Abstract

Less than 24 hours after police murdered George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protesters organized in several cities to demand that their elected officials defund their police and redirect this funding to better healthcare, schools, public transportation, affordable housing, and food security. Eventually, these protesters came together in rural communities and towns to push for similar demands. Journalists documented these protests, highlighting both the similarities and differences in these places and protests. This article directly addresses the oversights and stereotypes that many of these articles promoted through a careful analysis of the experiences of two rural youth"a Black, Puerto Rican young woman and a Black, Dominican young man"as the Black Lives Matter protests unfolded in their predominantly white small town. In doing so, this study illustrates the threat of visibility that rural youth experience and how this threat shaped their decision to participate or not participate in the protests.

How to Cite:

Kitzmiller, E. M. & Burton, E., (2021) “The Threat of Visibility and State-Sanctioned Violence for Rural Black Lives Matter Youth Activists”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 37(7), 1–10. doi: https://doi.org/10.26209/jrre3707-07

Rights: Copyright