ABSTRACT
In the final chapter I explore the effects of the catastrophic murder of George Floyd. This event was momentous and exemplary in its ability to catalyze democratic sensibilities through images and embodied performances. The boundless protests and worldwide demonstrations that followed in the wake of Floyd’s murder were unprecedented in terms of their scope and depth. The insights of Pierre Nora, Nicholas Mirzoeff, and Davide Panagia inform my assessment of the dissensual power of this event. Focusing on embodied and situated affects, rather than impersonal, unpossessable, and unrepresentable sensations, I link affective solidarity, emotional reorientation, and political transformation. In the first section I show how street protests, celebrity support, and the dismantling monuments were effective in garnering affective solidarity for M4BL. While recruitment of support did not rely upon deliberative processes or good arguments, the movement for Black Lives (M4BL) fostered critical inquiry and provided strong arguments to dislodge established narratives of America’s development. In addition, I will also track the negative responses to these protests.
Witnessing this event was not only exemplary in catalyzing emotional reorientation, but M4BL kept the murder of George Floyd alive and contributed to rethinking radical democracy. Instead of judging this movement in terms of abstract principles and normative ideals, I assess their ability to navigate the impediments it faced while sustaining democratic ideals. Through the astute use of the social media and offline activity, M4BL organized demonstrations, stimulated fund-raising campaigns, and provided a space for Black people to gather, discuss, and prioritize interventions. Though compromises were necessary, they forged new forms of leadership, successful strategies for collaboration, and instituted policy initiatives. They managed to craft a new political philosophy (inspired by Radical Black Feminist Pragmatists and community leaders) that was nimble enough to accommodate the tensions within the movement.
