142
The state also has a relatively lower racial disparity compared with other states in
incarceration rates between blacks and whites.143
There is also no Black Lives Matter chapter in
New Hampshire.144
Another state that has had recent Black Lives Matter protests and remained entirely
peaceful is West Virginia. Ranked 39th
in the nation in police shootings,145
West Virginia has
much lower rates of police brutality than other states. West Virginia also has an incredibly low
disparity between incarceration rates between blacks and whites, one of the lowest in the United
States, with a black to white ratio of 3.5.146
While West Virginia has the lowest percentage rates
of its citizens achieving a bachelor’s degree or higher, the disparity between blacks and whites in
the attainment of a degree is only 5 percent.147
In fact, West Virginia is the most integrated state
between the two races in the whole United States. Schools where black students are in the
majority-white schools is 92.6 percent, which is unbelievably high. West Virginia has the highest
exposure rate of black students to white students in the nation, with black students attending
schools that have no minority population over 90 percent.148
A concise table of the data collected of states that have had high levels of violence
compared to those with low levels of violence has been constructed to show the importance of
142
143
144
Blacks Lives Matter, (2016)
145
146
147
148
Chokshi, (2014)
60

horizontal inequalities as an agent for nationalist violence. The first table shows the states that
have shown multiple incidents of high black nationalist protester violence.
State Political
Inequalities
Economic
Inequalities
Social Inequalities Cultural Inequalities
California Disenfranchised
Blacks: 4.1%
Ranked 21st
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks and
whites
- Black to White
Ratio in Jails: 8.8
- 1st
in police
shootings
- Segregation level
in Los Angeles: 68
- Ranked 2nd
in the
country for the most
amount of hate
groups with 68
- 6 Black Lives
Matter chapters
- 9 black separatist
groups
Florida Disenfranchised
Blacks: 23.3%
Poverty rate is
almost double for
blacks compared to
whites
- Black to White
Ratio in Jails: 3.6
- Segregation level
in Miami: 65
- 3rd
in police
shootings
- Disparity in
Bachelor’s degree:
30%
- Ranked 3rd
in the
amount of hate
groups with 58
groups
Wisconsin Disenfranchised
Blacks: 8.9%
Unemployment rate
of 17.3% for blacks
compared to 4.3% for
whites
Black poverty rate at
38.4 % compared to
white poverty rate at
7.6%
Ranked 48th
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks and
whites
- Black to White
Ratio in Jails:11.5
- Ranked 1st
in
segregation level in
Milwaukee: 81
- 14th
in police
shootings
- 4 Neo-Nazi hate
groups
-1 White Nationalist
group
Texas Disenfranchised
Blacks: 7.1%
Ranked 29th
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks and
- 2nd
in police
shootings
- Ranked 1st
in the
amount of hate
61

whites groups with 84
groups
New York Disenfranchised
Blacks: 2.1%
Ranked 36th
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks and
whites
- Black to White
Ratio in Jails: 8.0
- New York City
Segregation level:
77
- 8th
in police
shootings
- 44 hate groups
groups
Illinois Disenfranchised
Blacks: 2%
Ranked 44th
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks and
whites
- Black to White
Ratio in Jails: 8.8
- Segregation level
in Chicago: 76
- 23 hate groups
groups
Note: Data collected from the Sentencing Project (2015), Southern Poverty Law Center (2016),
Larty (2015), and Bernardo (2015).
The second table shows the states that have been able to remain peaceful protesting. The
horizontal inequalities in these states are much lower.
State Political
Inequalities
Economic
Inequalities
Social
Inequalities
Cultural Inequalities
New
Hampshire
Disenfranchise
d Blacks: 1.6%
Ranked 8th
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks
and whites
- Disparity in a
Bachelor’s
degree: 0%
- Tied for last in
police shootings
- 6 hate groups
- 0 black separatist groups
West
Virginia
Disenfranchise
d Blacks: 3.5%
Ranked 2nd
in the
country in low
financial gaps
between blacks
and whites
- Black to White
Ratio in Jails:
3.5
- Disparity in a
Bachelor’s
degree: 5%
- 37th
in police
shootings
- 8 hate groups
- 1 black separatist group
Rhode
Island
Disenfranchise
d Blacks: 1.9%
Unemployment
rate of 9.9% for
blacks compared
- 45th
in police
shootings
- 3 hate groups
62

to 6.8% for
whites
Maine Disenfranchise
d Blacks: 0%
Ranked 24th
in
the country in
low financial
gaps between
blacks and
whites
- Tied for last in
police shootings
- 2 hate groups
Note: Data collected from the Sentencing Project (2015), Southern Poverty Law Center (2016),
Larty (2015), Kent (2015), and Bernardo (2015).
There are many other states that have been left out of the tables. These states show high
horizontal inequalities in some categories, but not all. In the foreseeable future these states have
a high probability of black nationalist violence. Some of these states have already experienced
mild levels of violence.
While all states in the nation have recorded levels of horizontal inequalities between
whites and blacks, there are clear trends that demonstrate that the higher the level of inequalities,
the more that violence will occur. This is incredibly important in discussing the future of
nationalist violence within minority communities, and why it’s important to not blame the black
nationalist groups for the violence that is being demonstrated at events.
While some states have been able to keep black nationalist violence to a minimum, all
states within the union do have distinct, clear horizontal inequalities. While some states have
much greater levels of inequalities, which has led to the strong violent outbursts seen during
protesting, the anticipation for violence coming out of this strong black nationalist movement in
the States is very high around the country. Even states mentioned above with lower horizontal
inequalities between blacks and whites may see violence in the foreseeable future.
While many in the United States’ media and government are quick to blame the Black
Lives Matter movement and the New Black Panther Party, evidence shows that these groups are
63

not the real culprits to blame for the violence. Instead, these groups are used as vessels in which
violence is spread through them. These groups should not be blamed for the instigation of
violence themselves. Deep-rooted, institutional horizontal inequalities are the driving force for
violence, not the groups themselves.
Another interesting point to consider in the examining the violence that is occurring is the
level of police and security influence in particular cities, states, and nationally. This movement is
based within the United States, which has a strong and effective government and police,
especially in comparison to other countries who also demonstrate high levels of violence. Would
there be more violence if the United States had less control over the government and police
force? Are some cities and states more suitable and better in handling violent confrontations,
especially ones that are racially charged? And lastly, what is the effect on violence between
carefully prearranged protests planned months ahead in comparison to protests organized in a
few days?
8. Conclusion
64

By observing the direct link between horizontal inequalities and nationalist violence,
there is a strong case to be made that lack of development and strong racial inequalities will
become a security issue if not properly addressed. While this case study was limited to the
United States, the Black Lives Matter movement has already spread internationally. Countries
such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have all seen recent protests.
The fear is that with the spread of this movement, the violence will follow. This has
already occurred in London, United Kingdom. Hyde Park saw young adults erupt into violence
over the summer of 2016. Witnesses described rioters attacking police officers with bottles and
knives. Many described the event as a warzone, with this riot being called the worst outburst of
youth violence that has occurred since the 2011 riots. Trouble originally started over a water
fight, with the police showing because of complaints of disturbances in the park. When the
police arrived, many young adults began to violently engage with the officers. Some of the youth
were throwing bottles at the police officers and yelling “Black Lives Matter.” The riot escalated
to the point where two police officers had to be rushed to the hospital. One suffered from stab
wounds, one had a head injury, and two other young adults involved in the riot were stabbed as
well.149
Fear of this movement spreading and leaving a trail of violence in its wake should not be
taken lightly. Countries with high inequalities within their black communities, such as the United
States and the United Kingdom, have already seen an outbreak of violence. The prediction would
be that without properly addressing the root causes of this nationalist movement, violence will
continue to occur.
149
Powell, Sleigh and Watts, “Youths chanting 'Black Lives Matter' clash with police in Hyde Park,” (2016)
65

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