White Lives Matter

White Lives Matter rally in New York City, May 1, 2017

In August 2017, a "White Lives Matter" rally was scheduled to take place in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia.[7] The rally turned violent, with clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters. A woman was killed and dozens were injured when a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters.[7] Since then, the use of the phrase "White Lives Matter" has been widely condemned as racist and associated with extremist groups.[8][9]

The Nationalist Front was a key organizer of the White Lives Matter rally in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 28, 2017.[10][11] Participating groups included: National Socialist Movement (NSM), Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP), League of the South, Vanguard America, The Right Stuff, and Anti-Communist Action.[10][12] It was a key rally since the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (August 11 and 12, 2017). The rally was said by group leaders to address the "ongoing problem of refugee resettlement in Middle Tennessee," failure to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico, the removal of Sudan from the list of countries in the Trump travel ban, fight against the DREAM Act, as well as the Burnette Chapel shooting by Sudanese native Emmanuel Sampson.[11]

The Shelbyville rally took place as scheduled, with about 100 White Lives Matter supporters and about 200 counter-protestors. The afternoon event in Murfreesboro was canceled by the organizers; the authorities estimated that around 800 to 1000 people took part in the anti-racist march and counter-protest.[13] In addition, local community and faith activists organized an off-site rally under the moniker of "Murfreesboro Loves". Hundreds participated in the event in support of refugees and minorities.[14]

In 2021, another series of nationwide "White Lives Matter" Rallies were held. Notably in Raleigh, North Carolina; Huntington Beach, California; Philadelphia; New York City; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Fort Worth, Texas. These rallies all had little far-right attendance and had thousands of counter-protestors.[15] In April 2021, a rally in Huntington Beach, California, organized by a group called the "White Lives Matter Foundation," drew a small crowd of supporters and a much larger group of counter-protesters.[16] The event remained largely peaceful, but there were some clashes between the two groups and several arrests were made. In May 2021, a similar rally organized by the same group in Raleigh, North Carolina, was canceled due to low turnout and concerns about potential violence.[17] A counter-protest organized by local anti-fascist groups still took place, but it also had a relatively small turnout.

It is not clear whether the "White Lives Matter" movement as a whole has a centralized funding structure or financial support system.The "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, reportedly received funding from a number of far-right organizations and individuals.[28][29] Nevertheless, it is not exactly clear which organization and individual have been funding the movement's events. White nationalist and white supremacist groups tend to rely on grassroots fundraising, crowdfunding, and individual donations from supporters to finance their activities.[30]

The "White Lives Matter" movement has received some media coverage, but much of it has been critical and has focused on the movement's ties to white nationalism and white supremacy.[31][32] Some far-right and white nationalist media outlets have provided sympathetic coverage of the movement.[33] The movement has also attempted to use social media platforms to spread its message and gain support.Social media platforms have taken steps to remove content promoting hate speech, including content related to the "White Lives Matter" movement. Some members of the movement have used social media to organize rallies and events and to promote their ideology. In recent years, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have taken steps to remove content promoting hate speech, including content related to the "White Lives Matter" movement.[34] There are Facebook pages with the same title, that have been active, with no clear agendas about the White Lives matter movement or its purpose. This has made it more difficult for the movement to reach a wider audience through these channels.

As of 2023, the "White Lives Matter" movement continues to exist, but its level of activity and visibility has varied over time.[35] In some cases, individuals or groups associated with the movement have organized protests or rallies, but these events have often been met with counter-protests and have not attracted large numbers of participants.[36] This is because WLM has been associated with several controversies due to its links with white supremacist ideologies and groups. The use of the phrase "White Lives Matter" has been criticized by anti-racism advocates, who argue that the phrase is used to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement and other efforts to promote racial justice and equality, which is believed to propagate violence, discrimination and inequality.

In some instances, the movement has attempted to capitalize on current events or issues to gain attention and support. For example, in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, some individuals associated with the "White Lives Matter" movement attempted to co-opt the language and symbols of the Black Lives Matter movement to promote their own agenda.[37] However, this effort was widely criticized and did not gain much traction.[38]