Interpreting Unrest: How Violence changes Public Opinions about Social Movements

Social movement scholars have long been interested in how violence impacts movements. A primary route to that impact is through public opinion. We examine changes in public opinion - in aggregate and within population subgroups - following dramatic sequences of movement-related violence. Using surve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial movement studies Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 469 - 492
Main Authors Baggetta, Matthew, Myers, Daniel J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 04.07.2022
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
African Americans
Black people
Black women
civil rights movement
Civil rights movements
Public opinion
race
riots
Social movements
Violence
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Summary:Social movement scholars have long been interested in how violence impacts movements. A primary route to that impact is through public opinion. We examine changes in public opinion - in aggregate and within population subgroups - following dramatic sequences of movement-related violence. Using survey data collected in four US cities before and after the 'long hot summer' of urban unrest in 1967, we examine changes in public opinion about whether rioters reacted to legitimate grievances and whether the unrest would be effective in helping the plight of Black Americans. We find that violence expanded the opinion gap between the dominant white 'public' and Black 'counterpublic.' We also find unique opinion patterns among within-race subgroups based on gender and education (Black women and college-educated whites). In effect, violence realigned the structure of public opinion allies for the Civil Rights Movement.
ISSN:1474-2837
1474-2829
DOI:10.1080/14742837.2021.1920385