Recent research conducted by Travis Campbell, an economics PhD student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has provided concrete evidence that Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests are effective in generating change.
Campbell tracked over 1,600 BLM protests from 2014 to 2019. His study revealed that cities with BLM protests experienced a nearly 20 percent decrease in police killings, equivalent to approximately 300 fewer deaths nationwide.
Additionally, BLM protests were linked to
- Reduced lethal force by police officers
- Increased use of body cameras
- More community-policing initiatives!
These findings demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of BLM protests in achieving tangible progress towards racial justice and police reform.