Experts weigh in: what motivates protesters?

Neo-Confederate protesters defending the preservation of Confederate monuments in Richmond were met in opposition by hundreds of individuals on Monument Avenue Sept. 16.

Later that Saturday afternoon, a “Richmond Stands United” rally marched to counter the monument defenders.

With tensions between political parties still running high following the most recent presidential election, citizens across the nation continue to voice their beliefs.

“People protest because they perceive there to be an injustice in their society,” said Adam Ewing, assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at VCU. “They doubt the ability of elected officials to adequately address it.”

Samuel J. West, a doctoral student at VCU who specializes in group extremism and violence, said the motive behind protesting often boils down to one of two key ideas: group dynamics and moral decision making.

While people are motivated by at least one of these two concepts, West said the motive for students is more pervasive.

“There is a huge push from every direction for young, new undergrads to seek out groups to belong to,” West said.

West expanded, saying extremist groups exploit that push and that it is apparent with white supremacist groups who groom, recruit and radicalize young people before they realize it.

The “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville that took place in August embodied this idea. The rally sparked debate over the defense or removal of Confederate monuments and led to counter protests in cities across the nation.

“The protests against the Confederate monuments have been remarkably successful,” Ewing said.

He said a debate regarding the monument removal would have been unimaginable 10 years ago, but now motivations behind protesting are stronger and more persistent.

“We are in the early years of a new phase in the struggle for racial justice,” Ewing said.

Khudai Tanveer, student at VCU and president of the Queer Trans People of Color Collective, who attended the pro-Confederate rally as a counter protester, said her motivation for protesting stems from personal struggle and moral choice.

“It’s this understanding of where your body stands and where you stand as a person,” Tanveer said. “Am I really willing to put my body on the line when it actually matters and when other people’s lives depend on it?”

In regards to Charlottesville, she said the rally repeated this narrative of emboldening people to be unafraid to act publicly. There were several systems at play for Charlottesville’s rally to happen the way it did, Tanveer said.

“I think the fact that it is always black and brown bodied folks putting themselves on the line says a lot,” Tanveer said

Alt-right groups rising in the U.S. since the 2016 election have seen their share of opposition.

“The rise of white nationalism and supremacy is largely due to the shifting demographic in the U.S.,” said Lecia Brooks, director of outreach at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

According to Brooks, the so-called “browning” of America, and the white racial anxiety resulting from it, gives certain people a false sense of marginalization.

“At the base level, people want to be heard,” Brooks said.

In the case of alt-right groups, Brooks said that posing as the aggrieved party has become a strategic motive more than anything else. For them, she said, it is all about gaining more media attention and creating buzz, rather than a desire stemming from moral choice.

Brooks said the solution lies in the unequivocable denunciation of any and all hate.  

“Protests are an essential component of social change,” Ewing said. “But protests themselves are never enough. Change requires organized political pressure and day-to-day grassroots organizing, which is much harder and much less visible.

According to Tanveer, achieving true social change requires showing up in different ways. Other steps in the forms of financial contributions, campaign work or educating those around you are necessary.

“We’re on the brink of a revolution that we’ve been fighting for a while,” Tanveer said.

Saffeya Ahmed

Contributing Writer